ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – When Iraq’s under-22 football team won the Asia Cup against Saudi Arabia on Sunday night, the 1-0 victory received a mixed response across Erbil. Though many took to the streets of the Kurdish capital to celebrate, others remained indifferent.
The last time Iraq won a football championship was in 2007. At the time, the win was the first Asian Cup victory in Iraq’s history. The match, won by a team of Kurds, Sunnis and Shiite Muslims playing side-by-side, received hype around the world for briefly unifying the war-torn country in a way that no other politician or leader had previously managed.
Sunday’s match, however, failed to stir up the same sentiment and has not received the same publicity. The team has no Kurdish players, which gives some reason for the tepid support. But even those who said they do watch Iraq play regularly – in the absence of a Kurdish national team -- displayed reluctant support.
Ibrahim, who watched Sunday’s match at Erbil’s cafe-filled Iskan Street, said there was much celebration in the area afterwards, but that he remembered more people celebrating the 2007 win.
“I think because of the on-going conflicts with Baghdad these days less Kurds are supportive of the Iraqi team than they used to be,” he explained.
He added that, from what he saw, a significant number of those celebrating the win were Arabs who living in the Kurdistan Region.
Bayar and his friend Brwa missed the weekend championship game because they were busy studying for university exams. Both said they always watch Barcelona play, noting that the higher caliber of players makes for more entertaining matches. But whereas Bayar said he sometimes watches the Iraqi team play, Brwa was frank about his dislike of the team because the players are not Kurdish.
“I don’t like the Iraqi team because I’m Kurdish. Kurdistan should have their own team,” Brwa said.
Mohanad, a regular patron at a cafe in Iskan Street, who was sitting nearby and overheard, noted: “Some people don’t support the Iraqi team because they have an irrational hate towards the players, who are Arabs. That’s it. But there shouldn’t be any of this ‘they’re Iraqi, and we’re Kurdish.’ It’s the game that matters, not our identity,” Mohanad said.
He added that he did not watch Sunday’s match because the team is young and Iraq has not won in football in years. Instead, he said, he prefers watching European teams because the players are better and the games are more exciting.
Inside another cafe Rahad, a university student, said he and his friends frequently watch both European and Iraqi football teams play. Like many others, their favorite teams are Barcelona and Real Madrid.
Commenting on the people he had seen watching the Iraq-Saudi game, Rahad noted: “I think that in general older people are less supportive of the Iraqi team because of their history and experiences with Arabs and Iraq. It seems a lot of the people watching the Iraqi team and supporting the Iraqi team are from the younger generation.”
In Erbil’s Ainkawa district, Ayas said there much celebration in the streets after the game.
“People were celebrating in the streets of Ainkawa, honking car horns and waving Iraqi flags. I used to watch the Iraqi team play when I was younger, but I don’t watch them anymore because they’re not good. Now my favorite team is Manchester United. Like other people, I want a Kurdish football team, but until we get that many of us will continue to support the Iraqi team,” Ayas said.
Back in Iskan Street, Banyar and his friend Bawan discussed the chances of a future Kurdish national team.
“We want a Kurdish team, absolutely, but will it happen? We don’t know,” Bawan said.
“It’s not ideal, but Kurdistan doesn’t have its own team and I have no one else to cheer for, so of course I’ll support Iraq,” Banyar added.
Displaying more of the half-hearted support commonplace among Kurdish supporters of the Iraqi team, their friend Pshtiwan also expressed his desire for Kurdistan to have its own national team.
“We’re still fighting for our own country, step-by-step. A football team will come later,” he said.
