BEIRUT: Part of the proceeds from Australia’s 2026 World Cup qualifying match against Palestine is to be donated to humanitarian efforts in Gaza, the BBC reported on Friday.
Australia’s coach Graham Arnold admitted that preparations for the game on Nov. 21 in Kuwait have been “quite stressful,” in the wake of the violence in the Gaza Strip.
The Socceroos’ five-figure donation will be matched by Football Australia.
The forthcoming fixture has been moved to Kuwait after it was scheduled to be played in the West Bank.
Lebanon and Palestine played out a goalless draw at Sharjah’s Khalid Bin Mohammed Stadium on Wednesday afternoon.
The last time Palestine played at home was in 2019 when they faced Saudi Arabia.
Arnold called the current conflict “horrific,” and added: “With everything that’s going on in the Middle East at the moment, it’s been quite stressful for me and just making sure that everything (regarding preparation) is great.
“What we do have control over is our performance and playing against Palestine, and going out and getting the job done for Australia.
“Obviously we are very sympathetic … with what’s going on, but again, it’s a game of football and that brings a lot of joy to everybody.”
Australia have topped their qualifying group after thrashing Bangladesh 7-0, and Leicester defender Harry Souttar, who opened the scoring for his side in that clash, says the team must be professional in Kuwait and put aside their emotions.
He said: “Obviously we know kind of what’s going on for both sides; it’s horrendous.
“I’m not going to stand here and give a political view, but all I can say is we will be going into that focusing on purely the game and nothing else.
“We know that Palestine are going to be right up for it. We know that they’re going to be playing for a lot more than just football.”
Australia to donate part of Palestine World Cup qualifier proceeds to humanitarian efforts in Gaza
https://arab.news/2ny3g
Australia to donate part of Palestine World Cup qualifier proceeds to humanitarian efforts in Gaza
- Preparations for game on Nov. 21 ‘quite stressful,’ says Socceroos’ coach Graham Arnold
- Five-figure donation will be matched by Football Australia
Bottom club Wolves shock high-flying Aston Villa at Molineux
- Both sides struggled in a dour first half but Wolves seized the initiative 16 minutes into the second period when Gomes gave it a surprise lead
WOLVERHAMPTON, England: João Gomes scored his first Premier League goal of the season and Rodrigo Gomes added a second in stoppage time to give bottom club Wolverhampton a shock 2-0 win over high-flying Aston Villa on Friday.
It was only the second win in the league for a club that remains six points adrift at the bottom of the table and is almost certain to be relegated.
The result was a bitter blow to Villa’s Champions League aspirations and a slap in the face for coach Unai Emery, who was bidding to record his 100th victory in charge of the Birmingham club.
Both sides struggled in a dour first half but Wolves seized the initiative 16 minutes into the second period when Gomes gave it a surprise lead.
Adam Armstrong deftly cushioned a long pass right into the path of the onrushing Gomes and his superbly struck shot gave Emiliano Martínez no chance.
Villa pushed forward as the game went on and it was caught out in stoppage time when Wolves doubled its lead on the break, Rodrigo Gomes doing the damage.
Villa has won only one of its last five league games. The result leaves it 10 points behind leader Arsenal and five behind second-placed Manchester City, having played a game more than both.
Its next two matches are against the clubs immediately below it in the table, Chelsea and Manchester United.
