Bethlehem – Ma’an – The head of Europe’s football governing body visited the West Bank on Wednesday in a continuing Mideast tour where he has promoted the sport as peace building tool.

UEFA President Michel Platini toured the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem in the morning before heading to Ramallah for talks with caretaker Prime Minister Salam Fayyad.

Platini was in Israel on Tuesday, where he met with President Shimon Peres. In December 2006, Platini and Peres were brought together a team of Israeli and Palestinian players for a Peace Match against a team from Andalusia, Spain.

Football promotes such values as “peace, tolerance and friendship," the sporting official told Peres.

Football is wildly popular in the occupied Palestinian territories. The European leagues in particular draw huge Palestinian audiences.