On the 11th of May 2024, Luis Shamshoum made history by becoming the first Palestinian football player to play at Wembley Stadium, representing Great Wakering Rovers in the historic FA Vase Cup final, a knock-out cup competition for teams playing in step 5 and 6 of the national league system in England.
Leading up to this date, Luis played nearly every game in Rovers’ run to the FA Vase final, including saving the winning penalty against Worcester City in the semifinal to send Great Wakering Rovers to the final.
“A feeling I will never get again, it was just pure elation and emotion of working had to get to that moment, and it happened,” Shamshoum adds,
“It is every footballer’s dream to play at Wembley and every goalkeeper’s dream to save the winning penalty to get your team to Wembley, and that dream came true for me. I can’t describe the feeling, credit to all the players who worked so hard to achieve that goal and the supporters who always backed us up and down the country along the way.”
Luis Shamshoum comes from a mixed background of Spanish and Palestinian descent. “My mother’s father is from Toro, in the north of Spain, and my fathers father comes from Nazareth, Palestine.” “Growing up, my idol was Iker Casillas” and looked to the legendary Palestinian goalkeeper Rami Hamodeh (who holds the most clean sheets for Palestine) as “a great role model to look up to.”
“Being the first and only Palestinian to play at Wembley is such an incredible record to hold personally, I’m so proud to hold that record, all my family are too. That is a record that could very much change in the future, especially how talented some Palestinian players are; however, no one will ever be able to take away that I was the first Palestinian to play at Wembley, for as long as I live, that record will always be mine, and I’ll always be so proud of that.”
Shamshoum, who “started off as a striker with Leyton Orient’s academy pre academy set up, joined Southend United’s development team, as a goalkeeper at 10 (the team he supports) and I signed for the academy one year later where I spent 4 years playing against Premier League outfits including Liverpool, Arsenal, Chelsea and West Ham, I was let go by Southend United at 15 and joined Billericay Town, I was training with the first team, with the likes of (ex-Premier League footballers) Paul Konchesky and Jamie O’Hara. During my time at Billericay Town, I managed to gain 3 international call-ups for Palestine at youth levels.”
“My first call up I was 16 and I was called to play in the u18s West Asian Cup held in Ramallah, it was such an honour being there and seeing the country where my Grandad is from, the culture difference was such a shock and it was a little tough as I didn’t speak Arabic and was the only non-Muslim in the team, however I was treated with such great hospitality from all the players and staff and they made me feel so welcomed I quickly managed to settle in.”
“I got to see Yasser Arafat’s compound and grave which was a very emotional experience too, on the down side it was very difficult to see how the occupation are treating the Palestinians in the West Bank with walls, check points and illegal settlements, it’s all part of their plan to annex the West Bank, but the heart of the Palestinians are so strong and one day we will have a state of our own.”
Looking to the future of Palestinian football, the footballing future is looking bright. The Lions of Canaan reached the round of 16 during the 2024 Asian Cup for the first time, and the likes of Oday Dabbagh and Wessam Abou Ali are starring at the moment, something which Shamshoum highlights.
“I think Palestinian football is definitely on the rise, and in the future, I do believe you will see Palestine in the World Cup. Every year, the national team is getting better, and they have some brilliant players within the country and fantastic Palestinians born away from home.”
On the ceasefire which was recently announced in Gaza, Luis Shamshoum sees it as “positive, however, I always live in fear for the Palestinians when they are being illegally occupied, since the ceasefire in October, the occupation has violated the ceasefire over 125 times, so even though it is good that there is a ceasefire there are still innocent Palestinians being murdered.” Including 20,000 children and over 800 Palestinian athletes who have been killed in Gaza since 2023.
“My hopes are that we get our land back and that all Palestinian refugees including my grandad will be given the right to return, we are a nation of people desperate for our own state with Jerusalem as its capital like it used to be, I do not understand why this cannot be done, my hope is for one day we will be able to see Palestine free again and for us to govern our own country.”
Currently, Shamshoum is taking some time away from football, working at Southend airport, “doing a job I really enjoy, however, I’m not done with football. If a good opportunity came, then I’d certainly listen, but for now I’m enjoying some time away from football.” When asked who the best player he has played against is he someone who also has an inspiring story comes up, “Richard Kone, currently at QPR scoring goals in the Championship his story is amazing from Essex Senior League to Championship, I played against him 3 times and he scored in 2 of those games, I never liked playing against him” laughs Luis Shamshoum.
In addition to being a talented footballer and an ambassador for Palestine, Luis Shamshoum also DJs “I’ve discovered a love for DJing, I started just over a year ago, I really love house music and love going to see the best DJs on the scene it’s made me fall in love with it all, I’m getting on some good local events and hopefully keep getting booked.”
