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By • Hanu Trivedi
Twitter- @afterasensxo
Iraq isn’t the first country that comes to mind while talking about football, many do not even believe that it is a playing nation, but that isn’t the case. We teamed up with Soccer Iraq, Iraq’s biggest football site, to give you a peek into the world of Iraqi football.
Football as a unifying bond
In contemporary times, the impact of football in Iraq has been indescribable. Despite everything in the country, the people come to football matches, forgetting their struggles and enjoying the scenes. Shouting, booing, laughing, carefree. This was especially true in the Saddam era; a stadium was the only place in the nation where the citizens were free to express their emotions.
The 2007 Asian Cup win was arguably Iraqi football’s biggest triumph, but it was also the most unexpected, and by far the most difficult, in more than one way. The country was all over the place at the time, there was a war going on, people being killed every day, you name it. Understandably, this affected the team a lot. One footballer was kidnapped by gunmen, the coach received numerous death threats, fans were targeted…
The team did not have a coach until two months before the competition, they couldn’t train in their own country, and were much inferior to all the other sides. To make matters worse, the team did not have an optimum number of kits to play in, and had to order a new set before the semi-final.
Despite all odds and struggles, Iraq won the tournament unbeaten. The team, which featured Sunnis, Shias and Kurds beat Australia, South Korea and Saudi Arabia, something the Iraqis couldn’t imagine before the tournament. The people celebrated and partied in the streets, forgetting who they were or what they were doing. The whole of Iraq, Shias, Sunnis, Kurds, everyone was jumping in the streets in joy.
Future of Iraqi football
According to SoccerIraq, the nation has a bright future. This is mainly because the youth teams of the country have done quite well in recent years. Most recently, they reached the knockouts in the U17 World Cup in India. The U23 team won the 2014 Asian Cup, and the U20s reached the semis of the World Cup in 2013.
Iraq’s brightest talent, Mohammed Dawood was one of the 60 players in The Guardian’s Next Generation 2017 list, which talked about the future superstars of world football. Dawood also had a stellar U17 World Cup, scoring 3 goals in as many appearances.
The main problem with all this seems to be the Iraqi FA, which is totally incompetent. The last League season took nearly a year to finish, and with about a month left, the organization still hasn’t spoken a word about the league format, or about the number of teams playing.
This is directly in relation to the future of Iraq, as the young talents do not get proper playing time, and when they do, it is at 50 degrees Celsius. Despite the awful FA, improper league and everything going on, Iraq still manages to produce some great players, and will hopefully keep doing so.
Football for the Iraqi Child
Pretty sure you won’t disagree when I say that it is harder for the average Iraqi child to play football than it is for us. Living in developed nations with good parks, academies, we actually have it quite good.
Not so much for the kid in Iraq, playing with his mates in the sweltering heat, unsure of his safety or his surroundings. Well, we do have something in common though. Kids in Iraq also idolize the Messis, Ronaldos, Bales, just like us.
Young players in Iraq who are good enough, join “Sha’abiya” teams, similar to Sunday League teams, but for children. Scouts of major clubs are often doing their job in these games, and many stars of Iraqi football started off for such a team.
The image above is a great representation of what football means to an Iraqi child. The children are playing in a barren field, with oil wells burning close to them. This isn’t a one-off picture either, there are hundreds of such images, proving that football is indeed more than just a game for the Iraqis.
Great achievements with not so great conditions.
Other than the impact it has on people, Iraqi football has one more very special trait to it. That is how it always manages to perform well even under the most adverse circumstances.
Many complain that the England team has it hard because the Premier League has no winter break, which is a pointless statement. If that were to be the case, many national teams around the world would not even play the game. Iraq has to play all its games in neutral territory, the players are worried about their families back home, the league is in shambolic condition. Sometimes the players are seen sleeping in airports due to the incompetency of the FA.
Yet after all these hardships, struggles, problems, Iraqi football continues to punch above its weight, something truly special. The 2007 Asian Cup, the 2013 U20 World Cup, and all such stories prove this.
Udinese left-back Ali Adnan, legends, Younes Mahmoud and Hussein Saeed are just a few of the names who have made their country proud, while facing considerable difficulties.
All this goes to show that despite a war, despite of a dysfunctional league, despite bad footballing infrastructure, there is nothing holding you back if you have the passion and desire.
Football is beautiful.
About SoccerIraq
SoccerIraq was founded in 2015 by Laith Al Naeme, an avid supporter, with the aim of giving Iraqi fans a proper and easy-to-read news service in English. Over the past two years, the site has kept growing and is now the top Twitter page and website for Iraqi football news in English. The site has conducted interviews with many professional footballers and is relied on by major news organizations around the world like Marca, Daily Express and more.
Since 2016, the website began extensive coverage of domestic football in Iraq, providing highlights, match reports and features. The site also includes a page on Iraqi football history, which includes information going back to 1948!
SoccerIraq recently agreed a partnership deal with Al-Shorta SC, one of Iraq’s top clubs that sees it taking care of the club’s social media and website. The deal is an important step in promoting Iraqi football to the world, and also making it easier to follow in Iraq itself.
SoccerIraq links:
www.socceriraq.net
https://twitter.com/SoccerIraq
All the information and insights in this article were provided by the website. The writer compiled and presented it in form of an article.