October 17 – Palestine’s men’s team will play all home matches in Algeria until further notice following a request from the Palestinian FA in the wake of the military conflict between Hamas and Israel.
Palestine are scheduled to start their 2026 World Cup campaign in the Asian section of qualifying next month. Their first qualifier, away to Lebanon on November 16, will be played in the United Arab Emirates. A ‘home’ match against Australia five days later looks set to be the first to be played in Algeria.
“The president of the Algerian Football Federation, Mr Walid Sadi, announces that our country will host the official Palestine-Australia match, scheduled for November,” the Algerian FA wrote on its website.
The statement added that the country would also host “all official and unofficial matches as part of the Palestinian football team’s preparation for the 2026 World Cup and the 2027 Asian Cup qualifiers”.
Algeria is to pay all costs, such as transport and accommodation, but the agreement will require approval from FIFA.
The early rounds of 2026 World Cup qualifying in Asia also double up as qualifiers for the Asian Cup.
Last week, Palestine’s preparations for next month’s qualifiers were hit after the team withdrew from a tournament in Malaysia at two days’ notice owing to the escalating conflict with Israel.
Israel’s 2024 European Championship qualifiers against Switzerland and Kosovo were also postponed by UEFA.
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