talian Olympic Football Team visits Beit-lahm

Italian Olympic Football Team visits Beit-lahm

2011/06/12

During their visit to Palestine, the Italian Olympic football team expressed their feelings on solidarity with the Palestinian children who were playing in the entrance of Aida refugee camp during their visit to Beit-lahm. The Italian team, in Palestine to meet the Palestinian Olympic football team in celebration of the opening of a new stadium in Dura city in the southern West Bank, visited Bethlehem yesterday and played a football match with several children from Aida refugee camp. Mario Biconsatti, the deputy of the Italian international Olympic committee told PNN that makes him happy to see Italian players playing with Palestinian children from the refugee camps. He said that football is a way to show solidarity and to help make peace for Palestinian children. He said their visit to Palestine is a solidarity visit to show that football can unite people. He added that he has visited Palestine before and he thinks that every time he comes he sees more improvement in Palestinian football. The team visited Aida refugee camp and played for ten minutes with the teenagesrs and children. The players expressed their happiness while they were playing with these children, who showed their interest in football. The game ended 0-0 and the Italian team couldn't beat the children of Aida camp. After the game the people in Aida camp celebrated the Italian team, saying it is important to receive such international teams. They gave them the Palestinian keffiyeh and said they hoped that they would come back again and spend more time in the camp, in order to train them how to play football better. Italian player, Vlatarzinno, told PNN that he's happy to be in Palestine and learn about the Palestinian situation, hoping that their visit will encourage the Palestinian children to play more football. He also said he hopes that they will have better playing grounds, instead of playing in the street. He said that he noticed how the children have not lost hope. He says he sees that by seeing them loving playing football. Amjd Abu Aker, 15, who was one of the players to play the Italian team expressed his happiness at playing with the Italian team, saying that he will never forget the team and the game, even if it was just for a few minutes. He said he feels that this game will help him in his future to be a professional player. Before starting the match the team visited the camp and heard explanations from Munther Amira telling them the situation of the camp in all aspects: political, economic and social, saying that the Palestinian refugees have been suffering from 1948 until today. He added that the wall makes the situation more difficult. He said he hopes that the international community will end the Palestinian suffering by helping to establish a Palestinian state. He also hoped that the Italian Olympic team will send a message to the Italian people, telling them about the real situation in Palestine in order to pressure their government to work for peace by pressuring the Israeli government to implement UN resolutions and the international vision of establishing the Palestinian state. The Italian team will face the Palestinian Olympic team on Sunday at 3 p.m. in Dura, near Hebron.