Palestine football given $1m boost

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ZURICH, Switzerland -- The Union of Arab Football Association (UAFA) is donating $1 million to help football development in Palestine, FIFA announced on Thursday.

FIFA said that the decision had been reached after a meeting at the FIFA headquarters in Switzerland on Wednesday attended by Arab and FIFA football officials as well as the general secretary of the Palestine football association Bader Mekky.

FIFA president Sepp Blatter said it was "a magnificent gesture to help the development of Palestinian football."

The donation, pledged by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to the UAFA specifically for a development project of this kind, will serve to complement a Goal project in Palestine that FIFA is currently overseeing, which will result in the installation of three artificial pitches in Gaza, Ram and Ramallah.

A new national stadium is also to be built in Ram.

Blatter said: "I am convinced that, through football, there can be a better understanding between people, since our family makes no differentiation between the rich and the poor, or between different cultures, religions or genders."

Mekky said that Palestine teams would benefit from the donation. "We appreciate the assistance, especially to our players and our national team, as they are the representatives of the united Palestinians all over the world.

"We have the will to improve, but were previously lacking in infrastructure. Now we have made the first step towards a better future."

FIFA's development program, which operates under the Goal projects, has already seen the building of a headquarters for the Palestine association in Gaza.

In March this year FIFA also approved a second project involving the construction of artificial pitches.

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