The start of the first professional league in Palestine kicked off this week with the start of the Yasser Arafat Cup. This competition is only open to the twelve teams that make up the top flight. The competition is as follows: The 12 teams are divided into two groups of six compete in a single round-robin. The winner and runner-up in each group will advance to a single-elimination semifinal round. Here are the results and standings after the first round of matches:
Group 1
Hilal Areeha (Jericho) 1
Merkaz Shabab Asker 3
Asker: Hasan Al-Nursi (2) Hasan Hashash Hilal: Fuad Munasara
Hilal Al-Quds (Jeruslaem) 1
Jabal Al-Mokaber 0
Mahmoud Salah 69′ (1-0)
Wadi Al-Nes 2
Shabab Balata 1
Khader Yousef 15′ (1-0), Mohammed Huwieiti 19′ PK (1-1), Sameer Jamal 22′ (2-1)
Group 2
Merkaz Al-Am’ary 2
Thaqafi Tulkarem 0
Ayed Jemhour 36 (1-0), Mueyid Saleem 45+ (2-0)
Merkaz Tulkarem 0
Shabab Al-Dhahrieh 0
Shabab Al-Khaleel 3
(Hebron)
Al-Bireh 1
Ali Ayash 37′ (1-0), Ali Ayash 55′ (2-0), Mohammed Ashour 60′ (2-1), Shadi Ferhan 70′ (3-1)
| Group 1 | ||||||
| Team | P | W | D | L | GD | PTS |
| 1. Shabab Asker | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 |
| 2. Wadi Al-Nes | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| 3. Hilal Al-Quds (Jerusalem) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| 4. Shabab Balata | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | -1 | 0 |
| 5. Jabal Al-Mokaber | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | -1 | 0 |
| 6. Hilal Areeha (Jericho) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | -2 | 0 |
| Group 2 | ||||||
| Team | P | W | D | L | GD | PTS |
| 1. Shabab Al-Khaleel (Hebron) | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 |
| 2. Markaz Al-Am’ary | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 |
| 3. Markaz Tulkarem | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 4. Shabab Al-Dhahrieh | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 5. Al-Bireh | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | -2 | 0 |
| 6. Thaqafi Tulkarem | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | -2 | 0 |
Matchday 2:
Monday 19/07/2010
Markaz Al-Am’ary vs. Shabab Al-Khaleel (6.00 pm)
Hilal Areeha vs. Jabal Al-Mokaber (5.30 pm)
Merkaz Tulkarem vs. Thaqafi Tulkarem (5.30 pm)
Tuesday 20/07/2010
Shabab Asker vs. Wadi Al-Nes (6.00 pm)
Al-Dhahrieh vs. Al-Bireh (5.30 pm)
Hilal Al-Quds vs. Shabab Balata (5.30 pm)
