Philosophy of the GPP Academy

Gaza Plays Peace players during practice

At GPP, we pride ourselves on inspiring and motivating each player to reach his or her potential on and off the field, playing as a team, working hard and never giving up.


There are three core values for any GPP team:

1. Always Working together,
2. Always believing in yourself,
3. Always Having fun

By guiding our players through a variety of training programs delivered by our soccer coaches, we develop young players’ technical skills and passion for the game.


A GPP player practices English

We believe becoming a good player also involves learning good communication skills on and off the field. That is where GPPs partnership with Paul Costello and  SaveOurStory, Inc.Storywise.com comes in. Narrative training  equips our coaches to privilege the stories of each player, and to always invite the young people to tell the story they dream of becoming. Sport is the launching pad for young people to build out their stories of striving and achievement.

Playing and training the GPP way means that we teach players how to build up a range of movements and techniques related to the game. Coaching sessions are designed to allow repetition of these activities in a fun and exciting method and to challenge and motivate players at all levels of skill.

All GPP activities are appropriate to the developmental age of the child.  Programs are challenging but achievable, guaranteeing that each child leaves our academy with higher self-esteem, improved football skills and most importantly, a sense of fun and enjoyment that the children in Gaza Strip are deprived of.


At GPP Academy, we welcome children of categories e.g. Traumatized children, poor children, and talented soccer kids. Whatever their level, we help players to develop their courage and confidence to express their capacities in games and to gain an understanding of how to learn from their mistakes. For young kids, this is very important. At our academy it doesn’t matter which team a child supports, we just want everyone to have fun whilst learning to play football at GPP.


Gaza Plays Peace Family

GPP creates positive relationships among all players, parents and opposing teams. Also, we coordinate meetings with kids from the West bank and  East Jerusalem, knowing that the Palestinian children have no chance to meet or play together because of the separation wall and the siege.


The beauty of Football is that in essence, it is a simple game. When players, coaches and parents work together, amazing results can be achieved. We also seek to build a bridge of communication between Gazan kids, kids from the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and even kids from any other part of the world.