Honey Thaljieh, 125th anniversary ambassador for March
Honey Thaljieh, 125th anniversary ambassador for March
The former co-founder and captain of the Palestine national women's football team becomes Athletic Club's first women ambassador
Honey Tahljieh, born in Bethlehem in 1984, co-founder and former captain of the Palestine national women's football team, becomes Athletic Club's first woman ambassador for the 125th anniversary.
She joins John Rahm and Jokin Altuna, who were named respective ambassadors for January and February.
Honey Tahljieh will receive her badge this coming weekend and will attend our women's and men's first teams' matches, against Valencia CF (Sunday, 12:00 CET at Lezama) and FC Barcelona (Sunday, 21:00 CET at San Mamés).
Honey Tahljieh, thanks to her fight for gender equality and peace, perfectly embodies Athletic Club's values. Although she was not born an Athleticzale, she has great respect for Athletic's unique identity.
Honey Tahljieh currently serves on the Palestinian High Council for Youth and Sport and is Communications Manager for Special Projects at FIFA, where she works on initiatives related to gender equality, education and peace through football.
Honey Tahljieh's life is the story of a woman who has had to fight against a double enemy: gender discrimination and war. She started playing football on the streets of Bethlehem as a child. Despite all the obstacles she faced as a woman and as a Palestinian, including periods of bombings, blockades and all kinds of restrictions and hardships, Honey Tahljieh founded and captained the Palestinian national football team. Through her actions, Honey opened a path for integration through sport, making it possible for more than 30 women's football clubs to now exist in Palestine.
The relationship between Honey Tahljieh and Athletic Club dates back to 2015, when she was one a guest at that year's Thinking Football Film Festival. The former Palestinian footballer stars in a chapter of the film "Les rebelles du foot 2", presented by Eric Cantona and directed by Gilles Pérez and Gilles Rof. The French film opened the 3rd edition of the festival and tells the story of five football rebels whose actions had a positive impact on their communities. Honey Thaljieh is one of these rebels, and she is now also Athletic Club's first woman ambassador for our 125th anniversary.