Jumu’ah mubarak! The Friday Fill-in is The Athletic Ummah’s weekly news roundup. If you have a story or athlete you’d like to pitch for it, email us at TheAthleticUmmah@gmail.com.
The Headlines
Palestine plays first football match since Oct. 7 attack: Decked in what is known as their white “keffiyeh” kit, Palestine drew Lebanon 0-0 in a 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifier on Thursday. It was Palestine’s first men’s football match since the Oct. 7 attack, and was played in Sharjah, UAE. Palestine and Lebanon are now tied for second place in Group I, two points behind group leaders Australia.
Oakland A’s relocation approved: Major League Baseball owners have unanimously approved relocating the Oakland Athletics baseball team to Las Vegas. The team’s new Vegas stadium is set to open in 2028, though it’s unclear where the team will play until then. A’s fan Ehab Elsobky told The Athletic Ummah that he was disappointed by the news, but the way management had treated the team made the move inevitable. The A’s are only the second MLB team in the last 50 years to relocate, with the other being the Montreal Expos, who moved to Washington, D.C., in 2005.
2026 World Cup qualifiers kick off in Africa: The first round of 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers kicked off in Africa on Thursday. Thanks to a new, expanded qualification format, all participants are guaranteed to play six qualifiers for the first time ever (except Eritrea, who withdrew prior to their first match.) Among the most notable stories was 153rd-ranked Lesotho drawing powerhouses Nigeria 1-1, and 199th-ranked Somalia scoring a goal against 2019 AFCON champions Algeria.
What You Might’ve Missed
On Monday, Oct. 13, the Edmonton Oilers hockey team hosted their annual Indigenous Celebration Night, when the New York Islanders came to town.
As part of this year’s celebration, The Bearhead Sisters — who won the 2023 JUNO Award for Traditional Indigenous Artist of the Year — performed a special rendition of the Canadian national anthem in the Stoney Nakoda language prior to the game.
The sisters weren’t just there to celebrate Indigenous culture, though. As they sang the unique rendition of O Canada, the musical trio wore and held white-and-black keffiyehs, in support of the Palestinian cause.
The show of solidarity with their fellow oppressed brothers and sisters in Gaza was well-received by BIPOC hockey fans on social media, and The Bearhead Sisters were cheered on for their gesture.
Some have described the move as a direct response to the Oilers and their player Zach Hyman. Both the team and the player took pro-Israel stances and failed to directly mention Palestinians in statements made after Israel began its military offensive into Gaza. The Bearhead Sisters didn’t clarify if this was intentional, though.
Following the game (which the Oilers won 4-1), The Bearhead Sisters thanked the Oilers for allowing them to be a part of this special night. They went on to say that they “stand with our Indigenous people from all across the world.”
“Tonight we’d like [to] send our thoughts and prayers to [the] Palestinian community,” their Facebook post concluded.
As of today, more than 11,500 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli attacks in Gaza — though the toll is thought to be higher, as it hasn’t been updated in a week.
Muslim Athletes of the Week
As we’ve been covering on The Athletic Ummah, this has been an especially difficult month and a half for Palestinians. Innocent men and women are being killed by Israeli bombardments, whether it’s in a refugee camp or an ambulance convoy; and those that survive are being driven south in a modern-day nakba.
This brutality has been especially difficult on children. According to numbers from Nov. 7, more than 4,200 Palestinian kids have been killed by Israeli attacks in Gaza, with another 1,350 children missing under the rubble of destroyed buildings, most of whom are presumed dead. These numbers are likely much higher now, though we don’t know for certain because they haven’t been updated in days.
It’s understandably difficult for many of these children to find an escape from the atrocities being committed to and around them. But earlier this week, a group of displaced Palestinians were able to experience some semblance of joy by transforming a local schoolyard into a soccer pitch.
In a video posted by journalist Mohamed al-Shaer, children decked out in Lionel Messi and Karim Benzema jerseys played a friendly game of 4-v-4 street soccer in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip.
The game was played at the Beit al-Maqdis Secondary School for Girls, and was watched by a sizable crowd of Palestinian children and adults. The game even featured live commentary, and al-Shaer appeared to be the one reffing the match.
In the caption of his Instagram post, al-Shaer said, “We are still trying to live despite all the pain.”
Although it’s unclear what the final score was, both teams were shown to have scored goals. The clip ended with a kid wearing Benzema’s yellow-and-black Al-Ittihad jersey lifting a trophy.
Sports are a poignant refuge that allows us to transcend the harsh contours of reality, and this particular game is a testament to that truth. In those fleeting moments, the weight of bombings and displacements was lifted from the shoulders of these resilient children, and they were finally able to just play and enjoy life like normal kids. For this reason, these incredible children are The Athletic Ummah’s Muslim Athletes of the Week.
Who’s That Athlete?
“Who’s That Athlete?” is our weekly quiz, where we give you three hints about a Muslim athlete and you have to guess who that athlete is.
Last week’s answer was American fencing legend Ibtihaj Muhammad. Here are this week’s hints:
-I was drafted 7th overall by the Toronto Maple Leafs in 2009.
-I won the Stanley Cup in 2022, becoming the first Muslim to hoist the trophy.
-I am the fourth player of Lebanese descent to play in the NHL.
Who’s That Athlete? Let us know on Instagram (the.athletic.ummah) before we reveal the answer in next week’s Friday Fill-In.
Headline image credit: Antonie Robertson/The National
[…] Last week’s answer was ice hockey superstar Nazem Kadri. Here are this week’s hints: […]