Iraqi League finally kicks off in Baghdad

Baghdad, Reuters, By Mussab Al-Khairalla

Iraq's domestic soccer league kicked off Wednesday for the first time since American-led forces invaded the country to oust dictator Saddam Hussein.

The opening fixture resulted in a 5-1 victory for al-Shurta, which means 'The Police' in Arabic, against Naft-ul-Junoob at a small stadium in one of the most dangerous areas of Baghdad.

With three government ministries and the police academy close by -- all regular targets for insurgents firing mortars -- security was visibly stepped up before kickoff and all of the approximately 100 fans were body-searched.

Last year, the Iraqi soccer association attempted to revive the league, but crowd trouble and a lack of resources meant it was swiftly canceled.

The relaunch of the league is a major boost for Iraqi sport, long crippled by security fears and a lack of funding.

Soccer -- Iraq's most popular sport -- will bring a welcome relief to many Iraqis trying to escape the bombs and shootings that have taken such a heavy toll on the country since the fall of Saddam.

"We are trying to make our country feel normal again. We insisted that the championship couldn't be delayed any further," said Basim al-Rubaie, vice-president of the Iraqi FA.

The start of the league follows closely on from Iraq's superb showing at the Athens Olympics when they reached the semi-finals of the soccer tournament, narrowly missing a medal.

"I've been waiting for this championship for such a long time," said Hasan Kathim. "Now I can watch my team play and take my mind off Iraq's troubles, even if it's only for 90 minutes."

Source: Reuters

Iraqi League kicks off tonight

Johannesburg, by Maithem Al Anbari
Iraqi Football League resumes todaay fter being stopped for more than a year. Today, tomorrow and after tomorrow Iraqis will watch their favourite teams competing in the first football league after the war.

Despite all the problems the war-torn country is going through and the threats of attacking any of the stadiums by insurgents, Iraqi clubs will try to show some talents on the fields.

Thirty two clubs representing different parts of Iraq participate in this league. Kick off match between Naft Al Janoub (South Oil Company) Club and Al Shurta (Police) Club due to start today afternoon.

The remaining matches for the first round will be:

Thursday 21 Oct 2004:
El Quwa El Jawiya -- : -- Zakho
Pers -- : -- El Sulaimaniya
El Mosul -- : -- Kirkuk
Duhok -- : -- Sirwan
El Sina'a -- : -- El Istiqlal
El Zawraa -- : -- El Kadhimiya
El Jaish -- : -- Babil
El Shu'la -- : -- Karbalaa

Friday 22 Oct 2004:
Salladdine -- : -- Dyala
Balad -- : -- El Naft
El Kahrabaa -- : -- Samarra
El Karkh -- : -- El Talaba
Misan -- : -- El Kut
El Minaa -- : -- El Diwaniya
El Nasiriya -- : -- El Basra

64 medals for Iraq

Johannesburg, by Maithem Al Anbari

Obtaining 64 medals, Iraq's delegation to the 10th Pan-Arab Games in Algeria proved that it came to achieve something and not just for a symbolic participation.

The final list of the Arab teams showed that Iraq obtained 7th position after winning 12 gold, 19 silver and 33 bronze medals. According to the Pan-Arab statistics, this participation is considered the most fruitful for Iraq despite all the difficulties that this war-torn country is going through.

The list was topped by Egypt with 170 medals. Second position was for the host country Algeria with 229. Tunisia became third with 142, Syria took the fourth place with 83, Morocco came as fifth after winning 97; KSA achieved 54 medals (male participation)and obtained the sixth place.

Jordan, the host of the previous Pan-Arab Games grapped 8th position with 99 medals. The other teams were UAE with 19 medals, Yemen got 9 and Lybia had 10.

The Pan-Arab Game closing ceremony were on October 6th. The next tournament will be held in Lybia in 2008.

End of Iraq's dream

Johannesburg, by Maithem Al Anbari

The exit of Iraq’s hard-tackling centreback Ali Hussein Rahima led to the downfall of the former champions in their Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Youth Championship quarter-final match against Syria at the Perak Stadium on Sunday.

Ali was sacked in the 35th minute for an off-the-ball incident on Syria’s Majed Al Haj. Incidentally, Majed, who had Ali close on his heels from the kick off, went on to score the solitary goal of the match in the 74th minute.

It was the first goal four-time champions Iraq had conceded in the tournament and with it ended their dreams of getting among the four Asian sides to qualify for the Youth World Cup Finals in Amsterdam next year.

A dejected Iraqi coach Hadi Mutnash said: “It is very negative to lose a key defender so soon into the game. It affected our play as most of the players didn’t feel comfortable and suffered a drop in confidence after Ali’s exit,” he said.

But Hadi conceded that Syria were the better organised side.

Iraq to last eight

Johannesburg, by Maithem AlAnbari

Iraq performed another impressive performance and beat Yemeni counterpart 2-0. Iraq had already booked their place in the knockout stage of the AFC Youth Championship 2004 after scoring their second straight win in Group D with a 2-0 victory over Thailand at the Perak Stadium on Tuesday. Iraq due to meet Syria in the quarter final stage tomorrow.

Iraq stun champions Korea

Ipoh, Malaysia, Footballasia

Iraq announced their challenge at the AFC Youth Championship 2004 with a 3-0 thumping of reigning champions Korea Republic in their opening Group D match on Sunday.

Thailand also got off to a winning start in the group with a 2-1 win over Yemen in Sundayâ??s other Group D fixture.

Heavy rain in Ipoh made playing conditions at the Perak Stadium difficult but Iraq adapted better and went ahead three minutes before the break through Mouslim Almas.

Almas added his second of the game in the 84th minute before substitute Farid Ghadban rounded out the scoring in injury time.

"It's a very good thing for us to get three points from our opening game especially against a strong team like Korea," said Iraq coach Hadi Mutanish. "It was an important win and will give us a good push for our upcoming games against Thailand and Yemen."

Meanwhile, talented young Thai striker Teeratep Winothai scored a brace to lift his side to victory against Yemen.

The former Crystal Palace youth player put the ASEAN side ahead after just three minutes and netted his second from the penalty spot in the 39th minute, just two minutes after Yemen skipper Abdo Al Edresi had equalised.


Source: Footballasia

Iraq and Uzbekistan to meet in Amman

Tashkent, FootballAsia.com

Next month’s crucial World Cup 2006 qualifier between Iraq and Uzbekistan is to be played in the Jordanian capital of Amman.

The top two sides in Group 2 are to meet on October 13 in a game that is likely to decide the team that will advance to the next round of the World Cup qualifying tournament. Given the tenuous security situation in the Iraqi capital of Baghdad, all of Iraq’s home games have been scheduled to be played outside the country but the match originally slated for Doha, Qatar will now be played instead in Jordan.

The two teams drew 1-1 in Tashkent earlier this year but Uzbekistan currently lead the group by two points after winning their subsequent three matches with 3-0 wins at home and away against Palestine, and a 1-0 victory at Chinese Taipei.

Iraq scored a pair of big wins against Chinese Taipei but were held to a 1-1 draw by Palestine in Doha early in their campaign.

Iraq and Uzbekistan also met in Chengdu during the Asian Cup 2004 in July with the Uzbeks winning 1-0 although both teams progressed to the quarter-finals.

Only the top team in the group will progress to the final round of qualifiers so the outcome of the game on October 13 should prove especially important for both teams. A draw might prove enough for the Uzbeks to claim top spot with only a home match against minnows Chinese Taipei to come.

Source: Footballasia

Iraqi grassroots game gets helping hand

London, FootballAsia.com

The British government is to lend a helping hand to the Iraq Football Association as they look to rebuild grassroots football in their war-torn nation.

Working together with the English and Iraqi FAs, British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw launched the 'Football United' inititive on Wednesday which will provide training courses and local tournaments for budding Iraqi footballers.

'Football is by far the most popular sport in Iraq,' said Straw in a statement. 'This is a wonderful opportunity to assist with the development of youth football in Iraq and to lay the foundation for continued and stronger ties between the British and Iraqi sporting communities.”
According to Reuters, four Iraqi coaches have completed the English FA's international coaching course, which should be of great benefit to talented young players in the Middle Eastern nation.

Source: FootballAsia.com

Song & Goals

Among the sorrow and sadness of Iraqis due to the occupation, insurgency and terrorism, Iraq's Olympic team headed to Athens to tell the whole world that Iraq is here...

This song is a present to Iraq's Olympic Team. The singer is Iraqi, his name is Mohammed Abdul Jabbar. The song include some of the Iraqi goals during the olympics. Song's title is: Ya Hella IbMunitakhabneh which means: Welcome our Team.

It talks about the joy that has filled the hearts of Iraqis and smile drawn on their faces as a result of the Olympic team's achievements.