Palestine to play WC qualifiers in Jordan

Palestine's football association has agreed to play its upcoming World Cup qualifying matches against Saudi Arabia and Malaysia in Jordan.

The association, however has also requested yet another postponement of the match against Saudi Arabia - currently scheduled for next Monday - to allow it more time to organize.

"I spoke to (Jordan's) Prince Ali over the last two days and we will play the two matches in Jordan," Palestinian FA President Jibril Rajoub said.

The world governing body FIFA on Wednesday ordered Palestine to play the two 2018 World Cup qualifiers on neutral ground because of security concerns.

The home match for Palestine against Saudi Arabia has already been postponed twice.

It had originally been scheduled for last month before it was moved to this Thursday in Ramallah. The Saudi association had refused to play in Ramallah, due to security concerns.

The scheduled qualifier against Saudi Arabia has already witnessed a series of u-turns. FIFA in September decided to shift the game to a neutral venue, only to reverse its decision a few days later, citing security guarantee given by the Palestinian authorities.

The teams played in Jeddah in June in the first of their two scheduled Asia zone World Cup qualifiers, with the Saudis winning 3-2. The match was originally supposed to be played in Palestine, but was shifted after Saudi Arabia refused to travel to the Israeli-occupied West Bank, citing undefined "exceptional circumstances."

ap/dv (AFP)