2023-12-31T11:09:25+00:00
A-
A
A+
/ The Kurdistan Region Football Clubs Group, which boycotted the meetings of the Iraqi Football Association, called on the President of the Republic, the Prime Ministers, and the Minister of Sports on Sunday to “stand by them” regarding the issue of excluding them from the federal government’s decision to support the Iraqi Premier League clubs.
The statement of the clubs and federations of the Kurdistan Region, addressed to the President, deputies and members of the Iraqi Football Association, and members of the General Assembly of the Iraqi Football Association, and received by Agency, said, “Our brothers in the General Assembly and the respected Executive Committee, we, the clubs and federations of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, were and still are supporters of this institution, for the development of which we have provided a lot and to maintain its prestige, and history is witness that the teams of the region participating in the league throughout history have spared no effort in developing all competitions, even during the time of the defunct regime when the regime was tightening the noose on our cities and killing our sons, and we continued to participate in the league, and at the same time the Olympic Committee and the Federation were treating our clubs the same as the rest of the clubs in Iraq without discrimination or preference.”
The statement continued: “In recent days, the federal government issued a decision that is pleasing to all athletes to support the 16 clubs in the Iraqi Premier League. However, the unfortunate thing about the decision is that it did not include the four clubs from the Kurdistan Region of Iraq participating in the first competition in the country, which are (Erbil – Dohuk – Zakho – Newroz). This is a very dangerous precedent in football, as with this step, the league loses the principle of equal opportunities, cancels justice, and strikes at the core of the integrity of football because it is built on transparency, justice, and equality.”
He added, “The sub-federations in the region have also not been included in any grant or any support recently, so the signatories to this statement, who are representatives of the Kurdistan Region clubs participating in the Iraqi Premier League and the (Sulaymaniyah Peshmerga) Club and the region’s sub-federations, decided not to attend the meetings of the Iraqi Football Association scheduled to be held on Saturday, December 30, 2023, and we will hold an urgent meeting to discuss the decision to boycott the Federation’s activities for the 2023/2024 season, until the appropriate ground is available and equality is present to compete with our brothers in other clubs from one starting line.”
He concluded by saying, “We would like to convey our voice to His Excellency the President of the Republic, the Prime Minister, the advisors, the Minister of Youth and Sports, and the Secretary-General of the Council of Ministers, and we ask them to stand by their sons in the homeland, regardless of their nationalities and affiliations. This is our covenant with them, and we have great confidence in their intentions and visions to include everyone in their care and attention.”
According to the statement, the signatories from the clubs are: Nawroz Club, Dohuk Club, Erbil Club, Zakho Club, and Sulaymaniyah Peshmerga Club, and from the federations they are: the Sub-Federation of Erbil Governorate, the Sub-Federation of Dohuk Governorate, and the Sub-Federation of Sulaymaniyah Governorate.
The Kurdistan Region clubs boycotted the meetings of the Iraqi Football Association held to discuss the regular general agenda of the association.
While the Iraqi Football Association held a regular general assembly meeting yesterday, Saturday, and approved the financial and administrative reports for the year 2022, and approved an estimated budget for the year 2024.