FIFA: Palestine will play matches in Jordan

GENEVA

World football governing body FIFA has said that Palestine must play its 2018 World Cup qualifiers against Saudi Arabia and Malaysia at the King Hussein Sport City Stadium in Amman, Jordan.

This decision was taken after “the Palestinian government confirmed that it could no longer guarantee the safety and security around the matches in question," FIFA said in a statement.

A Palestine-Saudi Arabia match, which was originally scheduled for Thursday, will now be played on Nov. 9 in Amman.

The Palestine-Malaysia qualifier will still be played, as planned, on Nov. 12 in Amman as well.

FIFA decided on Wednesday that Palestine’s qualifiers needed to be played on neutral ground due to security and safety concerns in the Palestinian territories.