Palestinian national team asks to camp in Maldives

The Palestinian Football Association (PFA) has asked the Football Association of Maldives (FAM) to host a training camp for the Palestinian U-17 national team.

The Palestinian national football team is scheduled to camp in Maldives from November 8 to 19, in preparation for the AFC Under-17 Asian Cup qualifiers.

The ongoing Israel-Palestine conflict has prevented Palestinian teams from competing and training on their own soil, leading to their reliance on other countries for such activities.

The FAM stated that it has decided to seek government assistance following the request from the Palestinian association. The Maldives Under-17 national team is also expected to play two friendly matches against Palestine during this period.

A FAM Exco meeting held on Sunday decided to seek government assistance to cover the expenses of the Palestinian team while in Maldives.

The exco meeting further decided to seek sponsorship for the two friendly matches against Palestine.

Palestine is placed in Group D of the Asian Cup Under-17 qualifiers, which will be held in India. Alongside Palestine and India, the group includes Iran, Chinese Taipei, and Lebanon. The qualifying matches are slated to run from November 22 to 30.