Iraq
Men look at the water at the waterfront of the Shat al-Arab river in the southern city of Basra, 550kms south of Baghdad, on December 31, 2022. Photo: Hussein Faleh/AFP
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iraq hopes that hosting the 25th Gulf Cup in Basra strengthens social cohesion and unity among the people of the Arabian Gulf, as tens of thousands of football fans from across the region flock to the southern Iraqi city to attend the prestigious tournament.
Basra is set to host the 25th Gulf Cup from January 6 to January 19, 2023. The tournament was initially set to take place in December 2022, but was postponed as it was believed to be scheduled too close to the World Cup in Qatar.
"Sports has become one of the most important activities that are included in the work of countries and institutions in the world as one of the means of transmitting cultures and civilizations through hosting tournaments and competitions, and this is what we witnessed in Qatar's organization of the 2022 World Cup,” Iraqi state media cited Haidar Aufi, head of the competitions committee of the Iraqi Football Association (IFA), as saying on Monday
Aufi said that selecting Basra to host the 25th Gulf Cup tournament is a good gesture towards removing the International and regional blockade on the rest of the stadiums in Iraq.
Basra had been selected to host three previous editions of the Gulf Cup since 2010 but the venue was changed each time due to concerns that Iraq was not safe enough. The only time Iraq hosted the Gulf Cup was in 1979, from which the Iraqi team emerged victorious.
5⃣ days to go until #GulfCup2023...#Iraq hosted and won the 5⃣ᵗʰ edition of the Gulf Cup back in 1979! 🏆 pic.twitter.com/Dhyct65Zc8
— Soccer Iraq (@SoccerIraq) January 1, 2023
The official hoped for cooperation between all the different sectors in Iraq to make the event success, regardless of which national team will be crowned champions at the end of the competition.
The Iraqi ministry of transport announced in late December that free transportation for the Gulf Cup fans in Basra, and subsidize transportation from other Iraqi provinces will be provided.
Iraq’s Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani visited Basra earlier in December, the preparations for the football tournament, and stressing the need to “spare no effort” in hosting the regional competition.
The matches will be played in Basra International Stadium, which has a capacity of 65,000 people, as well as al-Minaa Stadium, which has a capacity of 30,000 people.
Despite the country’s constant state of political instability and disunity, the Iraqi population’s special connection to the sport of football has managed to unify the people at times of major regional and international tournaments, coming to the support of the national team regardless of their humble results.
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