Moraine Valley Community College soccer player Guevara Al-Sheikh was invited to represent Palestine, her father’s home country, in an international soccer tournament last February.
By luck, Al-Sheikh happened to be in the right place at the right time last summer. She was visiting family in Palestine and Lebanon for three weeks and saw women from the Palestinian National Soccer Team enter a restaurant she was at in Lebanon. Her cousin knew some of the coaches and introduced Al-Sheikh. They invited her to train with the team the next morning.
“At the end, they loved me and wanted me to play with them the next day, but I was flying home,” she said. “I sent them my highlight videos, and they asked me to be on the team. This is my dream. I always wanted to play for my home country.”
Moraine Valley Community College soccer player Guevara Al-Sheikh competed for Palestine at the West Asian Women’s Championship.
Al-Sheikh was born in the U.S. Her father was born in Palestine, and her mother is from Lebanon, but as long as one parent was born in Palestine, she was allowed to be part of the national team. Many members of the squad are from Palestine with a handful coming from abroad – U.S., Canada, Sweden and Germany. Al-Sheikh was one of four from the U.S.
Since she was 6 years old, Al-Sheikh has played soccer. In second grade, she became a goalie for a recreation team and started club soccer in fourth grade. She competed for Sandburg High School and then at Moraine Valley, where she has been the goalkeeper and a midfielder the last two years.
“When I first met G, she was our starting goalkeeper. After four games, she asked if she could play defense. She ended up playing around seven games on defense and in the midfield. She was very strong and smart and a valuable player,” said Moraine Valley women’s soccer Head Coach Javier Roman. “She was a great player to have around on and off the field. She’s a great asset to any team.”
Because of the conflict that started in the Middle East in October, the eighth West Asian Women’s Championship was postponed in November and instead took place in Saudi Arabia in February. Al-Sheikh prepared at home by doing agility, speed and touch work as well as running. She had regular communication with the coaches and some teammates.
Al-Sheikh was excited more than nervous for the experience. She was happy to show kids in Palestine something good happening. Once in Saudi Arabia, the athletes were not allowed to have fried food or sweets, plus they had to turn in their phones to the coaches every day to maintain focus.
The athletes had a week and a half to train together since some players from Palestine had trouble leaving for the tournament. On the second day, Al-Sheikh suffered a concussion and later injured her hand, which required medical attention.
“I was really bummed because I worked hard to get there, but I was happy to represent my country. Being able to wear the uniform and represent where your roots are from, once I got there, I felt it. It just means so much,” she said. “No one thought we’d come out strong like we did.”
Relegated to the reserve team because of injury, Al-Sheikh watched her team compete and win their first game over Iraq (3-0) and then went 1-0 over Syria. They lost to Nepal and Jordan, the two teams that battled in the finals. Palestine took third overall.
“I feel proud to play for Palestine. It’s very meaningful, especially right now. I was so emotional,” Al-Sheikh explained. “It’s an experience I’ll never forget. The best part was meeting all these athletes. They were like sisters to me, one big family. I never found other Arabic women who have the same passions as I do, and I love the coaches. I never felt so close to a team so fast.”
Al-Sheikh will remain a member of the team but continue her college education in the U.S. Although she’s still deciding on a major, she knows soccer will still be on the table. She’ll keep training until called to join the team again.
For news media inquiries, contact Maura Vizza, Moraine Valley communications specialist/sports information coordinator, at (708) 974-5742 or VizzaM@morainevalley.edu.
