Sport was another casualty of war in Lebanon. Fans hope they can get back on track

Former Lebanese soccer player Assile Toufaily couldn’t help but cry upon hearing of an Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire.

“I’m happy. They had some sort of objective to help Gaza, they did what they did. But it’s good they managed to find a way to end it,” she told CBC News from Lyon, France, where she is a graduate student. 

After 14 months of fighting between Israel and the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, the two sides have agreed to a ceasefire, effective Wednesday.

The deal calls for an initial two-month halt to fighting. It comes after more than 15,000 Lebanese were wounded and another 3,760 were killed by Israeli strikes, according to Lebanese authorities.

One of the sectors damaged by Israel’s attacks is Lebanon’s sports. All leagues have been on pause for the past two months, and many athletes were among those forced to flee their homes. Some even succumbed to injuries caused by Israeli strikes and raids.

Rami Abou Diab, founder of the Lebanese soccer page FA Lebanon, says Lebanese soccer is “a mini picture of the Lebanese society.”

“Sometimes, we say that football is a picture of all the problems of the Lebanese society, like violence, like sectarianism,” he told CBC News.

Toufaily, whose family comes from Ad-Doueir in South Lebanon, said Lebanon’s sports sector was already going through a hard time due to the economic crisis, and “this attack by Israel on Lebanon was some sort of KO [knockout] to Lebanon.”

Individual obstacles

Lebanese athletes face a variety of obstacles in the wake of a ceasefire, such as dealing with the loss of teammates. Toufaily knows of more than 15 Lebanese athletes who have been killed by Israel in 2024, ranging from youth athletes to senior soccer players. 

Others, such as Toufaily’s former teammate Celine Haidar, have been so severely injured that it’s unclear whether they’ll be able to return to their sport. 

The 19-year-old Haidar has been in a medically induced coma since she was injured by shrapnel from an Israeli strike in mid-November. She’s currently being treated for severe brain injuries, including multiple skull fractures. Toufaily says “we don’t even know what the impact will be … if she wakes up.”

Even if a player was lucky enough to escape death or severe injury, depending on which part of the country they’re from, they might not have escaped forced displacement or property damage. Around 1.2 million Lebanese were driven from their homes by Israel’s bombardment.