Terrible luck for Dhurgham. He needs another surgery for his ACL which he tore last fall. He'll be out for another 6 months meaning it will be very difficult for him to recover and be match fit next January for the Asian Cup. He's such a talented player but he had such bad luck. Tears his ACL, stopping him from leaving Rizespor when they were relegated, manages to recover but by then his team had chosen not to register him for the remainder of the season so he can't build any fitness, now he gets another long term ACL injury a few months before the summer transfer window making it unlikely he'll be able to move. Even when he recovers, it's tough to say if he'll ever be the same again.
Upcoming friendlies: 27.4 Iraq - Lebanon in Karbala 7.5 Iraq - Palestine in Basra Possible Guinea friendly as opener of Najaf Stadium, yet to be confirmed by FIFA Source
IFA member Mohammed Jawad Al-Sayegh: "We will appeal with FIFA to postpone the lifting of the ban on Iraqi stadiums." Meanwhile, Abdul Khaliq Masoud wants to move all games to Arbil because he doesn't want to pay any fees to the Ministry of Sport for using the new stadiums. It's clearly all down to the FA being angry at all the work that Abdul Hussein Abtan has done. He has made huge strides for football in Iraq by himself that the FA would never do and he's making them look like the corrupt scum that they are. Like an angry child they want to tear down all the work he's doing. They are an absolute disgrace and FIFA is sleeping.
Apparently our FA contacted Vahid Halilhodzic to sign the coach for the 2019 Asian Cup now that he's available.
Is it a coincidence that these rumors are coming out as the elections are coming up? We've already seen this movie. They "approach" a few foreign coaches when fans are fed up with the loser currently in charge of the NT, then they turn around and say they don't have money, sack the current coach and hire another loser. It's no wonder we haven't achieved anything of note since our fluke Asian Cup win in 2007. At this point I feel like our only chance is that Younis Mahmoud can get into the FA and bring others like him in. Hopefully he wins in the coming elections. It's a shame and a disgrace how Adnan Drjal was thrown out of the elections though.
Our decline is so clear now. Our 2007 generation covered it up with raw talent, but now they're gone and it immediately shows. We need a foreign coach for the NT, but that doesn't change the fact that we have an amateur league, no proper youth development, no planning. Even if we get a decent coach, it will only mean short term success. We need to produce more talents. And for that, we need to completely overturn our football system. There is no way this FA will be able to do that
Ministry of Youth & Sports is behind the stadiums. Our federation is corrupt, their budget goes to waste.
They have lots of money but it goes directly into the pockets of the FA members. They regularly send 60+ officials flying first class to every friendly meanwhile they refuse to pay a decent salary for a good coach or even cover the flights of our international players. Zico is still owed $350K to this day. Like Suren said, the stadiums are a government project. Literally every good thing in Iraqi football lately has been directly from the Minister of Youth & Sport, Abdul Hussein Abtan.
Decent group, we should come 2nd. Problem is, if we come 2nd that would mean we would most likely play Saudi in R16 and South Korea in QF which I highly doubt we would beat both of them. If we manage to win the group then we would be favourites to reach the semi-final due to way the tournament bracket is. So that Iran game is going to be crucial.
Jiloan Hamad is open to representing Iraq. He was not selected for Sweden's world cup team and he's being considered as a reserve in case of an injury. He's been Hammarby's best player this season and would definitely be a big boost to our team, but I'm not sure I want a guy who prioritized the Swedish team and is using us as a back up choice.
Reports that Osama Rashid will get a call up for the NT. Much needed player, and so deserved. He is probably one of the best Iraqi players around
Following the results of the Iraqi FA elections today, Abdul Khaliq Masoud has been re-elected as IFA President. Younis Mahmoud lost out, with Sharar Haider taking the role of First Deputy Prime Minister. Second Deputy Prime Minister will be Ali Jabbar. The elected IFA members are, Malih Mehdi, Kamil Zughayir, Yahya Zughayir, Yahya Kareem, Saad Malih, Ali Asadi, Ghalib Al Zamily, Falah Moussa, Ihsan Al Zrayjawy. Huge surprise , of course they would do everything to keep Younis out. Surprising that they even let him run, unlike Nashat. Meanwhile, CAS rejected Adnan Drjal's appeal against the way the election has been organized.
Well the FA decided to bring in a Serbian coach and it will most likely be Slavoljub Muslin: Opinions?
Good news if he will be our next coach. Eriksson is dedicated, has experience in Asia and has proven to be a succesful coach.
Today was the press conference for the appointment of Katanec. Next week is the friendly against Kuwait. Hopefully a good game
Yaser who didn't play a game for a League Two team since July 2017 vs Osama, one of the standing out players in Portugal Premier League This is all on the filthy FA.. ******** all of them