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It has been nearly five years since Palestine hosted a game at their national ground- the Faisal Al-Husseini Stadium in the Jerusalem Governorate- but that could be about to change.
Sources within the Palestine Football Association (PFA) have confirmed to Football Palestine that FIFA has given the green light for Palestine to host Jordan on September 10th. The match would be Palestine’s first ever home qualifier in Round 3 of World Cup qualification having failed to qualify for the decisive phase on six previous occasions dating back to 2002.
The PFA had announced its previous intention to host Jordan in Kuala Lumpur. The idea was to cut down on travel (Palestine’s opening match in Round 3 is against South Korea in Seoul) and take away any advantage Jordan might have had playing on neutral territory in West Asia.
Football Palestine has also learned that independent consultants were contacted to help with the international broadcast of the game. Those consultants informed that the game on September 10th would indeed be in Jerusalem and not Kuala Lumpur.
In spite of the approval, Palestine will not play Jordan on home soil due to the lack of time available to get all the logistics in place.
The October 7th War and ongoing genocide of Gaza meant Palestine could not host games against Australia, Bangladesh, and Lebanon in Round 2 of 2026 World Cup qualification. The discourse since has been centered on a possible suspension of the Israel Football Association given the scale of atrocities committed, the use of Al-Yarmouk stadium as a concentration camp, and the killing of hundreds of footballers, coaches, referees, and administrators.
FIFA President Gianni Infantino has been reluctant to take any action and has kicked the can down the road twice this summer. First neglecting to take action at the FIFA Congress in Bangkok in June by claiming more time was needed by legal experts to study the matter. FIFA then said its July deadline would be extended because the parties involved requested more time to present their cases.
That decision allowed Israel to play at the Olympic Games. Rumors have flown claiming FIFA will take a decision on whether or not to suspend Israel’s FIFA membership later this week. Israel has been hosting games in Hungary since the war began and are expected to continue playing there during the UEFA Nations League campaign.
Palestine lost the ability to host their last two World Cup qualifiers during the 2022 cycle due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Two years later, the decision was made to host Asian Cup qualifying groups in a centralized location and Palestine was left to clinch a spot at Qatar 2023 in Ulaanbaatar.
Earning FIFA’s approval to host games comes after months of lobbying on the part of the Palestine Football Association. The overwhelming feeling amongst those in the organization is that the decision has arrived too late, leaving Palestine to proceed with the plan to host Jordan in Kuala Lumpur.
Palestine are due to travel to Malaysia on Sunday to continue their preparations for World Cup qualifying. The original plan was to camp in Saudi Arabia but a change was made at the eleventh hour after the team failed to secure Saudi visas.
