It was an important day yesterday, as the Palestinian national soccer squad faced off against a pick-up team of players from the West Bank cities of Bethlehem and Hebron.

The game was a warm-up match for a momentous encounter Sunday, when Jordan's Prince Ali and Sepp Blatter, president of FIFA, the international soccer federation, will be among dignitaries watching as the Palestinians take the field against neighbouring Jordan in the first internationally recognized Palestinian home game.

Because of security restrictions and inadequate facilities, the Palestinians had had to play their home games in other countries, including Qatar and Jordan.

That will change with Sunday's friendly match.

Yesterday's contest played out under sunny skies in mild temperatures at the vastly enlarged and wholly refurbished Al-Ram Stadium, effectively a brand new complex that rises above the streets of Al-Ram 100 metres or so from the bleak concrete security barrier that separates the West Bank from Jerusalem.

FIFA itself financed the upgrade, which cost more than $4.2 million, says Malek Barghouti, director of infrastructure for the Palestinian Ministry of Youth.

With seating for 6,500 spectators, a cantilever roof that projects over the western stands and a playing surface of new artificial turf, the structure is minute compared with soccer stadiums in many countries, but it now meets FIFA's minimum standards for international play - and that's a first for the Palestinian territories.