Jono Maryono
LONDON — Nearly 200 supporters packed into Edami, a bustling Lebanese bakery in east London, last September to mark a decade of resilience, community, and international solidarity. The occasion celebrated the ten-year milestone of Lajee Celtic, a grassroots sports club rooted in the Aida Palestinian refugee camp in the occupied West Bank. What began modestly as a localized football project has steadily evolved into a cross-border symbol of solidarity, uniting communities from Glasgow to Bethlehem and beyond.
The London celebration encapsulated the movement’s global reach. Palestinian flags hung from the walls, the air was filled with the aroma of freshly baked manousheh, and attendees proudly wore Lajee Celtic shirts—merchandise that has gained international prominence after being championed by high-profile figures, including football icon Eric Cantona and actor Hannah Einbinder. For the organizers and supporters gathered in the British capital, the evening was both a reflection on a remarkable journey and a renewal of commitment to youth empowerment under extraordinary constraints.
Chronology of a Movement: From Glasgow to Aida Camp
The institutional relationship connecting the Aida Refugee Camp with Celtic supporters in Scotland and Ireland developed organically over many years, forged through interpersonal visits and shared political and cultural values. Mohammed al-Azzeh, director of the Lajee Centre—an organization that provides vital educational, cultural, and recreational services to the youth of the camp—recalled the initiative’s foundational steps.
"We’d built up relationships with friends from Scotland and Ireland who had visited Palestine, and then in 2012, I travelled to Glasgow for the first time," al-Azzeh recalled. "We started to have conversations about creating a football academy."
By 2015, the concept gained tangible momentum when a group of young footballers from the West Bank camp traveled to Belfast to play a friendly match. However, the definitive turning point arrived in August 2016 during a UEFA Champions League playoff match in Glasgow, where Celtic FC was paired with Israeli side Hapoel Be’er Sheva.
Despite official warnings from football authorities and stadium management that displaying Palestinian flags could result in disciplinary action and financial penalties, Celtic ultras—most notably the Green Brigade—defied the directives. As the teams emerged onto the pitch, Celtic Park was transformed into a sea of Palestinian flags.
UEFA subsequently fined the Scottish club for the political demonstration. In response, the Green Brigade launched the "Match The Fine For Palestine" crowdfunding campaign. Rather than simply covering the club’s penalty, the initiative raised substantial funds directed toward Palestinian civil society organizations, formally cementing the financial and operational foundation for a football academy in Aida Camp.
"The support and solidarity shown in that game was really a pivotal moment," al-Azzeh noted. "And that’s what ultimately led to Lajee Celtic becoming what it is today."
Expanding Horizons Despite Systemic Challenges
In the years following its establishment, Lajee Celtic transcended its initial mandate as a basic football project. It has successfully brought together young Palestinians from villages surrounding Bethlehem, various refugee camps, and urban centers such as Hebron and Jerusalem.
"It means a lot, for us as Palestinians, to be in one place and meeting each other," al-Azzeh explained. "It becomes about more than just playing football."
The club’s ambitions have since expanded beyond association football. In 2025, Lajee Celtic introduced boxing and table tennis programs, creating multifaceted recreational outlets for young people navigating the psychological and physical tolls of military occupation.
These milestones have been achieved against a backdrop of severe adversity. Lajee Celtic was originally scheduled to enter the official Palestinian football league three years ago; however, the competition was indefinitely canceled following the outbreak of the war in Gaza in October 2023. Movement restrictions between West Bank municipalities, checkpoints, and widespread infrastructure disruption continue to hamper routine sporting activities.
Despite these structural hurdles, the club recently entered the Thousand Martyrs Cup—a tournament named in honor of the 1,014 athletes and sports personnel killed in Gaza since October 2023.
Broader Impact and Implications
Bassil Mikdadi, a sports journalist and founder of Football Palestine, highlighted the unique structural significance of Lajee Celtic within the wider landscape of West Asian athletics.
"Lajee Celtic is a blueprint for ways in which fans of European clubs can directly support those on the ground in Palestine," Mikdadi said. "It’s connective tissue."
Mikdadi emphasized that the survival of grassroots clubs is not merely a recreational necessity, but the bedrock of elite national competition. "The success of the Palestinian national team in recent years—the base of that success has always been players provided by clubs in the West Bank and Gaza," he noted.
For Martin, a Lajee Celtic organizer who traveled from Glasgow to attend the London anniversary, the club’s merchandise plays a vital dual role in sustaining the project’s financial independence while maintaining international visibility.
"When people buy these shirts, they do so knowing that the money is funding football, sports, and general youth development in Palestine," Martin said. "And then when the same people wear these shirts, whether they’re in Glasgow, or London, or New York, they’re each making their own individual solidarity action. It has this kind of cross-cultural, cross-border solidarity."
Martin contrasted the tangible nature of the sports club with transient fundraising models. "Fundraising campaigns come and go all the time," he observed. "लेकिन when you create a football club and when you have that sort of tangible idea at the heart of it, then you are creating a journey."
Human Stories Beyond the Pitch
The profound personal impact of the initiative was underscored during a tour to South Africa in 2025, where the team played two friendly matches. Al-Azzeh recounted a poignant moment on a Cape Town beach involving Samir al-Amir, a Lajee Celtic coordinator who had spent more than 19 years incarcerated in Israeli prisons.
When al-Amir traveled with the team to South Africa, it marked the first time in his life he was able to leave the confines of the West Bank, bypassing the walls, gates, and military checkpoints that dictate daily movement. Al-Azzeh recalled watching his colleague experience the open ocean for the first time.
"He was acting like a young boy because it was the first time seeing the sea," al-Azzeh said. "Without Lajee Celtic, I’m not sure Samir would have ever had that opportunity. That illustrates why the project is so important."
As Lajee Celtic enters its second decade, organizers emphasize that the project’s enduring strength lies in its ability to merge athletic development with human dignity, offering a resilient model of international solidarity that bridges vast geographical distances through the universal language of sport.
