Category: Corruption

Corruption, Expat, interview

Exclusive Interview With Gonzalo Rodriguez: “You must invest in good coaches and provide the youth teams with coaches that can develop the future of Iraqi football”

I have been following the Iraqi national team, as I always do, from Mexico. One of the reasons Iraq has been on a poor run recently is that there have been too many changes to the staff and coaches in a short period of time, which results in confusion and difficulties for the players in understanding the coaching styles. Making such big changes to a … Continue reading Exclusive Interview With Gonzalo Rodriguez: “You must invest in good coaches and provide the youth teams with coaches that can develop the future of Iraqi football”

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2022 World Cup Qualifiers, Corruption, Expat, Iraq, Jiloan Hamad

Jiloan Hamad: “I Want To Serve Iraq But My Principles Mean I Cannot Accept The Way The Team Is Currently Managed”

Exclusive Iraq Football Podcast Interview with Jiloan Hamad Welcome back to our website, Jiloan. Congratulations on your move to Orebro. How have you found this season at your new club? It’s been good. I’m happy to back in Sweden and enjoying playing my football. It was a tough start to the season because of injuries but I’ve been playing a lot of matches lately and … Continue reading Jiloan Hamad: “I Want To Serve Iraq But My Principles Mean I Cannot Accept The Way The Team Is Currently Managed”

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2022 World Cup Qualifiers, Corruption, Expat, Iraq, Iraq FA

Why Is Nobody Talking About The Quota The Iraqi FA Has Placed On Expat Players In Matchday Squads?

Whilst Katanec announces his squad for the upcoming World Cup Qualifiers with Iraq taking on Hong Kong in Basra, then playing Cambodia away from home, some Iraqi fans will be asking why there is such a shortage of expat players present the squad. Firstly, lets examine the term ‘expat’ – The Iraqi FA seem to see their own players who happened to be born outside … Continue reading Why Is Nobody Talking About The Quota The Iraqi FA Has Placed On Expat Players In Matchday Squads?

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Asian Cup 2019, Corruption, Expat, Features, Guest Writer, Iraq

5 Talking Points From The 2019 Asian Cup: Painful Reflection On Iraq’s Gradual Decline As An Asian Footballing Force

Thrown into an impossible task, Katanec took a broken squad and created a unit capable of challenging the best in Asia. No doubt, Iraq could have performed better, but given the circumstances and expectations around the national team only a few months ago, there are still plenty of positives to take away from the four games played in the 2019 Asian Cup.  We have listed … Continue reading 5 Talking Points From The 2019 Asian Cup: Painful Reflection On Iraq’s Gradual Decline As An Asian Footballing Force

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Abdulla Al-Kalisy, ahmed yasin, Corruption, Expat, Features, Hassanane Balal, Iraq, Youth Football

5 Reasons Why Iraqi Expats Are Suffering Under The Current FA & National Team

Ahmed Yasin was the first Iraqi player to feature regularly in the national team despite playing in a foreign country his entire career. Thanks to the excellent work of Iraqi Professional Players, an organisations that scouts the world for Iraqi expat footballers, Yasin was able to make his first team debut for Iraq and has continued to feature for his country since. There have been … Continue reading 5 Reasons Why Iraqi Expats Are Suffering Under The Current FA & National Team

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Corruption, Features, Guest Writer, Iraq, Youth Football

Feature: The Lack Of Planning In Iraq’s Youth Team Is Ruining The National Team’s Future

There has been a noticeable level of success achieved by the Iraqi national team at the youth level over the previous two decades. Iraq has previously finish 4th in Athens 2004 Olympics, 4th in the U23 World Cup 2013, amongst other successes with the U20 and U17 sides, both on a continental and international level. Contrastingly, the results of Iraq’s senior national team have failed … Continue reading Feature: The Lack Of Planning In Iraq’s Youth Team Is Ruining The National Team’s Future

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Corruption, Hassanane Balal, Iraq, Iraq FA

“The Iraqi FA Keeps 60% Of The Annual Budget As Salaries” – Younis Mahmoud

As the dust settles from Iraq’s atrocious performance against UAE in the Gulf Cup semi final loss, more and more people are starting to speak out against the appalling corruption that is holding back Iraqi football. Early in the week, Iraqfootball.me was highly critical of the Iraqi FA’s treatment of the ‘Golden Generation’. However, after yesterday’s result, Younis Mahmoud has launched a devastating attack on … Continue reading “The Iraqi FA Keeps 60% Of The Annual Budget As Salaries” – Younis Mahmoud

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Corruption, Features, Hassanane Balal, Iraq, Iraq FA, Nashat Akram

How Our FA Has Failed Iraqi Football & The ‘Golden Generation’

Nashat Akram and Noor Sabri were recently featured on Abu Dhabi Sport to discuss Iraq’s hopes of hosting the 24th edition of the Gulf Cup. With the president of Iraq’s FA, Abdul Khaliq Masood, also present, the show proved to be a tense affair with some heated dialogue and interesting points raised. Amongst the areas of discussion, questions were asked of the Iraqi FA’s poor … Continue reading How Our FA Has Failed Iraqi Football & The ‘Golden Generation’

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Corruption, Features, Hassanane Balal, Nashat Akram, News

Nashat Akram & Hawar Mulla Mohammed Invited By FC Twente To Begin Their Careers As Football Directors

Cult heroes, Nashat Akram and Hawar Mulla Mohammed, have both embarked on a new quest to return Iraqi football to its golden era. Known for their tremendous footballing skills on the pitch, fans can now look to Nashat and Hawar to guide Iraqi football once again, just as they did whilst they were donning the famous green jersey. Both players have been viewed as footballing … Continue reading Nashat Akram & Hawar Mulla Mohammed Invited By FC Twente To Begin Their Careers As Football Directors

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Ameen Alkailany, Corruption, Expat, Hassanane Balal, interview, Iraq, Other Sports, riyadh al azzawi

Interview: Riyadh Al Azzawi – Returning To Iraq & What Hosting KGP: Baghdad Means For Iraqi Football

The world famous Iraqi kickboxer, Riyadh Al Azzawi, has just returned from his long overdue trip to Iraq. It was the first time he has returned home since leaving as a youngster. He travelled as part of KGP: Baghdad, who organised a massive event in Al Shaab Stadium. Plenty of UK based athletes traveled to Baghdad in order to perform in front of an entire … Continue reading Interview: Riyadh Al Azzawi – Returning To Iraq & What Hosting KGP: Baghdad Means For Iraqi Football

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