Palestine national football team

Infobox National football team
Name = Palestine
Badge = Palestine FA.gif
FIFA Trigramme = PLE
FIFA Rank = 180
1st ranking date = December 1998
FIFA max = 115
FIFA max date = April 2006
FIFA min = 191
FIFA min date = April 1999
Elo Rank = 151
Nickname =
Association = Palestinian Football Federation
Confederation = AFC (Asia)
Coach = Flagicon|Jordan Izzat Hamza
Most caps =
Top scorer = Fahed Attal (12)
Home Stadium = Jericho Stadium, Gaza | pattern_la1=_whiteupper|pattern_b1=_vneckred|pattern_ra1=_whiteupper
leftarm1=116C43|body1=FFFFFF|rightarm1=116C43|shorts1=C80715|socks1=FFFFFF
pattern_la2=_greenborder|pattern_b2=_vneckblack|pattern_ra2=_greenborder
leftarm2=CD0715|body2=C80715|rightarm2=C80715|shorts2=000000|socks2=CD0715

First game = fb|Egypt|1952 8–1 fb-rt|Palestine
(Egypt; July 26, 1953)
Largest win = fb|Palestine 11–0 fb-rt|Guam
(Dhaka, Bangladesh; April 1, 2006)
Largest loss = fb|Egypt|1952 8–1 fb-rt|Palestine
(Egypt; July 26, 1953)
World cup apps =
World cup first =
World cup best =
Regional name = AFC Asian Cup
Regional cup apps =
Regional cup first =
Regional cup best = The Palestine national football team is the national team of the Palestinian Football Federation, representing Palestine. [While serving only the Palestinian territories, FIFA adopted the Palestinian Football Federation as the National Football Association of "Palestine" to avoid being required to make political judgements while a lasting solution to the Israeli–Palestinian conflict is yet to be found. For discussion of this vague term, see definitions of Palestine and Palestinian. For a similar situation, see Chinese Taipei.] It is not to be confused with the Palestine/Eretz Israel national football team, which existed during the British Mandate of Palestine. Both the Israel Football Association and the Palestine Football Federation count the five international matches played by PFA between 1934–40 in their record.

The current Palestine Football Federation was founded in 1928, but wasn't recognized by FIFA until 1998, after the creation of the Palestinian Authority.

It reached an all-time high position of 115 in the FIFA ranking system in April 2006 after seven years of progression from 191st in August 1999. For security reasons the team plays no fixtures within Palestinian territory, playing most of their "home" games in the Qatar capital, Doha and training in the Egyptian town of Ismailia.

Difficulties

The Palestinian Football Federation faces many problems in organising something as mundane as a training session for the entire team because of travel restrictions placed by Israel upon people in the West Bank and Gaza Strip and the difficulty in obtaining an exit visa from Israel. In addition, there are no proper training facilities in the occupied territories. [cite news | title=Palestine's football pride | work=BBC News Online | date=2004-07-01 | url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/3834193.stm | accessdate=2006-09-28] As a result, many players in the team are drawn from the Palestinian diaspora, from as far away as Chile and the United States. A major factor for these disparate players is that sport is the only realm in which a Palestinian state is fully recognised. [cite news | last=Taji Farouky | first=Saeed | title=Palestine team's World Cup woes | date=2006-06-07 | work=BBC News Online | url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/5049878.stm | accessdate=2006-09-28]

Recently, Israel's refusal to issue exit visas has resulted in players or in some case the entire team being unable to represent their country. In November 2006, all players based inside Palestine were denied exit visas. The AFC, Asia's governing football body decided to cancel the match since both teams had been eliminated from the competition by virtue of their previous results against China and Iraq. [cite news | title=Singapore, Palestine match called off | work=the-afc.com | date=2006-11-15 | url=http://www.afcasiancup.com/en/tournament/mtindex.asp?aid=45961&cid=1336&mt=11815&sec=105 ] In October 2007, the second leg of a crucial World Cup qualifier between Palestine and Singapore was not played due to Palestine's inability to obtain an exit visa. AFC and FIFA decided not to reschedule the match despite protests from Palestine's FA. Instead Singapore was awarded with a 3-0 win in a walkover match. [cite news | title=Asia WCQ: Singapore Given Tie After Palestine No-Show | work= GOAL.com | date=2007-10-29 | url=http://www.goal.com/en-us/Articolo.aspx?ContenutoId=461833 ]

Some of the athletes have been directly affected by the Arab–Israeli conflict. Tariq al Quto was killed by the Israel Defense Force, [cite news | last=Willacy | first=Mark | title=Palestinian National Football Team prepares for the next World Cup despite difficulties | date=2006-06-30 | work=ABC News Online | url=http://www.abc.net.au/worldtoday/content/2006/s1676020.htm | accessdate=2006-09-28] and striker Ziyad Al-Kord was banned from travelling and had his house destroyed. [cite web | title=Film documents hardships facing Palestinian football team | date=2004-11-04 | url=http://www.jerusalemites.org/jerusalem/cultural_dimensions/77.htm | accessdate=2006-09-28]

A film, Goal Dreams, was made about the team attempting to overcome obstacles in the qualification for the 2006 World Cup, who were also featured on the BBC documentary series "Frontline Football".

Results and Upcoming fixtures

Records

World Cup record

* 1930 to 1998 - "Did not enter"
* 2002 to 2010 - "Did not qualify"

Asian Cup record

* 1956–1996: "Did not enter"
* 2000: "Did not qualify"
* 2004: "Did not qualify"
* 2007: "Did not qualify"

West Asian Football Federation Championship record

* 2000: Round 1
* 2004: Round 1
* 2004: Round 1
* 2007: Round 1
* 2008: Round 1

AFC Challenge Cup record

* 2006: Quarter finals
* 2008: Withdrew

Coaches

1998-Present

Current Squad

The following players were called up for the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification.

Results since 1998

- fb|Singapore 3-0 fb|Palestine World Cup 2010 Qualifying October 28, 2007, Singapore

- fb|Palestine 0-4 fb|Singapore World Cup 2010 Qualifying October 8, 2007, Doha, Qatar

fb|Iran 2–0 fb|Palestine; WAFF Championship June 20th, 2007, Amman, Jordan

fb|Iraq 1–0 fb|Palestine; WAFF Championship June 18th, 2007, Amman, Jordan

fb|China 2–0 fb|Palestine; Asian Cup Qualifier October 11th, 2006, Amman, Jordan

fb|Iraq 2–2 fb|Palestine; Asian Cup Qualifier September 6th, 2006, Amman, Jordan

fb|Iraq 2–0 fb|Palestine; Asian Cup Qualifier August 17th, 2006, Amman, Jordan

fb|Kyrgyzstan 1-0 fb|Palestine; AFC Challenge Cup April 9th, 2006, Dhaka, Bangladesh

fb|Bangladesh 1–1 fb|Palestine; AFC Challenge Cup April 5th, 2006, Dhaka, Bangladesh

fb|Cambodia 0-4 fb|Palestine; AFC Challenge Cup April 3rd, 2006, Dhaka, Bangladesh

fb|Guam 0–11 fb|Palestine; AFC Challenge Cup April 1st, 2006, Dhaka, Bangladesh

fb|Singapore 0–1 fb|Palestine; Asian Cup Qualifier March 1st, 2006, Amman, Jordan

fb|China 2–0 fb|Palestine; Asian Cup Qualifier February 22nd, 2006, Guangzhou, China

fb|Pakistan 0–3 fb|Palestine; Friendly February 18th, 2006, Manama, Bahrain

fb|Bahrain 0–2 fb|Palestine; Friendly February 16th, 2006, Manama, Bahrain

fb|Syria 3–0 fb|Palestine; Friendly February 7th, 2006, Damascus, Syria

fb|Saudi Arabia 2–0 fb|Palestine; West Asian Games December 3rd, 2005, Doha, Qatar

fb|Iraq 4–0 fb|Palestine; West Asian Games December 1st, 2005, Doha, Qatar

fb|Iraq 4–1 fb|Palestine; World Cup Qualifier November 16th, 2004, Doha, Qatar

fb|Chinese Taipei 0–1 fb|Palestine; World Cup Qualifier October 14th, 2004, Taipei, Chinese Taipei

fb|Uzbekistan 3-0 fb|Palestine; World Cup Qualifier September 8th, 2004, Doha, Qatar

fb|Bahrain 1–0 fb|Palestine; Friendly September 2nd, 2004, Manama, Bahrain

fb|Iraq 2–1 fb|Palestine; WAFF Championship June 19th, 2004, Tehran, Iran

fb|Jordan 1–1 fb|Palestine; WAFF Championship June 17th, 2004, Tehran, Iran

fb|Uzbekistan 3-0 fb|Palestine; World Cup Qualifier June 9th, 2004, Tashkent, Uzbekistan

fb|Iraq 1–1 fb|Palestine; World Cup Qualifier March 31st, 2004, Doha, Qatar

fb|Syria 1–1 fb|Palestine; Friendly March 26th, 2004, Damascus, Syria

fb|Chinese Taipei 0–8 fb|Palestine; World Cup Qualifier February 18th, 2004, Doha, Qatar

fb|Singapore 0–0 fb|Palestine; Asian Cup Qualifier October 22nd, 2003, Singapore

fb|Singapore 2–0 fb|Palestine; Asian Cup Qualifier October 19th, 2003, Singapore

fb|Kuwait 4–0 fb|Palestine; Asian Cup Qualifier October 8th, 2003, Kuwait City, Kuwait

fb|Kuwait 2–1 fb|Palestine; Asian Cup Qualifier October 5th, 2003, Kuwait City, Kuwait

fb|Qatar 2–1 fb|Palestine; Asian Cup Qualifier September 27th, 2003, Doha, Qatar

fb|Qatar 1–1 fb|Palestine; Asian Cup Qualifier September 24th, 2003, Doha, Qatar

fb|Kuwait 3–3 fb|Palestine; Pan-Arab Games December 25, 2002, Kuwait City, Kuwait

fb|Sudan 2–2 fb|Palestine; Pan-Arab Games December 23, 2002, Kuwait City, Kuwait

fb|Morocco 3–1 fb|Palestine; Pan-Arab Games December 20, 2002, Kuwait City, Kuwait

fb|Jordan 1–1 fb|Palestine; Pan-Arab Games December 16, 2002, Kuwait City, Kuwait

fb|Chile 3–1 fb|Palestine; Friendly October 12th, 2002, Damascus, Syria

fb|Iraq 2–0 fb|Palestine; WAFF Championship September 1st, 2002, Damascus, Syria

fb|Syria 2–1 fb|Palestine; WAFF Championship August 30th, 2002, Damascus, Syria

fb|Syria 2–1 fb|Palestine; West Asian Games April 8th, 2002, Kuwait City, Kuwait

fb|Qatar 0–2 fb|Palestine; West Asian Games April 6th, 2002, Kuwait City, Kuwait

fb|Iran 2–2 fb|Palestine; West Asian Games April 4th, 2002, Kuwait City, Kuwait

fb|Malaysia 4–3 fb|Palestine; World Cup Qualifier March 25th, 2001, Doha, Qatar

fb|Qatar 2–1 fb|Palestine; World Cup Qualifier March 23rd, 2001, Doha, Qatar

fb|Hong Kong 0–1 fb|Palestine; World Cup Qualifier March 20th, 2001, Doha, Qatar

fb|Malaysia 0–1 fb|Palestine; World Cup Qualifier March 11th, 2001, Hong Kong, China

fb|Qatar 2–1 fb|Palestine; World Cup Qualifier March 8th, 2001, Hong Kong, China

fb|Hong Kong 1–1 fb|Palestine; World Cup Qualifier March 4th, 2001, Hong Kong, China

fb|Kazakhstan 3–2 fb|Palestine; WAFF Championship May 28, 2000, Amman, Jordan

fb|Iran 1–1 fb|Palestine; WAFF Championship May 26th, 2000, Amman, Jordan

fb|Syria 1–0 fb|Palestine; WAFF Championship May 24th, 2000, Amman, Jordan

fb|Kazakhstan 2–0 fb|Palestine; Asian Cup Qualifier April 6th, 2000, Doha, Qatar

fb|Jordan 5–1 fb|Palestine; Asian Cup Qualifier April 4th, 2000, Doha, Qatar

fb|Pakistan 0–2 fb|Palestine; Asian Cup Qualifier April 2nd, 2000, Doha, Qatar

fb|Qatar 1–0 fb|Palestine; Asian Cup Qualifier March 31st, 2000, Doha, Qatar

fb|Jordan 4–1 fb|Palestine; Pan-Arab Games August 29, 1999, Amman, Jordan

fb|Syria 1–1 fb|Palestine; Pan-Arab Games August 27, 1999, Amman, Jordan

fb|Libya 2–2 fb|Palestine; Pan-Arab Games August 25, 1999, Amman, Jordan

fb|UAE 0–1 fb|Palestine; Pan-Arab Games August 23, 1999, Amman, Jordan

fb|Jordan 2–0 fb|Palestine; Pan-Arab Games August 18, 1999, Amman, Jordan

fb|Jordan 1–1 fb|Palestine; Friendly July 28, 1998, Beirut, Lebanon

fb|Syria 2–1 fb|Palestine; Friendly July 23, 1998, Beirut, Lebanon

fb|Lebanon 3–1 fb|Palestine; Friendly July 20, 1998, Beirut, Lebanon

Notes

External links

* [http://www.national-football-teams.com/v2/country.php?id=141&year=2007 Palestine] on National-Football-Teams.com
* [http://www.fifa.com/associations/association=ple/fixturesresults/gender=m/index.html# Palestine] on FIFA.com
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lhxopCm0EFc Palestine] on Youtube.com