The Palestinian Football Association ( ar, الاتحاد الفلسطيني لكرة القدم) is the governing body for

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

Palestine __NOTOC__ Palestine may refer to: * State of Palestine, a state in Western Asia * Palestine (region), a geographic region in Western Asia * Palestinian territories, territories occupied by Israel since 1967, namely the West Bank (including East ...

, and for the men's

Palestine national football team The Palestine national football team ( ar, منتخب فلسطين لكرة القدم), controlled by the Palestinian Football Association, represents Palestine in association football. The squad is governed by the Asian Football Confederation ...

and the

Palestine women's national football team The Palestine women's national football team represents Palestine in international women's football competitions. The team was founded by Samar Araj in 2003. Its first game was a match against Jordan in 2005, which it lost 1–0. The women's tea ...

. The federation dates back to 1928. The Arabs of Palestine established a separate federation to represent them.

History

Palestinian Jewish formation

The Mandatory Palestine Football Federation was founded in 1928 by Jews living in the British Mandate of Palestine. Its national team, Mandatory Palestine national football team, participated in qualifying rounds for the 1934 Football World Cup and

1938 FIFA World Cup The 1938 FIFA World Cup was the third edition of the World Cup, the quadrennial international football championship for senior men's national teams and was held in France from 4 June until 19 June 1938. Italy defended its title in the final, beat ...

. In 1948 it changed its name to

Israel Football Association The Israel Football Association (IFA; he, ההתאחדות לכדורגל בישראל, ''HaHit'aḥdut leKaduregel beIsrael'', literally "The Association of Football in Israel") is the governing body of football in Israel. It organizes a variet ...

Palestinian Arab formation

A Palestine Football Association representing the Palestinian Arabs was formed in 1962 and has been a member of the

Union of Arab Football Associations The Union of Arab Football Associations (UAFA; ar, الاتحاد العربي لكرة القدم; french: Union des associations de football arabe) is the governing body of football in the Arab League. Established in 1974, UAFA has 22 member as ...

since that was formed in 1974.

Palestinian Authority

It was accepted as a member by FIFA in 1998, after the creation of the

Palestinian Authority The Palestinian National Authority (PA or PNA; ar, السلطة الوطنية الفلسطينية '), commonly known as the Palestinian Authority and officially the State of Palestine,

. The PFA has also been a member of the

Asian Football Confederation The Asian Football Confederation is the governing body of association football, beach soccer, and futsal in some countries/territories in Asia and Oceania. It has 47 member countries most of which are located in Asia. Australia, formerly in ...

(AFC) since 1998, in the

West Asian Football Federation The West Asian Football Federation (WAFF; ar, اتحاد غرب آسيا لكرة القدم, Ittiḥād Gharb Āsiyā li-Kurat al-Qadam), founded in 2001, is an association of the football playing nations in Western Asia. Its founding members a ...

. On 11 February 2011, the PFA formed the first women's league.

Divisions

The football division system is parted into two: the

West Bank The West Bank ( ar, الضفة الغربية, translit=aḍ-Ḍiffah al-Ġarbiyyah; he, הגדה המערבית, translit=HaGadah HaMaʽaravit, also referred to by some Israelis as ) is a landlocked territory near the coast of the Mediter ...

and

Gaza Strip The Gaza Strip (;The New Oxford Dictionary of English (1998) – p.761 "Gaza Strip /'gɑːzə/ a strip of territory under the control of the Palestinian National Authority and Hamas, on the SE Mediterranean coast including the town of Gaza.. ...

. There is a men's

West Bank Premier League The 2010–11 season marked the creation of the first professional league in the territories and saw high-profile signings for many clubs. Most notably Fadi Lafi (Hilal Al-Quds), Hernán Madrid (Wadi Al-Nes), and many Arab citizens of Israel wh ...

and a men's

Gaza Strip League Gaza Strip Premier League ( ar, الدوري الممتاز الفلسطيني لقطاع غزة) is one of the two top divisions organized by the Palestinian Football Association. The other is the West Bank Premier League. It has been disputed ...

as well as a ''West Bank Women's League''. Each league has 12 clubs.

Management

* President: General

Jibril Rajoub Jibril Mahmoud Muhammad Rajoub ( ar, جبريل رجوب, born 14 May 1953), also known by his kunya Abu Rami, is a Palestinian political leader, legislator, and former militant. He leads the Palestinian Football Association and the Palestine Ol ...

* First Vice-President: Ibrahim Abu Saleem * Vice-President: Susan Shalabi, Ziab El Khatib * General Secretary: Omar Abu Hashia

References

External links

Official website
(in Arabic)

at AFC site

at the FIFA website Football in the State of Palestine

Football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

Sports organizations established in 1962 {{Palestine-org-stub