Palestine's national under-17 football team will hold a training camp in the Maldives for the second year in a row as it prepares for the AFC U17 Asian Cup qualifiers, the Football Association of Maldives (FAM) said on 24 October.
This year's camp will be held in K. Guraidhoo, the association said. The squad is due to arrive on Tuesday, 27 October, and leave on 5 November after a camp of about 10 days.
During the visit, Palestine will play two friendly matches against the Maldives under-17 team, FAM said.
In a statement, FAM thanked the government and K. Guraidhoo Council for their support in arranging the camp. The association said the camp and the friendlies would give the Maldivian players valuable experience and further strengthen ties between the two countries.
Qualifiers in November
Palestine will travel directly from the Maldives to the qualifiers. In the draw held by the Asian Football Confederation in Kuala Lumpur on 27 August, Palestine were placed in Group E with India, Malaysia, Singapore and Guam.
The Maldives were drawn in Group B with Thailand, Iraq, Hong Kong and Chinese Taipei, with the group's matches to be played in Thailand. Only the seven group winners advance to the finals, to be held in Uzbekistan in May 2027.
Second visit
Palestine's under-17 team first trained in the Maldives in November 2025, after the government agreed to a request from the Palestinian side to host the camp. The sports ministry said at the time that the government had allocated about MVR 546,000 for the visit.
The two sides played two friendlies at the National Football Stadium in Malé during that visit, and President Dr Mohamed Muizzu hosted a luncheon in honour of the Palestinian team on 18 November 2025.