2023-12-11T07:32:05+00:00
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/ On Monday, the Erbil Club administration accused the federal government in Baghdad of double standards by depriving Erbil and Kurdistan clubs of the financial grant approved by the Iraqi Council of Ministers, amounting to 4 billion dinars for each club playing in the Iraq Stars League.
The President of the Iraqi Football Federation, Adnan Darjal, announced on 10/21/2023 that the government had allocated an amount of four billion dinars annually to each professional league team that did not have financial funding, expressing his hope that Kurdistan Region teams would be included in this grant.
Erbil club member Musa Mohsen told Agency, “Erbil is a big club and does not deserve this suffering and the decline in the results of its football team in the Iraqi league,” noting that “if the club decides to leave the league with the clubs of the Kurdistan Region, there will be paralysis in the Iraqi league, but out of our keenness to make it successful.” We stayed in the Iraqi League and endured all these difficulties in order to make the Union’s mission a success.”
He pointed out that “the Iraqi government spent 4 billion for each club, but did not give it to the Kurdistan clubs,” noting that “this is unfair to our teams that have always supported Iraqi football, and Erbil was the reason for lifting the ban on our football, as its stadiums were open to host all Arab and Asian championships, out of our keenness to bring back the return of Iraqi football.” Our football and our sport are at the forefront.”
He continued, “Erbil Club was deprived of the government grant, and it continued to suffer from a stifling financial crisis, which led to a significant decline in the results of its football team, which has a wide fan base.” He stated, “The club does not have the money to manage its affairs and pay the players, and it also witnessed a mass exodus of the training staff yesterday due to not receiving their full dues, especially since the budget for Kurdistan was not spent, and this negatively affected our club.”
Mohsen said, “Our blame includes the Iraqi Football Association, which disbursed 800 million to professional league clubs in sponsorships, advertisements, and transportation rights, and this did not include us.”
He went on to say, “We have the right to demand our rights because we are Iraqis and not from another country, especially since 50% of our players are from Baghdad and the rest of the provinces, and we as an administration do not want to differentiate between the teams,” pointing out that “the President of the Kurdistan Region when he rehabilitated and renovated the Al-Shaab International Stadium in Baghdad.” Earlier, when he spent huge sums of money on it, he did not say that this stadium belonged to Baghdad, but rather he knew that the stadium was Iraqi, and this was also the case when he honored the Iraqi national team in the 25th Gulf Championship. He knew that the national team represented all of Iraq.
On behalf of the Erbil administration, Musa called on the Iraqi government to include the Erbil and Kurdistan Club with an amount of 4 billion dinars, considering that the region’s clubs are Iraqi clubs and not from outside Iraq.
Yesterday, Sunday, Abbas Obaid and his assistant Hossam officially submitted their resignation from coaching Erbil Club due to the financial crisis that the club is going through and the failure to pay three months of his salary in addition to 25% of his contract.