WEST BANK: First Palestinian women's soccer league starts playing in the West Bank

Record ID: 1548424

  • Title: WEST BANK: First Palestinian women's soccer league starts playing in the West Bank
  • Date: 14th February 2011
  • Summary: AL-RAM, WEST BANK (FEBRUARY 10, 2011) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF PALESTINIAN FEMALE TEAMS TRAINING AHEAD OF OPENING GAME FOR PALESTINIAN FEMALE SOCCER LEAGUE VARIOUS OF WOMEN IN THE AUDIENCE CHEERING AND WAVING PALESTINIAN FLAGS NEWS CONFERENCE BY PALESTINIAN PRIME MINISTER SALAM FAYYAD AND CHAIRMAN OF THE PALESTINIAN FOOTBALL FEDERATION JIBRIL RAJOUB ANNOUNCING THE LAUNCH OF A WOMEN'S SOCCER LEAGUE (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) PALESTINIAN PRIME MINISTER, SALAM FAYYAD, SAYING: "It is a historical day for sports in Palestine; and a historical day for the Palestinians. It is a landmark in the development of sports over the last years. It is part of the participation of the society in all areas. I am keen for Palestinian women to enter this field." VARIOUS OF NEWS CONFERENCE UNDERWAY WOMEN HOLDING LARGE PALESTINIAN FLAG, PALESTINIAN FEMALE SOCCER TEAMS ON THE PITCH QARAWA BANI ZAID TEAM STANDING ON THE PITCH (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) FEMALE PLAYER FROM JENIN TEAM, SHAHED ABU RUBEE, SAYING "It is very nice to meet the teams from everywhere. And to meet all the teams from different cities of Palestine and meet other girls. Also it helps us to improve our skills." FEMALE TEAMS STANDING ON PITCH (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) FEMALE PLAYER FROM BURQIN TEAM, DOA'A KHLOUS, SAYING "We are very proud that girls are playing a men's game. We are very proud of it." PRIME MINISTER FAYYAD AND FOOTBALL FEDERATION CHAIRMAN RAJOUB WALKING ONTO PITCH FOOTBALL FEDERATION CHAIRMAN JIBRIL RAJOUB KICKING BALL VARIOUS OF FEMALE AUDIENCE CHEERING AND WAVING PALESTINIAN FLAGS VARIOUS OF SOCCER MATCH BETWEEN DIAR BETHLEHEM AND SIRIAT RAMALLAH WOMEN'S TEAMS SIRIAT RAMALLAH GOALKEEPER VARIOUS OF FEMALE PLAYERS DURING MATCH FEMALE AUDIENCE LOOKING ON DIAR BETHLEHEM PLAYER SCORING GOAL VARIOUS MORE OF SOCCER MATCH
  • Embargoed: 28th February 2011 19:50
  • Keywords:
  • Location: West bank, West bank
  • City:
  • Country: West bank West bank
  • Topics: Sport
  • Reuters ID: LVA4FHPWSAO7T2KLKVP9IL3YGU4W
  • Aspect Ratio: 4:3
  • Story Text: Women teams played the first soccer match in a new Palestinian women's soccer league in the West Bank city of al-Ram on Thursday (February 10).
    Palestinian Prime minister Salam Fayyad said it was a historic day for sports in the territory.
    "It is a historical day for sports in Palestine; and a historical day for the Palestinians. It is a landmark in the development of sports over the last years. It is part of the participation of the society in all areas. I am keen for Palestinian women to enter this field."
    Spectators travelled from Jerusalem and other parts of the West Bank to the Faisal Husseini Stadium in al-Ram to watch Diar Bethlehem face Siriat Ramallah in the first game. In front of an audience of more than 8,000, the game ended 2-0 for Diar Bethlehem.
    Player Shahed Abu Rubee enjoyed meeting teams from other Palestinian cities.
    "It is very nice to meet the teams from everywhere. And to meet all the teams from different cities of Palestine and meet other girls. Also it helps us to improve our skills."
    Doa'a Khlous was proud of the women playing what is traditionally a men's sport.
    "We are very proud that girls are playing a men's game. We are very proud of it."
    The match was played on an artificial pitch at the new stadium between Ramallah and Jerusalem.
    Six local teams will compete over a period of two weeks to gain the title of the Hero of the Palestinian female soccer league.
    The Palestinian women's teams have had to overcome many obstacles to get to this point. Training is difficult as there are few grass pitches to practice on and Israeli checkpoints make the journey for players from Gaza to the West Bank long and tedious.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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