FIFA Invites Palestine Football National Team To Arab Cup In Qatar (image-instagram/ palestine.fa1)
Football governing body, FIFA, has invited Palestine’s national team to be part of the Arab Cup, which is to be held in Qatar from December 1 this year. The 16-team tournament will include teams representing African and Asian confederations.
FIFA President Gianni Infantino had written to Palestine national football chief Jibril Rajoub to extend the football body’s invitation, the Palestine Football Association said in a statement on Saturday. “I look forward, Mr. President, to receiving your confirmation of participation, and to welcoming you and your team to Qatar for what promises to be an exceptional celebration of Arab football,” Infantino’s invitation read, according to PFA’s statement.
Read also: Liverpool 2024-25 Premier League Champions
View this post on Instagram
However, the national team has not yet responded to the invitation. The Palestinian football team has currently made a tremendous stride in its maiden appearance at the third round of the World Cup qualifiers. Favourable results in the two remaining matches will put them in the fourth round, which would trace an indirect route to the tournament in North America.
With the acceptance of the invitation, Palestine will once again play in the Qatari capital. They have been in Qatar as the country served as the home ground on multiple occasions. Most recently, the Palestine national team had played their World Cup qualifier match against Kuwait in Qatar.
The tournament, which will begin on December 1, will end on December 18. The matches would include teams from the African and Asian confederations. Though it is not mandatory, by participating in the tournament, the teams in Africa would get a head start ahead of next year’s Africa Cup of Nations.
Read also: “Usually A Man Of Few Words”: Neeraj Chopra Slams ‘Abusers’ For Invitation To Pak Athlete
For the Arab countries, it will be an opportunity to tee up with other strong national sides. Qatar had hosted the last edition of the tournament in 2021 in preparation for the World Cup and was announced as the host of the next three editions of the quadrennial tournament last year.
