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In spite of bold declarations, Palestine will not host Oman in Jerusalem on June 10th. Instead, the same statements of support made by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) and West Asian Football Federation (WAFF) the past 19 months were recycled.
Whether or not those statements will generate anything resembling pressure on FIFA to change its stance towards Israel remains an open question.
Palestine’s quest to host international matches once again was always going to be a long shot. The situation in the West Bank remains incredibly unsafe for those commuting between cities and as a result all leagues remain suspended.
Instead of the Faisal Al-Husseini Stadium in the Jerusalem Governorate Palestine has chosen to host Oman in the Jordanian capital of Amman.
This will mark the third time the team has used Amman as a home location it has used Kuwait City twice, Doha twice, and Kuala Lumpur once in its World Cup qualifying journey.
The Palestine Football Association (PFA) said it made the decision to return to Amman due to the support it received in its last match against Iraq. While Amman remains the host city there will be a change of venue.
The Amman International Stadium which hosted Palestine’s matches against Korea and Iraq will host Jordan’s World Cup qualifier against the Lions of Mesopotamia. Palestine meanwhile will be based in Al-Quweismeh 13 kilometers to the east.
The King Abdullah II Stadium is the home of Al-Wehdat and Palestine will be hoping that a significant number of fans come out and support them in a critical match.
Palestine can still qualify for the World Cup finals but will need to navigate a route to Round 4 first. That will first necessitate a win against Kuwait in Kuwait City on June 5th. Additionally, Palestine will need either Oman to draw or lose against Jordan on the penultimate match day or have Iraq lose their final two matches in order to spring up in the standings.
