ISTANBUL

Manchester City’s manager has urged fans to show their support for next Tuesday’s match in Barcelona between the Catalonia and Palestine national football teams, hailing the faceoff as “much more than a game” but also a symbol.

In an Instagram video posted on Thursday, Pep Guardiola called Barcelona, capital of the autonomous Catalonia region, a “city of peace” and emphasized the symbolic importance of the friendly match.

He said the encounter represents a collective call for solidarity and serves as a tribute to the more than 400 Palestinian athletes killed in Gaza since October 2023.

“Barcelona, city of peace, hosts … (Nov. 18) Tuesday the match between the Catalan National Team and the Palestinian National Team at the Olympic Stadium," wrote Guardiola, a former football player who was born in Catalonia.

"It is much more than a game, it is a cry for solidarity, in tribute to the more than 400 Palestinian athletes who have been murdered in Gaza. Let’s fill the stadium!”

The match, organized with the aim of promoting unity and raising awareness of the humanitarian situation in Gaza, is expected to draw thousands of supporters. Officials and sports organizations have highlighted the importance of using sports as a platform to advocate for peace and human dignity.

This May, in a landmark move, Spain recognized the state of Palestine simultaneously with Ireland and Norway, leading the way for other Western countries to follow.

According to the Palestinian Olympic Committee and Palestine Football Association, about 400 athletes have been killed between Oct. 7, 2023 and this July, including 245 football players, among them 69 children and 176 young men.

In the months since, the death toll has likely grown even higher.

Since October 2023, Israel's war on Gaza has killed more than 69,000 people and injured more than 170,600, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.