Hani Al-Masdar

Hani Abdul Hakim Suleiman Masdar (April 14, 1981 – January 6, 2024) was a Palestinian athlete and coach. He was born and lived in the village of Al-Musaddar in the central Gaza Strip. He studied at Al-Manfaluti Secondary School and obtained a high school degree from Khaled Bin Al-Walid Secondary School in Nuseirat. He was a player and coach of the Palestine national football team, and he had previously supervised the training of several Palestinian teams, most notably Al-Aqsa, Khadamat Al-Nuseirat, and Deir Al-Balah Union. He led to promotion to the Palestinian League for first-class teams, before supervising the Olympic team.

Club career

Al-Masdar began his career as a player in Al-Maghazi Club, then joined the Gaza Sports Club until he retired from playing in 2018. Hani Al-Masdar did not leave the Gaza Strip during his professional career to continue his work as a coach and achieved a remarkable achievement with “Ittihad Deir Al-Balah (اتحاد دير البلح)”. After promotion from the second division league to league 1 in southern governorates clubs, he continued his work as a coach.

He also participated in many stations with the "al-fadaee" Olympic, most notably the Asian qualifiers in 2021 Jordan, 2023 Bahrain, the 2023 West Asian Championship held in Iraq, the 2023 Arab Games in Algeria, and the 2023 Asian Games in China.

Death

Hani Al-Masdar was assassinated on January 6, 2024, when Israeli aircraft bombed his house and directly targeted him in the village of Al-Masdar in the central Gaza Strip. Many official bodies mourned him, including the Palestinian Football Association.

See also

• Palestinian sports during the 2023-2024 Israeli invasion of Gaza