The Soccer Touch

http://footballpalestine.blogspot.com

The Palestine Football Association was established in 1928 and has the honor of being one of the oldest Asian FAs.Due to the conflict in the region,it ceased participation in FIFA events and wasn’t re-affiliated until 1998.In 1999,Palestine took part in the Pan Arab Cup in Jordan and finished 3rd after wins against the UAE and Qatar and draws against Libya and Syria.
In 2002,a Chilean with Palestinian origins by the name of Nicola Shahwan with the help of the Palestine FA started recruiting Chilean-Palestinians who were eligible to play for Palestine.He took the job as head coach and led Palestine in the 2002 Pan Arab Cup in Kuwait.This Palestinian team was unique in that it had a South American touch to it as 5 starters were Chilean born.This is where my video picks up.
Palestine recorded impressive results with a 1-1 tie vs Jordan(First goal shown in vid) and a 3-3 tie against home side Kuwait(next goal shown in vid).
Next in 2004 came the World Cup Qualifiers for Germany 2006.Palestine started off strongly with an 8-0 win over Chinese Taipei.They also tied 1-1 with Iraq courtesy of Roberto Kettlun’s brilliant free kick but two defeats from Uzbekistan crushed the teams World Cup hopes.
In 2006 came the qualifiers for the 2007 Asian Cup.Palestine was grouped with Singapore,Iraq and China.Palestine defeated recent South East Asian champions Singapore 1-0(goal shown in vid) and tied Iraq(who would go on to win the Asian Cup) 2-2 but lost twice to China.
In April 2006,Palestine took part in the AFC Challenge Cup where they defeated Guam 11-0,won Cambodia 4-0 and tied with Bangladesh 1-1 before they lost in the Semi-Final to Kyrgystan.
The Palestinian National Team takes part in international competition despite all the difficulties.Current players play with clubs in Palestine,the Arab World,North America,South America and Europe.

Music:
Yanni-Rites of Passage

Duration : 0:4:18

[youtube lhxopCm0EFc]

Technorati Tags: AFC, asian, challenge, Cup, football, National, Palestine, palestino, qualifiers, soccer, Team, فلسطين, منتخب