Batter up! Palestinian women try to bring baseball to Gaza
The young Palestinian women don baseball caps on top of their Islamic headscarves and field tennis balls with fabric gloves, giving a decidedly local feel to the great American pastime.
They are trying to bring baseball to the Gaza Strip, an effort that is still in its early innings.
Their coach, Mahmoud Tafesh, is introducing the game to the enclave and eventually hopes to form a national team to compete in Asian baseball championships.
“We have received no financial support from anyone. I buy the balls and I make the bats,” Tafesh told Reuters.
But Tafesh has received approval from Gaza’s Ministry of Youth and Sport to establish the first Palestinian Federation for Baseball and Softball, and he hopes to hold tryouts later this year for a five-team league. (AP/Reuters)
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