Palestinians finally got to play international soccer on home soil on Sunday, drawing 1-1 with Jordan in front of packed stands. The Palestinian team, recognized by FIFA a decade ago, played at a new 6,500 seat stadium in the occupied West Bank town of Al-Ram, near Jerusalem, in a match attended by FIFA President Sepp Blatter. The stands overflowed with fans and hundreds also watched from rooftops of vehicles and nearby homes as the Palestinians took an early lead, when in the fourth minute Ahmed Kashkash broke through the Jordanian defense. Kashkash rounded advancing keeper Loay Amayrah and slotted the ball home from the edge of the area. Jordan equalized with a goal in the 48th minute, when with the Palestinian defense in disarray, Raed Nawatir had an easy task putting the ball away and sending goalkeeper Mohammed Shobeer in the wrong direction. The event, secured by hundreds of Palestinian police and security officers, was attended by Blatter who is on a four-day tour that included a visit to Jordan on Saturday and events in Israel on Monday and Tuesday. The crowd gave Blatter a rapturous welcome, waving flags and holding up portraits of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, Jordan's King Abdullah, and the late Yasser Arafat. Blatter said the match “proved that football can bring hope”. “We are here to realize a dream, it is the national team of Palestine playing in its own stadium,” Blatter told reporters after meeting Abbas in the West Bank town of Ramallah. “We want to make sure that all national associations, members of FIFA have the right to play their national team matches at home.” Previously, the Palestinians played all their matches abroad, mainly in the Gulf, because FIFA, soccer's international governing body, deemed the Palestinian territories unsafe to host visiting teams. – Reuters __
