The Swiss President of the International Football Association (FIFA), Gianni Infantino, will visit the Palestinian territories next week for the first time since assuming his position, as confirmed by the President of the Palestinian Federation, Jibril Rajoub, on Monday.

Rajoub said during a press conference held at the headquarters of the city of Bethlehem that the visit, which will coincide with the Palestinians' commemoration of the 75th anniversary of the Nakba, will represent an opportunity to present several sports and youth activities to commemorate the occasion and is organized by the Supreme Council for Youth and Sports.

"The event is sporty, but it has a political significance," added the head of the Palestinian Federation.
And he added, "Our mission is to present ourselves in front of the international sports figures that we are a people with its own civilization and history... and to communicate impressions that we are capable and ready to build a democratic state, and on top of it is our sports culture."

According to Rajoub, the visit includes naming the name of the late Brazilian player Pele at Al-Khader Stadium, south of Bethlehem, and the Palestinian and Jordanian Olympic teams will play in a friendly match.

The visit of the President of FIFA is his first to the Palestinian territories since he took office, and the second for the President of the Football Federation, as he was preceded by his Swiss predecessor, Joseph Blatter.

Infantino will be accompanied on his visit, which will focus on Bethlehem (south), three members of the FIFA Council, who are the Egyptian Hani Abu Raida, the President of the Saudi Federation, Yasser Al-Mishal, and the President of the Qatar Football Association, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa bin Ahmed Al Thani.
According to the president of the Palestinian Federation, "if circumstances permit," a visit will be arranged for the international sports delegation to one of the Palestinian refugee camps in the West Bank occupied by Israel since 1967.

Rajoub hoped that "this visit would be a good beginning," as it coincided with a speech by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas at the United Nations (on May 15) on the anniversary of the Nakba, which, according to Rajoub, "recognised the Nakba and put it on its agenda" for the first time this year.

On May 15 of each year, the Palestinians commemorate the Nakba, which occurred in 1948, when more than 760,000 Palestinians were displaced from their homes during the war that followed the declaration of the establishment of the State of Israel.
And the Israelis celebrate a day before the anniversary of the founding of their state.
Palestinian sports, especially soccer, have witnessed remarkable development since Rajoub took over its administration in 2008, although he came to office from a security and political background.
These developments included the adoption by the International Federation of the Palestinian home stadium inside the West Bank within the framework of the international and Asian championships, after the Palestinian national team was replacing its home stadium in the stadiums of neighboring Arab countries.