May 10 – Iraq will take a step closer to a return to hosting international football in their country today. FIFA’s Congress will vote on a proposal from its Council to allow friendlies in the country. Iraq has most recently been playing its home World Cup qualifiers in Doha, Qatar.
AFC president Shaikh Salman has offered support for matches to return to Iraq but sees it as a two-stage process.
The AFC will review the Iraq Football Association’s request to host two matches between Air Force Club and Al Zawraa in the AFC Cup later this month in Iraq.
“Staging the two matches between Al Zawraa and Air Force Club in Iraqi stadiums will be important in proving Iraq’s capability to organise and host international matches with efficiency and safety. We are sure that this step will have a positive impact on the future of the game in the country,” said Salman.
FIFA Council said that provided the situation remains stable and that “several adjustments are brought into place in the proposed venues (Erbil, Basra and Karbala)”, then the proposal for international friendly matches to return to Iraq can go to the vote at Congress.
Iraq has frequently had to play their home games on neutral territory. In the 1980s it was due to the Iran-Iraq war. The country still qualified for the 1986 World Cup in Mexico as well as three Olympic Games.
In 2002 World Cup qualification Iraq hoisted games against Iran, Bahrain and Thailand in Baghdad, but Saudi Arabia refused to play there. In 2003 the war in Iraq forced games to be played in Jordan, Syria, Qatar and the UAE.
Between 2009 and 2013 Iraq were intermittently allowed to play goes at home before the security situation and nationwide violence forced FIFA to bar international firendlies and competition in the country.
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