Faisal Al-Husseini International Stadium

Faisal Al-Husseini International Stadium
Location Al-Ram, West Bank, Palestine
Coordinates 31°50′51″N 35°13′49″E / 31.84750°N 35.23028°ECoordinates: 31°50′51″N 35°13′49″E / 31.84750°N 35.23028°E
Capacity 12,500 (all seated)
Surface Artificial turf
Construction
Renovated 2008
Tenants
Palestine national football team (2008–present)

Faisal Al-Husseini International Stadium is an association football stadium in Al-Ram, West Bank. It is the home stadium of the Palestine national football team. It is named for Faisal Husseini, a Palestinian politician who died in 2001. The stadium seats 12,500.

Palestine International Matches

On October 26, 2008 the team played Jordan in their first-ever home international in 10 years of FIFA membership. In attendance were FIFA President Sepp Blatter and Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad.[1] On October 29, 2009, the Palestinian national women’s football team played its first home international match against Jordan before a capacity crowd at the stadium.[2]

On March 9, 2011, Palestine "played its first ever competitive match at home in the West Bank". It was the second leg of a qualifier for the 2012 Olympic Games, against Thailand. Thailand had won the first leg 1-0 in Bangkok; Palestine won the second 1-0 at the stadium, with a goal by Abdelhamid Abuhabib in the 43rd minute. The draw on aggregate led to a penalty shootout, with Thailand winning 6-5. Attending the match was Prime Minister Fayyad, who described it as a "historic day".[3]

9 March 2011
Palestine  1 0 (1-1 on aggregate; 5-6 penalty shootout)  Thailand
Abuhabib  43'
Faisal Al-Husseini International Stadium, Al-Ram

On July 3, 2011, the stadium hosted "the first World Cup game ever to be played at home in the Palestinian territories". The game was the second leg of a two-match encounter against Afghanistan, in the first round of the Asian Football Confederation qualifiers for the 2014 FIFA World Cup. The game was a draw, enabling Palestine to advance to the second round on aggregate. Afghanistan were eliminated.[4]

3 July 2011
17:00 UTC+3
Palestine  1 – 1  Afghanistan
Wadi  12' Report Arezou  63'
Faisal Al-Husseini International Stadium, Al-Ram
Attendance: 9,000
Referee: Banjar Al-Dosari (Qatar)

References

  1. "Jordan ties Palestine in historic match". The Jordan Times. 2008-10-27. Retrieved 2011-03-16.
  2. "Palestine women tie Jordan in soccer first". Ma'An News Agency. 2000-10-26. Retrieved 2011-03-16.
  3. "Palestinian footballers in bittersweet Olympic match". BBC News. 2011-03-09. Retrieved 2011-03-16.
  4. "Palestinians play first World Cup qualifier at home", BBC, July 3, 2011

External links