Just this past yesterday (26), the Iraqi Football Association officially announced that two key home matches of the World Cup qualifying round of 12 scheduled to be played in their home country will have to be relocated to the international city of Doha in Qatar.
According to the spokesman for the Iraqi Football Federation, Ahmed al-Musawi, the Iraqi Football Federation invited FIFA to send a delegation to Iraq last month to visit the Basra Stadium in the hope of breaking the ban on Iraqi matches so that the Iraqi soccer team can play in front of their home. FIFA's visit was in response to an agreement between the Iraqi sports minister and FIFA president Gianni Infantino, who promised to lift the ban on Iraqi tournaments as soon as possible.
After a thorough review of the Basra Stadium, including safety measures and field facilities, the FIFA mission gave positive feedback. However, when the Iraqi Football Association (IFA) proposed with high hopes to arrange the two matches against Syria on November 11th and South Korea on November 16th to be played at the Basra Stadium, FIFA's decision dashed their hopes. After a discussion at the meeting, FIFA did not approve the Iraqi FA's request and the Iraqi team had to continue to use Doha as their temporary home.
Mousavi also said that Iraq will face the UAE on March 24 next year in their final home game of the 12-team tournament. Whether or not the Iraqi team will be able to return to their homeland will depend on the outcome of the next FIFA meeting. The Iraqi Football Federation will continue to work tirelessly to have the ban on Iraqi matches lifted as soon as possible.
