FOREIGN Minister Shaikh Khalid scored a diplomatic goal when he presented the US Secretary of State with a Bahrain national soccer jersey. He handed over the shirt to Dr Rice at the conclusion of a Press conference at the Ritz-Carlton Bahrain Hotel and Spa, following meetings with foreign ministers from the GCC, Egypt, Jordan and Iraq.

The gesture drew the applause of the attending media and laughs from a visibly surprised Rice.

"Before we leave, most of you don't know that the Secretary of State and myself have a common hobby - we both love American football," Shaikh Khalid told reporters."

Turning to Dr Rice, he said: "But here we have a different kind of football that we call soccer.

"Let me present you with the shirt of our national team."

The shirt had the lettering "Condi" and the number "621" printed on the back, a reference to the '6+2+1' talks between six GCC countries, Egypt, Jordan and the US. Dr Rice accepted the gift and revealed Shaikh Khalid was a Dallas Cowboys fan.