Peace, Love and Soccer
It is true? Do we finally have peace in the Middle East? For years now, the entire world has watched patiently as America waged war on Iraq, hoping for a swift and just outcome. Recently, America has declared—for a second time—mission accomplished, and forces have started to withdraw.
Many of us had fears of a new, dangerous regime taking place of the one forcibly removed. We thought after the Americans left that we could look forward to more bombings, more slaying, more acts of terror. Instead, something beautiful was reintroduced into Iraqi culture: soccer.
Iraq has long had a national soccer team, but since 2002 when the first whiffs of war smoke started to sully the atmosphere, they were forced to play abroad. But this Friday, July 10, will be the first time in seven years that Iraq has had the honor of hosting a home game. Their opponent: Palestine.
In the Western world, a simple game like roulette would be enough to tide us over if our national sports disappeared. After all, if this war has proven anything, it’s that there’s a strong difference in the convictions of Iraqis and Americans. But for Iraqis, only soccer would do.
A senior official in the Iraqi Football Federation, Tareq Ahmed, delivered the good news that Iraq will play two exhibition matches vs. Palestine – Friday’s in northern Iraq and the second, taking place next week, in Baghdad. Friday’s match will take place in the city of Irbil, in the Kurdish region of Iraq.
Iraq plans to play various exhibition matches in their homeland throughout the summer. Being bereft of soccer since July of 2002, the nation has a lot of make-up games to play. Iraqi officials feel as if the country’s security is strong enough to hold these matches without fear of insurgent attacks or other sectarian violence taking place.
Sports have always been dangerous to play in the region. Often considered unholy, simply playing soccer has resulted in death. Here’s to hoping that the situation in Iraq is finally citizen-friendly.
