SNTV Features

Brazilian football star Ronaldo received a hero's welcome in the Palestinian city of Ramallah, with hundreds of well wishers jostling to get a glimpse of the Real Madrid footballer during a visit on Monday. (16th May 2005)

Ronaldo, a goodwill ambassador for the United Nations Development Program was on a one day visit to the region which also included a trip to Israel.

He was there to participate in a UNDP project that brings young Israeli and Palestinian football players together.

SUGGESTED VOICE OVER:

Hundreds of Palestinians gathered in the West Bank city of Ramallah on Monday (16th May 2005) to greet Ronaldo, the Brazilian football star.

Visiting in his capacity as a Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the Real Madrid player wanted to take a first-hand look at UNDP youth and anti-poverty projects .

Fans - including a busload of Brazilian-born Palestinians wearing the country's yellow-and-green jersey - chanted "Ronaldo, Ronaldo" and pushed the player's bodyguards in an attempt to touch their hero.

Surrounded by a tight ring of bodyguards to get through the chanting crowds, Ronaldo first visited the office of Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qureia where he signed footballs.

The beaming Qureia escorted Ronaldo out of the building before he continued on to a local school, where the superstar received yet another boisterous welcome.

SOUNDBITE: (Portuguese)

"I only wanted to say how happy I am to be making this visit and how proud I am to see everybody so happy around me. I hope you'll enjoy my presence very much. I thank you for this marvellous reception and I hope to return many more times, always on a mission of peace."

SUPERCAPTION: Ronaldo

During his visit to Ramallah, Ronaldo inaugurated a new Centre for Disadvantaged Youth and visited several anti-poverty UNDP projects.

They include the UNDP's "Football Workshops", which have been designed to promote sport as a forum to teach leadership, confidence, and discipline, based on the principles of tolerance, cooperation, and respect.

Later on, Ronaldo visited Israel as a special guest of the Peres Centre for peace.

Ronaldo and Israeli Vice Premier Shimon Peres met at the "Twinned Peace Football Schools", which are a part of a Palestinian-Israeli project to bring children closer together through sport.

SOUNDBITE: (Portuguese)

"It's a real pleasure to be here and it's a real pleasure for me to see how many people are happy about my presence. I know that football can bring people together and try and bring about peace and put an end to their problems"

SUPERCAPTION: Ronaldo

Ronaldo was there to meet some 800 young Palestinian and Israeli participants of the project who will play in mixed teams in a tournament held in his honour.

SHOTLIST: Ramallah - Palestine - 16th May 2005

Betuniya checkpoint, near Ramallah, West Bank

1. 00:00 - UN trucks accompany Ronaldo through checkpoint

2. 00:20 - Ronaldo stepping out of car, crowds cheering and chanting his name

Ramallah, West Bank

3. 00:45 - Ronaldo arriving, surrounded by fans and crowds

4. 00:49 - Ronaldo makes his way through the door

5. 01:05 - Meeting Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qureia

6. 01:12 - Ronaldo signing ball with a placard in yellow with his number "9" on it

7. 01:15 - Prime Minister Ahmed Qureia

8. 01:24 - Ronaldo waves as he leaves

9. 01:35 - Supporters in Brazil shirts cheering in car as they drive past

10. 01:42 - Inside sports centre at Al-Hashimiya school

11. 01:47 - Child holding up Brazil football shirt

12. 01:53 - Ronaldo arrives, and waves

13. 01:58 - Crowd of young fans cheering him as he walks in

14. 02:08 - SOUNDBITE: Ronaldo (Portuguese)

15. 02:43 - Ronaldo leaves surrounded by crowds pushing and shoving to get closer to him

16. 02:51 - Ronaldo, at a new centre named in his honour, posing for photo wearing a Keffiyeh (traditional Palestinian headscarf) with someone holding Palestinian flag behind him

17. 03:00 - His car leaves, surrounded by supporters

Herzliya, Central Israel 16/06

18. 03:15 - Wideshot of fans waiting for Ronaldo

19. 03:20 - Close up of Israeli Vice Premier Shimon Peres arriving

20. 03:25 - Ronaldo and Shimon Peres walking together

21. 03:36 - Crowds around Ronaldo

22. 03:40 - Shimon Peres

23. 04:46 - Ronaldo and kids in group photo

24. 04:10 - Shimon Peres and Ronaldo together

25. 04:23 - SOUNDBITE: Ronaldo (portuguese)

26. 05:02 - Ronaldo walking among the crowds of fans

Palestinian Football Federation threatens to urge next month's FIFA Congress in Brazil to take sanctions against Israel in protest against alleged recent attacks by soldiers on Palestinian sportsmen in the occupied territories.

SCRIPTING INFORMATION:

Jibril Rajoub, president of the Palestinian Football Federation (PFF), threatened to call for sanctions against Israel in protest against alleged recent attacks by Israeli soldiers against Palestinian sportsmen.

Rajoub, who is also head of the Palestine Olympic Committee, referred to the recent arrest of a Palestine footballer and the shooting of two other players who were reportedly shot in the legs by Israel soldiers.

Jawhar Nasser Jawhar, 19, and Adam Abd al-Raouf Halabiya, 17, were allegedly shot at al-Zaayyem checkpoint near Abu Dis in Jerusalem as they walked home from their sports club.

Doctors have since confirmed the pair is unlikely to be able to play sports again due to the severity of their injuries.

On returning from Jordan where they received treatment they were arrested.

Last month a player of Palestine national soccer team, Sameh Moraebe, 22, was arrested by Israeli military forces en route to Qatar.

Coach Jamal Mahmoud has denounced the arrest of the players.

PFF is threatening to take its grievances to the FIFA Congress in Sao Paulo on June 10th-11th that will be held just before the start of the World Cup in Brazil.

The Palestinians have long accused Israel of restricting sport people's mobility inside the West Bank and between the West Bank and Gaza, preventing players from participating in international tournaments and banning the entry of sports equipment that Palestinian teams and stadiums need.

Israel justifies these measures on security grounds.

Rajoub had previously raised the issue of travel for Palestinian athletes at the FIFA congress in Mauritius in June last year. There, he said that, should the matter not be resolved, he would call on delegates to expel Israel at the next congress

The 150th-ranked Palestine football team's next important international match, when it needs players to travel freely, is at the 2014 AFC Challenge Cup, to be held in the Maldives over May 19-30.

The winner of the eight-nation tournament advances to the 2015 Asian Cup in Australia.

West Bank, Palestine. 13 May, 2014.

1. 00:00 Various of the Palestinian FA head quarter

2. 00:12 SOUNDBITE: (Arabic) Jibril Rajoub, President Of Palestinian Football Federation (PFF):

" Without a doubt its a provocative act. the shooting and arrest of the players after coming back from a treatment defies the whole world. Israel will pay the price next month's at the FIFA congress".

3. 00:27 Mid of Adam Halabiya in hospital

4. 00:31 Close-up of heart rate monitor

5. 00:35 Close-up of Adam Halabiya

6. 00:39 Close-up of Adam Halabiya hand

7. 00:43 Mid of Jawhar Halabiya

8. 00:47 Close-up of Jawhar Halabiya

9. 00:51 Close-up of Jawhar Halabiya hands

10. 00:55 Mid of Adam Halabiya in hospital

11. 00:59 Close-up of Nasser Jawhar Halabiya

12. 01:03 Mid of Jerusalem

13. 01:07 SOUNDBITE: (Arabic) Nasser Jawhar Halabiya, Father of Jawhar Halabiya

" Their return was a setback for us, their arrest is setback for us and the country. Everyone were waiting for them to come back safe".

14. 01:18 Various of the palestinian team training

15. 01:30 Close- up of Palestinian coach Jamal Mahmoud talking to the players

16. 01:33 SOUNDBITE: (Arabic) Jamal Mahmoud, Palestine Coach

" I hope they were with us, because that would be an extra for us, but the occupation always put obstacles for the Palestinian sport".

17. 01:46 Various of the palestinian team training

18. 01:57 Various GV of the West Bank

World Cup trophy put on display in Ramallah.

SCRIPTING INFORMATION:

The FIFA World Cup arrived on Sunday (10th November) to the West Bank city of Ramallah.

The golden trophy is going on a tour around the world and is scheduled to visit 90 countries during its 267-day duration.

The cup has already been on display in the Caribbean before reaching the Middle East for the first time.

Ramallah, Palestine - 10th November 2013

1. 00:00 Wide shot of Palestinian Football Association president Jibril Rajoub and other officials uncovering the World Cup

2. 00:10 Mid shot of same

3. 00:16 Various of trophy

4. 00:25 SOUNDBITE (English) Palestinian Football Association president Jibril Rajoub:

"It is an eminence honour and joy for the Palestinian people and for the Palestinian football family to have the World Cup here in Palestine. I think it is a clear cut message to the international community by FIFA that Palestinian sport entity is existing and deserve support and protection from the Israeli occupation."

5. 00:53 Rajoub with officials taking picture near cup

Palestine midfielder Musab Al Battat talked on Wednesday about the difficulties Palestinian football players face due to restrictions on movement imposed on Palestinian people by the Israeli occupation, when he spoke ahead of their 2019 Asian Cup campaign in Doha.

"It's very difficult to bring everyone to the same place to train together in the Palestinian Territories. We only gather at training camps, outside historical Palestine. Sometimes in Qatar or the United Arab Emirates, and other countries as well," said Al Battat.

"The Israeli Occupation prevents them (footballers) from joining the Palestinian national team. It is the right of any footballer to play for their national team," he added.  

Palestine are in Group B of the 2019 AFC Asian Cup, along with Australia, the reigning champions, Syria and Jordan.

Doha, Qatar. 26th December 2018.

1. 00:00 Palestine training session

2. 00:11 Palestine head coach Noureddine Ould Ali

3. 00:15 SOUNDBITE (Arabic): Musab Al Battat, Palestine midfielder:

(About the difficulties of training under Israeli occupation)

"The Palestinian national team is the only national team worldwide that has a real difficulty in setting up a training camp on home soil in the Palestinian Territories that includes players from the Gaza Strip, those from the West Bank and the diaspora, whether it's Chile or other countries. It's very difficult to bring everyone to the same place to train together in the Palestinian Territories. We only gather at training camps, outside historical Palestine. Sometimes in Qatar or the United Arab Emirates, and other countries as well. We train as a group only in these training camps. Thankfully, we managed to gather for over 20 days this time around in preparation for the competition (2019 Asian Cup). All players are present and we hope everyone is prepared for this competition and that everyone plays to their best abilities."

4. 01:08 Palestine training session

5. 01:26 SOUNDBITE (Arabic): Musab Al Battat, Palestine midfielder:

(About the difficulties of training under Israeli occupation)

"There are player that are unable to join us here, especially those who live in the Gaza Strip. The Israeli Occupation prevents them from joining the Palestinian national team. It is the right of any footballer to play for their national team. For some it's almost impossible to leave the Gaza Strip. There are even players in the diaspora that have Palestinian roots but no one knows about them. This is because the Palestinian people are sadly dispersed all over, some in Gaza, some in the West Bank and other in the diaspora."

6. 02:06 Palestine training session

7. 02:13 SOUNDBITE (Arabic): Musab Al Battat, Palestine midfielder:

(About Palestine's participation in 2019 Asian Cup)

"Of course, this is not the first time Palestine take part in the Asian Cup. We hope to learn from this experience. We hope to start the competition in good spirits, and be ready to win in every match. We aim to win or draw in all matches. We hope to be successful and take as many points as possible to qualify to the second round."

8. 02:50 Palestine goalkeepers training

9. 02:54 Noureddine Ould Ali

10. 02:59 SOUNDBITE (Arabic): Musab Al Battat, Palestine midfielder:

(On Palestine's group - Group B)

"We are in one of the most difficult groups in the competition. Our group includes, Australia, the reigning champions, Syria and Jordan. It's a difficult group, but not an impossible one. We'll focus on every match and hope to be up to the task. We aim to qualify and please our supporters."

11. 03:42 Noureddine Ould Ali talking to his players

12. 03:45 Palestine training

13. 03:54 SOUNDBITE (Arabic): Musab Al Battat, Palestine midfielder:

(About the future goal of the Palestinian national team)

"Our peoples' happiness is very important for the Palestinian national team, wherever they may be. We want to unite our people behind us."

14. 04:10 Noureddine Ould Ali

Palestine and the United Arab Emirates prepare for for their World Cup qualifier.

SCRIPTING INFORMATION:

The Palestine national football team are preparing to host their first ever World Cup qualifier on Tuesday, as their team takes on the United Arab Emirates in the first in a series of high-profile matches in the West Bank.

The UAE national team arrived in the West Bank city of Ramallah on Sunday (6th September) to play a 2018 World Cup qualifier against Palestine.

The match will take place at the Faisal Al Husseini Stadium in the West Bank town of Al Ram on Tuesday, the first competitive tie to be played by the Palestine senior national side in their homeland.

On Monday, The UAE conducted a training session at the Faisal Al Husseini Stadium, which holds 12,500 fans and has an artificial-turf pitch. The match is scheduled for the following evening with a kick-off time of 1400 GMT.

Jibril Rajoub, the head of the Palestine Football Association, described the match in Group A of the Asian Zone qualifiers as "historic".

The UAE opened their qualifying campaign in June with a 1-0 victory against East Timor. They are currently third in Group A, level on three points with top-placed Palestine and second-place Saudi Arabia.

Palestine, who defeated Malaysia 6-0 also in June, have played one match more.

SNTV

Ramalah Al -Ram, West Bank. 6th and 7th September 2015.

1. 00:00 Wide of the United Arab Emirates football team arriving at Faisal Al Husseini Stadium in the West Bank town of Al Ram.

2. 00:09 Various of the United Arab Emirates football team players getting out of the bus

SNTV

Ramallah, West Bank. 7th September 2015

3. 00:31 Wide of press conference of the Palestinian football team coach Nour El-Din Walad Ali .

4. 00:36 SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Nour El-Din Walad Ali, Palestine coach:

"First, I welcome our brothers, the Emirates team, to Palestine and I hope we will have a big celebration because the Palestinians need to celebrate. For the game, we have prepared ourselves well for it. In our group, we have five teams that will play and only two teams will qualify for the finals and I hope we will be one of the teams that reach the finals of the World Cup."

5. 01:13 Cutaway cameraman

6. 01:18 Wide of press conference with Mahdi Ali, coach of the United Arab Emirates team

7. 01:23 SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Mahdi Ali, United Arab Emirates coach

"Sport aims to unite people and to bring freedom at a time when each nation has the right to live in peace in his homeland. We are very happy to come here and to stand with our brothers the Palestinians as the first Arabic football team to visit in an official game."

SNTV

Al-Ram, West Bank. 7th September 2015

8. 01:50 Various of the United Arab Emirates squad training at Faisal Al Husseini Stadium in the West Bank town of Al Ram

SNTV

Ramallah, West Bank. 6th September 2015

9. 02:40 Establishing shot of Jibril Rajoub, the head of the Palestine Football Association, entering press conference

10. 02:49 SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Jibril Rajoub, Palestine Football Association chief:

"It's the first time in Palestinian history the we hosted a football match in the World Cup qualifiers and the Asian Zone qualifiers on Palestinian land and under the Palestinian flag with the Palestinian national anthem. It's an historic moment."

SNTV

Al-Ram, West Bank. 7th September 2015

11. 03:22 Various of the the United Arab Emirates football team at Faisal Al Husseini Stadium in the West Bank town of Al Ram

STORYLINE:

Palestine are relishing the tag of being 'underdogs' against defending champions Australia, as they trained and talked in Dubai on Thursday on the eve of the 2019 AFC Asian Cup Group B meeting.

The Palestinians head into their clash against Australia on Friday, knowing that Australia are regarded as the clear favourites.

However, Palestine had recorded their first-ever point at the AFC Asian Cup after a goalless draw against Syria last Sunday (6th January), while the 'Socceroos' had lost to Jordan 1-0 in their opening match.  

A win for Palestine at the Rashid Stadium in Dubai would virtually end the Socceroos' Asian Cup campaign.

SHOTLIST:  Rashid Stadium, Dubai, United Arab Emirates. 10th January 2019.

1. 00:00 Various of Palestine team-talk

2. 00:14 Generic of Palestine warming-up with the ball

3. 00:20 Palestine head coach Noureddine Ould Ali talking to his player

4. 00:27 SOUNDBITE (Arabic): Noureddine Ould Ali, Palestine head coach:

(On Palestine's approach to the game against Australia):

"I don't think that we are merely looking to be defensive in our matches. In our camp, we have an ambition to do well. We all would like to seize this opportunity and play well at the Asian Cup. We have got a point in our first game and we want to build on that and finish in a position that will take us to the knockout stage."

5. 01:07 Various of Palestine players warming-up with the ball

6. 01:24 Tamer Sayam warming-up with the team

7. 01:36 SOUNDBITE (Arabic): Tamer Sayam Palestine midfielder:

(On Australia being the superior team on paper):

"We know that Australia have a lot of good qualities and they have technical abilities to punish any team. For us, we can count on our team spirit and believe in ourselves. We can also count on the good support at the stadium from our fans. These are the two qualities that will be vital for us. We may be the underdogs but we are ready to get a result against Australia."

8. 02:30 Various of Palestine players warming-up

SOURCE: SNTV.

DURATION: 02:42.

Reaction from Al-Sharjah Stadium after ten-man Palestine salvaged a goalless draw against Syria in Group B of the AFC Asian Cup on Sunday.

Syria dominated proceedings but just couldn't put the ball into the back of the net.

Palestine were down to ten men in the 69th minute when Muhammed Saleh received a second yellow card.

Syria didn't capitalise on the advantage as it ended 0-0, an important point earned for the Palestinians.

Al-Sharjah Stadium, Sharjah, UAE - 6th January 2019.

1. 00:00 Palestine captain Abdalltif Al Bahdari enters press room

2. 00:09 SOUNDBITE (Arabic): Noureddine Ould Ali, Palestine head coach:

"We have built something from this match. We wanted to do some changes during the match today, but things happened and forced us not to do so when we were given three yellow cards and a red card, so our plan changed, and we could not make any substitutions."

3. 00:55 SOUNDBITE (English): Bernd Stange, Syria head coach:

"You have always the same problem if you face teams who are defending with ten players, or at least nine, they are staying very very compact. How can you run with big speed in this group of players? The only result you will achieve are counter-attacks, and maybe an easy goal for the opponents. It's very very difficult to play this kind of teams and I think we tried everything to come over the wings, to open, to come behind the defenders."

4. 01:26 Palestine defender Muhammed Saleh in mixed zone

5. 01:30 SOUNDBITE (Arabic): Muhammed Saleh, Palestine defender:

(About the red card he was shown)

"Our ambition was to win and have the three points so we could please our people. I am sorry for the sending off, it was the wrong decision, 100 per cent the decision was not right, and the referee took a fast decision, he could have made a better decision, and the video is there to see."

6. 02:00 Palestine defender Musab Battat talking with reporters in mixed zone

3. 02:03 SOUNDBITE (Arabic): Musab Battat, Palestine Defender:

"Every match has its own situations, and for the next match we will see the instructions of the coaching staff and perform their plan."

7. 02:19 SOUNDBITE (Arabic): Tamer Seyam, Palestine midfielder:

"I was expecting our team to win, because we played a good game, but the sending of affected us. We could have done better, but we are happy, we played well with ten men, and I think the result was good."

8. 02:49 SOUNDBITE (Arabic): Tamer Seyam, Palestine midfielder:

"I think today's football have a lot of surprises, and we saw in the World Cup that teams left early. Palestine cane be a surprise in this Asian Cup. We have to finish the group stage and the next match will be against Australia and we will do all we can to qualify."

9. 03:09 SOUNDBITE (Arabic): Abdalltif Al Bahdari, Palestine captain:

"All the players today were real men. We managed to close the spaces in the midfield as I told you yesterday. We managed to get one point, and today we played in the second-half for 30 minutes with ten men and we managed to cover the absence, and I hope we can correct our mistakes in the second match against Australia."

10. 03:44 SOUNDBITE (Arabic): Abdalltif Al Bahdari, Palestine captain:

"For sure Australia are one of the best teams, and the defending champions, so I hope we can perform at our best."

SOURCE: SNTV

DURATION: 03:56

A leading FIFA representative tried on Friday (2nd October) to defuse a row between Israel and Palestine.

SCRIPTING INFORMATION:

A Palestine proposal to throw Israel out of FIFA for obstructing the free movement of players and equipment was dropped at the FIFA Congress in May.

Instead, they settled for the establishment of a monitoring group led by South African businessman and human rights activist Tokyo Sexwale.

But a recent move to switch Palestine's forthcoming World Cup qualifier against Saudi Arabia from home soil to neutral ground has caused anger in the region.

Palestine's FA has protested both to FIFA President Sepp Blatter and to Asian Football Association chief Sheikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa.

Sheikh Salman was one of the three pivotal figures, along with Michel Platini and Kuwait's Sheikh Ahmad al-Fahad al-Sabah, who made the decision in favour of the Saudis.

Blatter has made it a priority to try and build lasting trust between Palestinian and Israeli officials.

To that end, Sexwale proposed a symbolic game between Israel and Palestine.

Tel Aviv, Israel. 2nd October, 2015.

1. 00:00 Chairman of the FIFA Monitoring Committee Israel and Palestine, Tokyo Sexwale, walking in corridor.

2. 00:13 Sexwale walking into press room.

3. 00:21 Cameraman.

4. 00:24 SOUNDBITE (English): Tokyo Sexwale, Chairman of the FIFA Monitoring Committee, Israel & Palestine

(Is he still considering running for FIFA president?) "I have issued a statement when the rumours started following the meeting with the FIFA draw in St. Petersburg. But I will apply my mind. There is a still a deadline I think it ends on the 26th of this month? Yes. But we still have some days and I am sure that in the right time I will make a pronouncement."

5. 00:53 Cameraman.

6. 00:57 SOUNDBITE (English): Tokyo Sexwale, Chairman of the FIFA Monitoring Committee, Israel and Palestine:

(How does he think FIFA was damaged by the criminal investigation opened into Sepp Blatter?) "I think for the purpose of this meeting I would like refrain from talking about the problems of FIFA. They are there, you know them and there will be relevant people to deal with that. But one hopes that at the end of the day for the sake of football again as it is played by small children in the dusty bowls of Chad or outside of the earthquake of Nepal, as it is played by Messi and Ronaldo, I hope that in the interest of the beautiful game FIFA will find a resolution to it's problems. I have opinions, very strong ones, but I don't think this press conference is for that."

7. 01:44 Cameraman.

8. 01:49 SOUNDBITE (English): Tokyo Sexwale, Chairman of the FIFA Monitoring Committee, Israel and Palestine:

"This is our meeting number one. We are all engaged and I find that all parties are interested in finding solutions that will make the play an enjoyment of football to be fulfilled. The question we are still going to be discussing is the one of the territories, and we are mindful that that question if resolution, belongs to political authorities, both here in Israel and elsewhere because this question has been internationalised. But I want to make it very clear, it is not a FIFA issue it is not our problem sitting inside this meeting, but it is a problem that is confronting football, and we have to come to a resolution of that problem, advising the relevant political authorities both here in Israel and elsewhere, to assist us in resolution of that problem."

9. 02:55 Cameraman.

10. 02:57 SOUNDBITE (English): Tokyo Sexwale, Chairman of the FIFA Monitoring Committee, Israel and Palestine:

"I proposed the meeting between the national team of Israel and the national team of Palestine to take place in South Africa. It is my proposal - not at today's meeting, but I proposed it at our meeting in Zurich, what we call the kick off meeting that was chaired by Mr. Blatter. So I hope that when all is said and done, there will be that kind of game because we had used football quite a lot in other situations to bring friendship and peace among people."

11. 03:34 Sexwale, Ofer Eini, head of the Israeli Football Association and Jibril Rajoub, head of the Palestinian Football Association.

Palestine prepare on the eve of their 2019 Asian Cup Group D qualifier against Bhutan in Dura, Palestine on Monday (9th October).

SCRIPTING INFORMATION:

Palestine will go a long way to clinching their place in the 2019 Asian Cup if they beat Bhutan on Monday in Group D.

At the halfway point of qualifying, Palestine have won all three games - including an impressive 2-1 victory over Oman.

Both teams play on Monday.

If second-placed Oman beat the Maldives, which is likely after their 5-0 win over the same country last month, and Palestine also get three points, the Palestinians will have a nine-point lead over third-placed Maldives with three games to go.

The top two teams from each group go through to the 2019 Asian Cup finals in the United Arab Emirates.

Bhutan are bottom of the group with zero points - they conceded 14 goals to Oman.

The Palestinians have been slowly rising up the FIFA world rankings since 2015 and that victory over Oman in September saw them jump from 116 to 94, overtaking the Omanis in the process.

Palestine made their first appearance in the Asian Cup finals in 2015 - but finished bottom of their group with zero points.

Al Bireh International Stadium, Dura, Palestine. 8th October 2017.

1. 00:00 Various Palestine training.

2. 00:50 SOUNDBITE: (Arabic) Abdelnasir Barakat, Palestine coach:

"Playing in our own country and in front of our own fans is an important factor. We hope there will be a large number of fans as there were in Bhutan, the Bhutanese were loud. Therefore, we hope the Palestinian fans will come en masse. I mean the first time we qualified for the Asian Cup we qualified through the Challenge Cup, but this time, could be the first time through direct qualification. The goal before we started was to get the 10 points in group one, and thankfully we got these points, which are essential for us to improve our International and Olympic points."

3. 01:22 Various Palestine training.

SOURCE: SNTV.

DURATION: 01:47.

Saudi Arabia head coach, Herve Renard, said on Monday that his side's Group D 2022 World Cup Asian qualifier against Palestine, in Palestine, on Tuesday is "a historic game."

"It's a pleasure for us to be in Palestine for this game. Football needs to be like that," added Renard, who led Morocco to the 2018 World Cup in Russia.

In the past, national teams from the Arab world have refused to play in the Occupied Palestinian Territories as it involved requesting permits from the Israeli government, a country they do not officially recognise.

This move has been widely seen as a sign that Saudi Arabia have begun normalising relations with the Israeli state.  

But for Palestinian players this means they can finally play on home soil against teams from the Arab world.

"It's great for our fans to see their national team play at home. This is how it should be for us Palestinians," said Palestine defender Abdelatif Bahdari.

Al-Ram, West Bank, Occupied Palestinian Territory. 14th October 2019.

1. 00:00 Saudi Arabia head coach Herve Renard arrives for presser

2. 00:07 Presser

3. 00:17 SOUNDBITE (English): Herve Renard, Saudi Arabia head coach:

"It's a pleasure for us to be in Palestine for this game. Football needs to be like that and it's of course a historic game so it will be a very tough game. First of all because Palestine beat Uzbekistan in this group (Group D) already. So the level of this team is very good. We know tomoroe it won't be easy. It will be a tough game but we'll be ready for this important game."

4. 01:03 Journalists

5. 01:08 Presser

6. 01:13 Renard leaves presser

7. 01:19 Palestine presser with head coach Noureddine Ould Ali and defender Abdelatif Bahdari

8. 01:24 SOUNDBITE (Arabic): Abdelatif Bahdari, Palestine defender:

"We as players are happy to play on home soil in front of our fans. It's great for our fans to see their national team play at home. This is how it should be for us Palestinians. This is a Saudi team that has played in the World Cup previously, and their presence here is testament to our right to play in our home ground."

9. 01:49 Presser

10. 01:54 Exterior shots of Millennium Palestine Ramallah, where the presser was held

Reaction after Palestine thrashed Bhutan 10-0 in their Group D 2019 AFC Cup qualifier at the Dora International Stadium in Hebron, Palestine, on Tuesday (10th October).

SCRIPTING INFORMATION:

Palestine qualified for the AFC Asian Cup after demolishing Bhutan 10-0 at the Dora International Stadium in Hebron on Tuesday.

The host team were in total control of the match after scoring six goals in the first half.

Palestine and Oman had assured a top-two finish in Group D with two games to spare.

In the other game of Group D, Oman defeated Maldives 3-1.

The 2019 AFC Asian Cup starts on 5th of January.

Dora International Stadium, Hebron, Palestine - 10th October 2017

1. 00:00 Fireworks

2. 00:06 Various of fans celebrating the victory

3. 00:15 SOUNDBITE: (Arabic) Abdel Nasser Barakat, Palestine coach:

"The team played very well. They wanted to achieve a great result to bring happiness to Palestinians. The game was played at home in front of our fans. We also wanted to restore our confidence, and show a good performance to reflect our progress in the past two and a half years. At the end, we would like to thank all Palestinian people and media for the their support."

4. 00:38 SOUNDBITE: (Arabic) Abdelatif Bahdari, Palestine defender:

"The team played with responsibility today. We scored ten goals! I would like to thank the Palestinian fans for supporting us. Our victory is dedicated to the Palestinian people, and we hope we will achieve more success in the Asian Nations Cup at the UAE (United Arab Emirates)."

5. 00:53 Various of fans celebrating outside the stadium

6. 01:06 SOUNDBITE: (Arabic) Mohammad Darwish, Palestine striker:

"We won 10-0. The team played very well. Our team is always progressing. We have been training very hard."

7. 01:18 SOUNDBITE: (Arabic) Mohammad Abu Khamis, Palestine:

"We played the Bhutan with respect even, though their recent scores were very bad. We played well and we had a big victory. We qualified for the Asian Cup of Nations 2019. This was the dream for every Palestinian".

8. 01:36 Various of fans celebrating

SOURCE: SNTV

DURATION: 01:55

STORYLINE:

Palestine trained in Abu Dhabi on Monday, preparing for their AFC Asian Cup Group B meeting with already qualified Jordan.

They may currently sit bottom of the group standings, but a win over Jordan would see the 'Lions of Canaan' progress to the knockout stage for the first time in what is their second appearance in the Asian Cup finals.

Noureddine Ould Ali's side have one point from their two group matches - the same as Syria, with whom they shared a goalless draw in the two nations' opening fixture.

Australia - 3-0 winners over Palestine in the second round of group fixtures - are second on three points, with Jordan top on six following back-to-back victories.

Even a draw may be enough to see Palestine through to the round of 16, with the four best third place finishers from the six groups also advancing.

SHOTLIST: Mohammed bin Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi, UAE. 14th January 2019.

1. 00:00 Various of Palestine players warming up

2. 00:14 Various of goalkeepers in training

3. 00:33 Training

4. 00:38 Midfielder Oday Dabbagh

5. 00:48 Players dribbling

6. 00:56 SOUNDBITE: (Arabic) Oday Dabbagh, Palestine midfielder (rough translation):

"We have done our utmost preparation for the next match, because tomorrow's match will be a very crucial match for our team. We have prepared well. As you said, there is a special flavour in this match between two friendly countries - Palestine and Jordan - but I hope it will be a good match and that we will manage the win and the qualification, God willing, as one of the best third place teams, or even second best."

7. 01:26 Palestine head coach Noureddine Ould Ali

8. 01:32 SOUNDBITE: (Arabic) Noureddine Ould Ali, Palestine head coach:

"For us, we will play against Jordan as if we are playing in the final of the tournament, for the coach but mostly for the players. I spoke to my players after the match against Australia. All the players spoke and expressed their readiness to make the necessary sacrifice to qualify, which would be historical."

9. 02:08 Various of players warming up

SOURCE: SNTV

DURATION: 02:27

Palestine speak ahead of their World Cup qualifier in Jordan against Saudi Arabia on Sunday (8th November).

SCRIPTING INFORMATION:

Saudi Arabia manager Bert van Marwijk spoke to the press in the Jordanian capital, Amman, on Sunday for Monday's (9th November) World Cup qualifying match against Palestine.

The teams played in Jeddah in June in the first of their two scheduled Asia zone World Cup qualifiers, with the Saudis winning 3-2.

The match in Amman was originally supposed to be played in Palestine, but Saudi Arabia had refused to travel to the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

Saudi Arabia top group A with 12 points after four matches, while Palestine are third with five points.

Amman, Jordan 8th November 2015

1. 00.00 SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Abdel Naser Barakat, Palestine's National team Manager:

"Everybody knows the difficulties we are facing. We try however in difficult situations to do our best to bring happiness to the Palestinian people. We are aware that the match will be very difficult but we will depend on the Palestinian will to face those difficulties."

2. 00.25 SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Abdel Naser Barakat, Palestine's National team Manager:

"We will miss Mathias (Jaduehawa) because he received two yellow cards. Mohammed Eid and Mosaab Al Battat will also be absent through injury. We have enough players in the team to replace them."

3. 00.47 SOUNDBITE: (Arabic) Abdel Al-latef Al-Bahdawi, Palestine's National team captain:

"Tomorrow's match is crucial match for us. Winning the match will put us in a good position to compete with Saudi Arabia and UAE for the lead. We will do our best to win the match tomorrow. Our morale is very high. We are not suffering of any injuries to mention. I say again tomorrow's match is crucial. It will give us the chance of competing with Saudi Arabia and UAE."

4. 01.12 Barakat and Al-Bahdawi walk out of presser

Reaction from the Palestine and UAE players on Tuesday (8th September) following the goalless draw between the two sides in their World Cup qualifier.

Al Ram, Palestine - 8th September 2015

1. 00:00 SOUNDBITE (Arabic), Tawfiq Ali, Palestine, goalkeeper:

"Emirate's is a very strong team that boasts many top players. The match was difficult. We played defensively."

2. 00:20 SOUNBITE (Arabic) Tamer Salah, Palestine defender:

"This is the first match on Palestine soil. This is a great achievement. We are happy with the support of our fans. The result is acceptable because the Emirate team is very strong."

3. 00:37 SOUNBITE (Arabic) Imad Zatara , Palestine attacker:

"This is not the old Palestinian team that was just happy with taking part in tournaments. We thankfully managed to gain a point from Emirate which is a very strong team. Our form is improving every year."

4. 00:57 SOUNBITE (Arabic) Mohamed Abdulrahman, Emirate attacker:

"Excellent first test. Everything was good from atmosphere, hosts, ground and fans."

5. 01:09 SOUNBITE (Arabic) Mohamed Ahmed, Emirate defender:

"The match was good. We had a warm reception. We were a bit worried before, but we hope now to play all our matches in Palestine. The result is acceptable to both teams."

6. 01:33 SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Habib Fardan Abdulla, Emirate midfielder:

"We are happy to be in Palestine and thank the Palestinian people for their worm reception and good support. We wish them the best of luck."

Palestine finalised their preparations ahead of their AFC Asian Cup 2019 opener against Syria.

The 'Lions of Canaan' ranked 99 in the world, are making their second appearance at tournament following their debut in the competition in Australia in 2015.

Palestine's target will be to better their 2015 showing, when they exited the competition at the group stage in their maiden appearance.

Captain Abdelatif Bahdari believes the team has learnt from three years ago and now have more professional players and a new coaching staff.

Palestine have been drawn in Group B alongside defending champions Australia, Jordan and Syria.

Sharjah, UAE. 5th January 2019.

1. 00:00 Pan from flag to the pitch

2. 00:12 Various of Palestinian team in huddle

3. 00:30 Players passing the ball

4. 00:37 Palestine head coach Noureddine Ould Ali

5. 00:43 SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Noureddine Ould Ali, Palestine head coach:

"They have the right to dream , and have confident to win the match, and I think we have the same right to perform well and have a good result."

6. 01:12 Palestinian captain Abdelatif Bahdari jogging

7. 01:18 SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Abdelatif Bahdari, Palestine captain:

"The situation is deferent from 2015 final, as we did not have enough experience, and we did not prepare well, and now we learnt from our mistakes from 2015. Now we have professional players and ten players played in this tournament, and we have a good coaching staff, and hope we can perform better this time

8. 01:51 Various of training

9. 02:03 SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Abdelatif Bahdari, Palestine captain:

" For sure Omar Al Somah and Omar Kharbin are among the best strikers in Asia and everyone respect the two, but we have good defenders , and we have a plan from our coach how to stop those players, and if we control the midfield we will be able to stop them, and we will attack them with a counter-attack, and close all the spaces to stop them."

10. 02:37 Various of training

Jibril Rajoub, the head of the Palestine Football Association, said on Monday (25th May) that he was pressing on with his bid to oust Israel from FIFA, despite efforts from its president to diffuse the crisis.

SCRIPTING INFORMATION:

The head of the Palestine Football Association said on Monday he was pressing on with his bid to oust Israel from FIFA despite efforts from its president to diffuse the crisis.

Jibril Rajoub said he "will not withdraw the motion and will not accept any compromise and any side deals."

FIFA President Sepp Blatter was recently in the region on a self-described "mission of peace" to resolve tensions between the two sides.

Palestinians say Israeli security restrictions are limiting the movement of Palestinian players, visiting teams and equipment.

They have put forward a proposal to suspend Israel from world football at the 209-nation FIFA meeting on 29th May.

Blatter opposes the suspension vote, saying Israel has not broken FIFA statutes in a political issue outside of football's control.

Al-Ram, West Bank. 25th May, 2015.

1. 00:00 Wide of Jibril Rajoub, the head of the Palestine Football Association arriving.

2. 00:08 Various of news conference.

3. 00:17 SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Jibril Rajoub, head of the Palestine Football Association:

"This time we presented a motion to suspend Israel's membership of FIFA, if it doesn't commit to solve those three problems; the movement (the limitation of movement), the manifestations of racism and fascism that they have and the third thing, the presence of five clubs in the occupied Palestinian territories."

4. 00:46 Cutaway.

5. 00:51 SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Jibril Rajoub, head of the Palestine Football Association:

"This is our position and this is our motion, and we will not withdraw the motion, and will not accept any compromise and any side deals."

6. 01:04 Wide of news conference

7. 01:09 SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Jibril Rajoub, head of the Palestine Football Association:

"The Israeli federation is a partner of the Israeli government in these crimes, by their constant defence and justification of the Israeli violations. And they did not even condemn some of the violations that there is no argument about it, that it is not related to the sports, and it is only related to an official terrorism practiced by Israel."

8. 01:47 Cutaway.

9. 01:52 Sign.

10. 01:57 Various exteriors of building.

SOURCE: SNTV.

DURATION: 02:07.

STORYLINE:

The Palestine Football Association on Saturday (25th August) lashed out at FIFA for banning the association's president, Jibril Rajoub, from games for a year for inciting hatred and violence toward Argentine icon Lionel Messi.

SCRIPTING INFORMATION:

The head of Palestinian soccer said on Saturday he will appeal FIFA's year-long ban on him for inciting against Argentine superstar Lionel Messi as part of his campaign to stop Argentina's national team from playing in Israel.

Jibril Rajoub told The Associated Press he was consulting with his lawyers and will "use every possible opportunity" to fight the decision. He spoke by phone from China and said he planned a press conference upon his return to Ramallah later this week.

Rajoub's Palestine Football Association has lashed out at the decision by international soccer's ruling body as "absurd and lacking in evidence."

FIFA said Jibril Rajoub "incited hatred and violence" by calling on soccer fans "to target the Argentinian Football Association and burn jerseys and pictures of Lionel Messi."

Argentina eventually abandoned the trip to Jerusalem for a game against Israel in June.

Argentina Foreign Minister Jorge Faurie said at the time players felt "totally attacked, violated" after images emerged of the team's white and sky-blue striped jerseys stained with red paint resembling blood.

FIFA imposed the minimum ban allowed in its disciplinary code for inciting hatred or violence.

It prevents Rajoub from attending matches or engaging with the media at or near stadiums on match days for a year.

Rajoub, who is also head of the Palestinian Olympic Committee, was fined 20,000 Swiss francs ($20,300 USD).

The punishment marks an embarrassing blow for Rajoub, who has long lobbied FIFA to sanction Israel for what he called its restriction of movement of Palestinian players.

Israel has rejected the Palestinian campaign as an attempt to politicize sports and has cited security concerns as the reason behind the occasional restrictions placed on Palestinian players, particularly in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip.

Rajoub's organisation accused FIFA of bowing to pressure of "interest groups" and Jewish West Bank settlers who sought to punish Rajoub for his comments.

Ramallah, West Bank. 25th August, 2018

1. 00:00 Various, Ramallah street shots

2. 00:25 SOUNDBITE (English): Mohammed Ajabi, Ramallah resident:

"It's wrong, definitely wrong and I think there were unfair dealing with him in such ways, yes. If he has something to say, something that goes against his country, like stopping the Argentinian team from coming to play against the Israelis, it's his right to say so and it's his right to stand and protest, if that's his way of protesting, that's his way. He didn't do it violently, there was no violence, it was all peaceful, there were words, there was no physical thing where he was violent or he burned, or he would fight any Israelis, he just spoke what was on his mind and the Argentinian team listened, they didn't come and they didn't play so why should he be punished for doing something that he thinks is right, it's his freedom, it's his will, when it comes to freedom of speech you know everyone should be able to say what he wants, nothing more."

3. 01:17 More street shots

4. 01:37 Exterior of Palestine Football Association

5. 01:42 Sign on building reading Palestine Football Association

6. 01:47 Establishing shot of Susan Shalabi in office

7. 01:52 SOUNDBITE (English): Susan Shalabi, AFC Executive Committee member:

"We think it's absurd and in-proportionate because you know giving the maximum punishment over an infringement that was only based on media reports by a party that was not neutral, we think this was biased. But than in the end we will respect, as always, we respect the FIFA statutes, we respect the FIFA institutions but we also retain our rights to follow this issue in all the legal venues that are available to us."

8. 02:24 Various of Susan Shalabi working

9. 02:39 SOUNDBITE (English): Susan Shalabi, AFC Executive Committee member:

"Certainly there are political dimensions to this decision. First it was launched by the Israeli football association who everybody knows is in dispute before FIFA with the Palestine Football association and also a settler group was also involved, which is the Palestine media watch which everybody knows is a settler group which is biased in its reports and the evidence that was used by the disciplinary committee to evaluate the situation was only the evidence presented by these two, who had interest in the conviction of General Rajoub."

10. 03:17 Susan Shalabi sitting at her desk

11. 03:22 Sign reading Palestine Football Association

SOURCE: SNTV

DURATION: 03:27

Jordan head coach Vital Borkelmans said nobody believed his side could finish top of AFC Asian Cup Group B on the back of three clean sheets, which is exactly what 'The Chivalrous' achieved following Tuesday's 0-0 draw with Palestine.

While Jordan's place in the knockout stage was assured before the match, Palestine will have to wait and see if they advance as one of the tournament's four best third-place finishers.

SHOTLIST: Mohammed bin Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi, UAE. 15th January, 2019.

1. 00:00 Jordan head coach Vital Borkelmans walks into news conference

2. 00:08 SOUNDBITE (English): Vital Borkelmans, Jordan head coach:

"For me, I'm happy as a coach. Why? We have seven points, three clean sheets. When we started the tournament, (if) you say we have this after three games, you say you are crazy. But now in this moment, my guys, you saw a little bit more today. (It was a) Little bit stressed, but they tried to play football on the ground and they tried to play outside, but that's not important."         

3. 00:42 News conference

4. 00:48 SOUNDBITE (English): Vital Borkelmans, Jordan head coach:

(On preparing for the round of 16):

"For me, every game, my players prepare for physical(ly) and mental(ly). Against who we are playing, we will see. But they have a lot of confidence, they have a lot of skills. They make good in a positive way. I hope we can do something in the next round. And then, the players they make a good job. For a coach, it's very important that now (we are) working to the next game."      

5. 01:23 News conference with Palestine head coach Noureddine Ould Ali

6. 01:26 SOUNDBITE (Arabic): Noureddine Ould Ali, Palestine head coach:

"First of all, we are satisfied and happy. We needed to score one goal to qualify. Yesterday, our destiny was up to us, but today our destiny is up to the results of another four games. We hope at this point that we will be able to qualify for the next round."      

7. 01:55 SOUNDBITE (Arabic): Musa Al Taamari, Jordan midfielder:

"Our victories against Australia and Syria were very important. They helped us to top the group with six points. We must prepare now for our next match in the round of 16 because it will be very important. Today's match is over. We must prepare for the next round. We hope to reach the final."

8. 02:14 SOUNDBITE (Arabic): Musa Al Taamari, Jordan midfielder:

"We are happy to face any team. We respect them all. We will show respect to our next opponent and hope our performance on that day will make the other team respect us too."

9. 02:24 SOUNDBITE (Arabic): Musa Al Taamari, Jordan midfielder:

"The Jordanian team has always performed well in every tournament they took part in, but they went through some difficulties in the last few tournaments. We hope the next tournament will be great for our team."

10. 02:38 SOUNDBITE (Arabic): Ahmed Abdelsattar, Jordan goalkeeper:

"The players fulfilled their duty today. We topped the group. Although the coach rested several important players, the team performed well today. We were hoping to win today so we could win the group with nine points from three matches, but we are still happy with what we did. We hope the next matches will be even better."

11. 03:01 SOUNDBITE (Arabic): Ahmed Abdelsattar, Jordan goalkeeper:

"The whole team played well from our defence to our goalkeeper, to everyone. We are looking forward to facing our next opponent."

12. 03:15 SOUNDBITE (Arabic): Baha Abelrahman, Jordan midfielder:

"The whole team performed well. We passed the group stage. We will concentrate now on preparing for our next match on the 20th of the month. We will concentrate fully on winning the title to please our supporters. We hope to win the three points."

13. 03:33 SOUNDBITE (Arabic): Baha Abelrahman, Jordan midfielder:

"This is the result of the hard work of the staff. We hope to continue to keep clean sheets to the end of the tournament."

14. 03:43 SOUNDBITE (Arabic): Baha Abelrahman, Jordan midfielder:

"We didn't come here just to show our face, but we came with the intention of winning the title."

15. 03:52 SOUNDBITE (Arabic): Abdelatif Al Bahdari, Palestine captain

"Most of our players are young and they will hopefully take part in the next tournament. We still need to work on many aspects. we can't play as a unit in Palestine because we don't have a home stadium. We had a 20 days training camp in Qatar. There are many difficulties facing our team. We can only gather as a group outside our country. Some of our players are from Chile, some of them were forbidden from entering Ramallah, some are forbidden from entering Gaza and some are forbidden from seeing their own families. Our players are heroes because they performed well here despite our difficult situation. We hope to learn from this tournament so that we could do even better in the next one. We hope to qualify with this point we gained today."

16. 04:42 SOUNDBITE (Arabic): Mohammed Saleh, Palestine defender:

"We achieved two points that is good but not enough to qualify. We were hoping to qualify, we did our best, but we couldn't achieve our goal. We will wait now for other results (in other groups) to see whether we can still qualify as one of the best third teams."

SOURCE: SNTV

DURATION: 05:10

STORYLINE:

The Jordan squad continued their preparations by training at the Mohammed Bin Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi on Monday, ahead of their final Asian Cup group match against Palestine on Tuesday.   

Jordan have already advanced to the knockout round as Group B winners, with two victories from two.

They pulled off one of the biggest wins in Asian Cup history by beating defending champions Australia 1-0, followed by a 2-0 win over Syria.

Coach Vital Borkelmans, who dismissed a media allegation that Jordan would allow Palestine to win to aid the latter's qualification hopes, said his side are playing for their country and they have a huge belief in themselves heading into the next stage.

Palestine currently sit bottom of the group, having picked up just a single point in their 0-0 draw with Syria.

SHOTLIST: Mohammed Bin Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi, UAE - 14th January 2019.

1. 00:00 Various of players running as a group

2. 00:31 Midfielder Musa Al-Taamari running with his teammates

3. 00:41 Various of goalkeeper Amer Shafi performing drills with his teammates

4. 00:58 SOUNDBITE (Arabic): Amer Shafi, Jordan goalkeeper:

(on tomorrow's match against Palestine)

"For sure the preparation for the match will strong, the concentration will be big for the match. As everyone knows the Palestinian team is one of the teams that are close to us, the players have strong connections between them but in the end everyone will want to win the match. Our players will be up to the responsibility, as you know in matches players have high concentration to bring happiness to the country and players. God willing we will prevail."

5. 01:41 Team training

6. 01:46 Various of Midfielder Musa Al-Taamari training

7. 01:57 Various of training

8. 02:12 Jordan coach Vital Borkelmans talking to players

9. 02:22 SOUNDBITE (English): Vital Borkelmans, Jordan coach:

(on tomorrow's match against Palestine)

"I was never afraid as a player and also as a coach. I have never afraid about other the teams. You must give the confidence to your own team. I give a lot of confidence to my players, but all the respect for the other teams. I have a lot of respect for the other teams. When you are going up against other teams and you afraid, you lose always.  We try to play nice games. We try to play for chances and we go for chances and then you must always have luck about this chances coming to a goal. I will say also that tomorrow will be the same, like as we did against Australia and against Syria. For me, tomorrow will be a very big day that we can show the people that we are ready, also for the next rounds."             

10. 03:21 Press conference in progress

11. 03:26 SOUNDBITE (English): Vital Borkelmans, Jordan coach:

(Q: There were some rumours indicating that the AFC would enlist the support of a FIFA committee to oversee the match tomorrow because of fear of match fixing in Jordan and Palestine match (suggestion Jordan will let Palestine win so Palestine can qualify). What the impact of these rumours on the your delegation, and on the plans of the coach more specifically?)

"I think that the rumours are typical question about the media. I never come to make rules for what we will do on the pitch. They do it for the country. And we always when we play against each other, then you have a lot of respect. Like tomorrow, that is for us also like that. You can't do it this on this way on this tournament. You must believe in yourself. That is also what we are doing with my team."        

12. 04:06 Various of players warming-up

SOURCE: SNTV

DURATION: 04:26

Defending champions Australia beat Palestine 3-0 in the AFC Asian Cup on Friday to get their 2019 campaign back on track.

Australia registered their first win of the tournament in the Group B encounter.

The win puts 'the Socceroos' second in the group, behind Jordan, who are on six points.

Next up for Australia is Syria, who have a point, while Palestine will take on Jordan.

SHOTLIST: Rashid Stadium, Dubai, United Arab Emirates. 11th January 2019

1. 00:00 Australia head coach Graham Arnold enters the presser

2. 00:10 SOUNDBITE: (English) Graham Arnold, Australia head coach (on the comfortable win against Palestine):

"Palestine, pretty much, played, tried to play the same game-plan as Jordan did, we obviously haven't been that long together, that the players, we didn't have a long camp like some of the other countries so it's taken, it took a bit of time to get things going but, as I said after the Jordan game, when you lose, you learn. We learned a lot about that game, and we went on the training pitch, we worked hard, to fix that issue, if teams played with a packed defence and, now it's all about you know, the Syria game, we will get back to the training field, we will recover well, and we will go out in the Syria game with all guns blazing, expecting to win."

3. 01:03 SOUNDBITE: (English) Graham Arnold, Australia head coach (on the level of Asian football getting more competitive):

"Asian football is getting stronger and stronger. You look at the countries like the UAE, and Vietnam and Thailand and these countries that, they're putting a lot of money into development of players and putting a lot of money into training facilities, that's one thing in Australia that we are lacking. We are lacking funds, we lack money, we lack great training facilities, we've only got a ten-team league, but the Asian teams are definitely catching up and making the gap smaller and smaller."

4. 01:45 Palestine head coach Noureddine Ould Ali enters the presser

5. 01:52 SOUNDBITE: (Arabic) Noureddine Ould Ali, Palestine head coach (on the loss to Australia):

"We were aware of the problems Australia can create and so we adopted a defensive plan and relied on counter-attacks. This worked well for us for about 20 minutes and then a couple of individual errors cost us the match. Overall, we still have a chance of making the next round and we will look ahead to Jordan and see what we can do to get the points."

SOURCE: SNTV

DURATION: 02:54