(Reuters) – Australia will donate part of their match fees from a World Cup 2026 qualifier against Palestine in Kuwait City on Tuesday towards humanitarian efforts in Gaza.
The Socceroos’ donation will be a five-figure sum and will be made through the Professional Footballers Australia Footballers’ Trust. The donation will be provided to Oxfam and will be matched by Football Australia.
The match between Palestine and Australia had been scheduled to be played in the West Bank, but officials switched the venue to the Jaber Al-Ahmad International Stadium in Kuwait after Israeli forces attacked Gaza in retaliation for an Oct. 7 assault by Hamas militants on southern Israel.
Israel says Hamas killed 1,200 people, and took about 240 hostages. Gaza health authorities say more than 11,000 Palestinians have been killed in the Israeli counteroffensive.
Australia, ranked 27th in the world and fourth in Asia, top their qualifying group following a 7-0 win over Bangladesh. World number 96 Palestine are third after drawing with Lebanon.
(Reporting by Nick Mulvenney and Aadi Nair; editing by Miral Fahmy)
