The newly installed bureau for the FIFA World Cup™ qualifiers met yesterday in Zurich under the chairmanship of Juan Angel Napout in order to discuss the situation of the match between Palestine and Saudi Arabia in the context of the Asian qualifiers for the 2018 FIFA World Cup™.

The bureau unanimously decided that in view of the agreement made between the two teams last June, the match would be rescheduled to take place in Palestine on Thursday, 5 November 2015.

The two associations had agreed last June to invert the order of the matches and to play the first match in Saudi Arabia and the second one in Palestine. The first match was played accordingly in Saudi Arabia on 11 June 2015 while the second one, due to be played in Ramallah on 13 October 2015, was postponed following the Saudi Arabian Football Federation invoking a case of force majeure preventing its team from travelling to the Palestinian territories.

The Palestinian Football Association has given full security guarantees for the rescheduled match and FIFA has agreed to appoint a security officer who will work hand in hand with the Palestine authorities to supervise the security plan and make sure that the match is played in very good conditions.