Fact Check: Palestinians flee to Sweden on airplane? No, it’s a youth football team on tour
A video circulating on social media claims to show Palestinians fleeing to Sweden is viral on social media.
By M Ramesh Naik
Claim:The video shows Palestinians in an airplane fleeing to Sweden, suggesting a mass exodus or migration.
Fact:The claim is false. The video shows the Rawahel Charity Association’s Under-14 football team from Tulkarm, West Bank, on a European football tour.
Hyderabad: A video widely circulating on X shows a group of young boys and a few adults on an airplane, some waving at the camera. Several users are sharing the video, claiming it shows Palestinians fleeing to Sweden, insinuating it as part of a larger wave of illegal migration.
One user shared the video and wrote, “Flee Flee Palestine. I’m sorry to mention that the new criminal record will spike as soon as they land on Swedish soil.” (Archive)
Similar posts can be seen here and here. (Archived 1, Archive 2)
Fact Check
NewsMeter found that the claim is false. The video does not show Palestinians fleeing their country. The individuals featured are the Under-14 football team of the Rawahel Charity Association from Tulkarm, in the occupied West Bank. They are on a scheduled European football tour, taking part in international youth tournaments.
Going through the comment section of the viral post, we saw a user who said, “They are travelling to Sweden for Gothia Cup, the world’s largest youth soccer tournament. They went last year as well.
Using the hint, we found a Facebook post from the official The National account, dated June 30. The post stated that a group of 14 Palestinian teenagers from Tulkarm have begun a 46-day football tour across Europe, representing their country in three major youth tournaments: the Gothia Cup in Sweden, Dana Cup in Denmark and the Norway Cup in Oslo.
It mentioned that the players, all under 14, are part of the Rawahel Charity Association’s youth programme. They arrived in Paris this week for a training camp before competing in more than 25 matches across the region.
We also found an Instagram Story posted by Rawahel Charity Association. The bio stated that it is a non-profit charitable organisation developing football among Palestinian children. Under the ‘Gothia Cup 2025’ highlights, the same video that is being circulated with the false claim was featured.
The text over the video reads: “We are now off to Gothenburg and we can’t wait to see you.”
Another Instagram post showed the team in red and green jerseys, accompanied by a coach in traditional attire, further validating their identity and purpose.
This post confirmed the team’s travel to Gothenburg, Sweden, where the Gothia Cup, the world’s largest youth football tournament, is being held.
We also found a LinkedIn article published by The National News on July 4, titled ‘Beshara: Freedom Through Football’, confirming the persons in the video as sportspersons on tour. The article included a photograph of the team and outlined their journey to Europe.
“A group of Palestinian teenagers from the occupied West Bank are representing their homeland loud and proud at the world’s largest youth football tournament,” the post read.
According to the post, fourteen footballers from Tulkarm are in Paris for a training camp, preparing to play in over 25 matches across three Scandinavian tournaments, including the prestigious Gothia Cup in Sweden.
Coach and club chairman Ahmad Naalweh told The National, “Representing Palestine in international tournaments is both an honour and a source of great pride.”
“We want to send a clear and heartfelt message to the world,” he added. “There are children in Palestine with talent, dreams and a love for life and football. They want to live in peace, far from the horrors of war.”
The article emphasised that while these young athletes come from a place shaped by conflict and checkpoints, they carry a message of hope and peace, not of flight or escape.
There is no evidence that these individuals are asylum seekers or migrants, nor is there any official record suggesting otherwise.
The viral video does not show Palestinians fleeing to Sweden. It captures the Under-14 football team of the Rawahel Charity Association on their way to the Gothia Cup in Gothenburg as part of a European football tour.
The claim is false, driven by a misinterpretation of the context, and ignores the team’s actual purpose: to represent Palestine with pride on the international football stage.
