From Muntaser Dkaidek
Palsport newsagency
RAMALLAH, October 27, 2008- The National Committee for the management activities of the historic visit of the President of FIFA Joseph Blatter to Palestine worked tirelessly to organise the landmark Jordan vs Palestine football match.
The final meeting was held at the headquarters of the Football Association and headed by its president, Mutawakil Taha, and members including President of the Federation of Football General Jibril Rajoub, and engineer Nidal Hadid , Middle East director of FIFA.
The Committee heard some important observations from General Jibril Rajoub including the need for speakers in all languages to be present at press conferences, the importance of a database and the need to survey satellite television channels for the coverage of the event.
Attending the meeting which lasted for two and a half hours were Abdul Kader Husseini, Sami Makkawi, Firas Al-Ahmed Khawaja, Mohammad Lafi, Bilal Aboaris, Amr Abdel-Meguid , Atta, Al-Najjar, Nasif Abuarp Bassam Omar Jaafari, Nasser Abbasi, Yahya Barakat, Eid Mustafa, Wael, Susan Shalabi, Abdullah Al-Farra, Mahmoud Al-Sakka, Mohammed Abdel Nabi and Munir al-Ghoul.
The Committee decided to design a medal bearing the logo of Federation and the Dome of the Rock to make a symbolic gift with national implications of a large number of dignitaries attending the event was entrusted Yahya Omar Barakat and Firas Al-Jaafari, and Nasser Abbasi preparation.
With the coordination with the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities the Commission was provided with a letter containing the historical reality of life in Palestine for distribution to guests.
A gala dinner took place with speeches by Prime Minister Dr. Salam Fayyad and AFC President Mohamed bin Hammam, Football Federation chief Maj. Gen. Jibril Rajoub, and the FIFA President Joseph Blatter.
The Important Day
FIFA President Joseph Blatter arrived at the Faisal al-Husseini stadium at 4.30pm on Sunday, accompanied by Prime Minister Dr. Salam Fayyad. He cut the ribbon in the stadium and took a tour of the arena followed by addressing a press conference before he returned to the pitch with President Mahmoud Abbas.
There the FIFA president was introduced to dignitaries including Prince Ali Bin Al-Hussein , Jibril Rajoub, the two teams (Royal Jordan and Palestine) and referees.
The game was played to a full capacity stadium of six thousand spectators and the score was 1-1.
