An anti-fascist football group organised a football tournament last month to raise money to support those affected by the war in Gaza.
The second London Solidarity Cup, set up by London Solidarity Football, took place on 26 September to raise money for Palestinian groups and legal fees to support those facing football banning orders (FBOs).
London Solidarity Football take part in protests and events in an effort to provide an inclusive environment in football that they often feel is lacking.
The group decided to use this year’s London Solidarity Cup to raise money for Palestinian refugee sports club Al-Karmel FC, accruing more than £2,500.
London Solidarity Football member, Sam, 29 helped to plan and participated in the tournament.
He said: “Football is such a popular working-class mass event every single weekend, and the world as we see it is pretty grim right now with the genocide in Palestine, the rise of the far right and fascism on the streets.
“We came together with clear anti-racist and anti-imperialist views and decided that basically that’s so much more important than the divisions between our football teams.”
“Al-Karmel have faced a lot of oppression, so the money we raised for them is really good.”
Gulf News estimates that more than a thousand members of the sports community in Palestine have been killed in Gaza since 2024.
Part of the funding also went towards legal fees for people facing FBOs, which limit a fan’s ability to attend football games, often before conviction.
Sam claims some FBOs have been given for confronting racist action within a team’s fanbase, which was the focus for the money raised in the tournament.
He said: “It’s quite like a punitive measure and quite damaging for someone.
“We talk about football as just being a sport and stuff, but really, for a lot of working-class kids, which these people are, it is their friendship base, it’s their whole life.”
Tournament participants came from across the UK and mainland Europe, with left-wing supporter groups from Arsenal, Crystal Palace, Celtic and AEK Athens among those that played.
In total, 15 teams took part, some in the competitive cup and others in mixed and men’s leisure leagues and the event wasn’t just restricted to left-wing groups.
Sam added: “We had some people that did a lemonade stand just from the local community. We had a local falafel vendor come down.
“Some people came down because it was a Palestine event, and then half of people came down because it was a football event, and I think that’s what we wanted to achieve. We wanted to bring these two groups of people together.”
Sam said the event was successful for the group, and there is likely to be a third edition next year, but they are still an active group outside it.
Sam said: “What we do is this tournament every year, but between that, we are on the streets, campaigning against fascism and imperialism. We want football for all.”
Credit: London Solidarity Football
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