The competition will continue to run until the finals on Saturday and is open to the public at Oxygen Park in Education City.
The CEO and co-founder of Street Child United said this year’s tournament’s in Qatar is the biggest in the organisation’s history.
Introducing all 28 teams representing 25 countries at Qatar Foundation’s Oxygen Park, John Wroe said this is the moment for the children to be seen by the world.
“This is your pitch, this is your ball, this is your game. Play like girls,” Wroe said on International Day of the Girl Child, which fell on the same day as the opening ceremony.
“This is the world cup for the invisibles, but you will be seen,” Wroe added.
Regarded as a platform for advocacy, Street Child United hosts 15 boys’ and 13 girls’ teams, with 10 of the groups represented by displaced children.
Wroe noted that the sport of football is a tool that acknowledges the challenges that marginalised children face outside the pitch.
Palestine is debuting for the time in the Street Child World Cup tournament, which Wroe has called a step forward for the organisation and Palestinians under occupation.
“It’s exciting that Palestine scored the first goal of the tournament; it’s a great start for them,” Wroe said in an interview with Doha News at Education City.
Playing against Qatar, the Palestinian girls took to the pitch, defeating Qatar 2-1.
Hundreds of spectators cheered on the girls’ and boys’ teams as they played one another on the first day of the tournament.
National anthems played for all countries participating, with several nations representing the refugee crisis surrounding the Middle Eastern region.
“Sudan, Syria, Palestine are here to remind us of the wars and conflicts happening around the Middle East,” Wroe said in an interview with Doha News.
Held in the lead-up to the Qatar World Cup, Wroe hinted that several campaigns will be taking place pre and post the global sporting event to raise awareness on the abandonment of children worldwide.
The competition will continue to run until the finals on Saturday and is open to the public at Oxygen Park in Education City.
