Palestine national team make home debut
Congratulations to the Palestine national football team who last night played their first ever match on home soil. 17,000 crammed into the stadium in Ramallah to see their side take on Thailand in the second leg of an Olympic qualifier. Given the opposition I suppose you could call it a classic cup-thai!
1-0 down from the away leg, Palestine gained a one goal victory, levelling the tie. That set up a penalty shoot-out which Thailand won 6-5, making it a bitter sweet occasion for the Palestinian supporters on an emotional night for them.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z0l_GZhkE3s
In my home town of Newcastle, research has shown that when Newcastle Utd do well, productivity goes up. The success of the Palestinian economy in the West Bank has been a rare good news story to emerge from the Middle East. I hope that with a national football team to rally around and boost local pride, that trend will continue.
