Palestine to welcome Barca

Palestinian footballing official Jibril Rajoub Ramallah - Eman Al Husseini? Head of the Palestinian Football Federation (PFF), Jibril Rajoub, has chaired a meeting with members of the organising committee making arrangements for the visit of the Barcelona football team to Palestinian territories next month. The meeting, at the PFF headquarters in Ramallah, was attended by representatives of the presidency, civil authorities, ?media and the police. Several players from Barcelona's first team are expected to visit the West Bank next Saturday, August 3. During the meeting, members of the organising committee provided details of the activities being planned for the Catalan team's trip. Rajoub urged Palestinians to show their usual courtesy in welcoming the Spanish side, emphasising the importance of portraying a civilised image, in line with the global reputation of the Palestinian people. "Barcelona players will arrive in Bethlehem through the gate of ?Bilal bin Rabah mosque before heading to the Church of the Nativity at 1700 hrs. At 1800 hrs, the team ?will head to the presidential headquarters in Bethlehem for a meeting with President Mahmoud ?Abbas," Rajoub explained.? "After the meeting, the Barcelona team will leave for Dora International Stadium, in Hebron, where it will take part in sporting activities with 40 Palestine children, led by 10 Palestinian coaches. The competition would begin at 2030 hrs," he added. The Palestinian footballing chief disclosed that Arab Idol winner Mohammed Assaf would sing for the audience, with two separate performances at 1915 hrs and 2100 hrs.? "The federation and the organising committee would like to apologise to all sports lovers in Palestine for the event clashing with Iftar (fast breaking)," Rajoub said. The organising committee confirmed that tickets for the evening event would go on sale from Tuesday.