Palestine to host Saudi Arabia on West Bank

ZURICH (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia will travel to the West Bank to face Palestine in a World Cup qualifier in June, the head of the Palestine FA told Reuters on Sunday.





"I have just received a message from the Saudis saying that they are coming, it's a great show of support," PFA president Jibril Rajoub told Reuters in a telephone interview.

Three-times Asian champions Saudi Arabia, who have played at four World Cups, will be the highest-profile team to visit Palestine since they were authorised to play World Cup qualifiers at home in 2011.

The first World Cup qualifier to be played on the Israeli-occupied West Bank was against Afghanistan the same year and Palestine also hosted Thailand at their 12,000-capacity Faisal Al-Husseini stadium.

National associations can ask FIFA to move World Cup qualifiers if they are unhappy with security and logistical arrangements. Visiting teams to Palestine have to pass through Israeli passport control and checkpoints.

Palestine and Saudi Arabia have been drawn in Asian qualifying zone Group A along with Malaysia, United Arab Emirates and East Timor.





(This version of the story was refiled to add dropped numbers to stadium capacity in fourth paragraph)





(Writing by Brian Homewood in Berne, editing by Ed Osmond)


Share

1 min read

Published

Updated

Source: Reuters


Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News daily and direct to your Inbox

Sign up now for the latest news from Australia and around the world direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Download our apps
SBS News
SBS Audio
SBS On Demand

Listen to our podcasts
An overview of the day's top stories from SBS News
Interviews and feature reports from SBS News
Your daily ten minute finance and business news wrap with SBS Finance Editor Ricardo Gonçalves.
A daily five minute news wrap for English learners and people with disability
Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS
SBS World News

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service
Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world