Basra, January 08 (QNA) – Iraq Football Association President Adnan Dirjal said that hosting the Arabian Gulf Cup football tournament (Khaleeji 25) lifted the ban imposed on Iraqi stadiums.
He added that the occurrence of some organizational errors does not obscure the great effort made by the organizing committee over several months of work, with the aim of producing the event in an appropriate and representative manner of both the organizing committee and the participating teams.
Dirjal said in a press conference held today that hosting Khaleeji 25 is Iraq’s first experience in hosting an important football event in 44 years, therefore it is only natural that some mistakes will take place, especially that no major sporting event seem to lack them.
The President of the Iraq Football Association apologized for any shortcomings, saying that Iraq must prepare for the future and address those shortcomings, which it already started doing since the second day of the tournament, explaining that this will be a useful lesson for the future to be learned from. Dirjal stated that everybody’s focus must not be on the negative, but instead on what’s positive about this tournament, which is bringing the sisterly countries of the region together in Iraq.
He pointed out that the number of official accreditations for the organizers, media representatives and volunteers amounted to more than 7,000 accreditation, which is a very large number compared to previous editions, stressing at the same time that Basra’s hotels could not accommodate the large numbers of fans visiting during the first few days of the tournament.
As for the Iraq national team and its chances in the tournament, Dirjal said that there is great confidence in Iraq’s players and its fans, who will be an additional factor in achieving victories and strongly competing for the title.
(QNA)