Soccer-Pitch politics: Iraq-Kuwait match tests post-Saddam ties

Record ID: 1840737

  • Title: Soccer-Pitch politics: Iraq-Kuwait match tests post-Saddam ties
  • Date: 10th September 2024
  • Summary: BASRA, IRAQ (SEPTEMBER 9, 2024) (REUTERS) IRAQI FOOTBALL FANS CLAPPING AND CHEERING FOR THEIR COUNTRY'S TEAM FOR A WORLD CUP QUALIFIER INSIDE A BUS ON THEIR WAY TO KUWAIT IRAQI FAN HOLDING IRAQI FLAG ON BUS IRAQI FAN ON BUS CHEERING IRAQI FAN HOLDING BANNER READING (Arabic): ‘Thank you from Iraq to the Kuwaiti government and people’ VARIOUS OF PEOPLE GATHERED OUTSIDE BUS/
  • Embargoed: 24th September 2024 10:12
  • Keywords: Iraq Kuwait Soccer World cup Qualifier
  • Location: BASRA AND BAGHDAD, IRAQ / KUWAIT CITY, KUWAIT
  • City: BASRA AND BAGHDAD, IRAQ / KUWAIT CITY, KUWAIT
  • Country: Iraq
  • Topics: Middle East,Soccer,Sport
  • Reuters ID: LVA001289910092024RP1
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Thousands of Iraqi football fans were expected in Kuwait for a World Cup qualifier, the first time they have been allowed to attend since former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein invaded the emirate 34 years ago.
    The busloads of Iraqis rolling over the border for the 7 p.m. (1600 GMT) game illustrated slowly warming ties two decades after Saddam's fall in the 2003 U.S.-led invasion, though sensitivities remain and match arrangements have sparked some controversy.
    "I can’t describe how I feel," said Abbas Abdelatif, a middle-aged Iraqi, waiting to board a bus in the southern Iraqi city of Basra that borders Kuwait.
    “I haven't seen Kuwait in more than 30 years. Kuwait is close to us. There were wars and problems, but God willing, the situation will get better and better.”
    The match takes place at Jaber Al-Ahmad International Stadium in Kuwait City, with Iraq leading Group B of the Asian Football Confederation's qualifying matches for the 2026 World Cup.
    Iraq, whose 43 million population is 10 times that of Kuwait, has a history of on-off rivalry with the tiny oil-rich emirate. The two states are building rival port projects though they are also seeking to link power grids by the end of 2024.
    Iraq has been leveraging football diplomacy to mend relations with Arab Gulf states after decades of conflict and rocky relations, with the country ending its most recent war, against Islamic State, at the end of 2017.
    It hosted the Gulf Cup in Basra last year for the first time since 1979, a milestone in regional reintegration.
    Yousif Faal, spokesperson for the Iraqi football federation, said he hoped the rivalry, once considered the Arab world's greatest, stayed on the pitch. “It is a competition between the players… Generations have changed, governments have been replaced, coaches have changed, many things have changed.”
    Saddam invaded and briefly annexed Kuwait in August 1990 before being ousted by a U.S.-led coalition in the Gulf War. Iraq was subsequently placed under severe sanctions and required to pay over $52 billion in war reparations, completed in 2022.
    Despite improving relations since Saddam's 2003 ouster, challenges persist. Last year, Iraq's top court ruled an accord demarcating maritime borders with Kuwait unconstitutional, in a blow to growing goodwill.
    “Kuwait is a country that abides by international agreements and wants good relations with all its neighbours, especially Iraq, but Iraq must show and confirm its good intentions to resolve some issues, most notably the maritime border issue,” said Abdulaziz Alanjeri, founder of Kuwait-based think tank Reconnaissance Research.
    Some old habits also die hard.
    Adnan Dirjal, Iraq's football association president, mistakenly referred to Kuwait as a province during an interview, echoing Saddam's 1990 claim of Kuwait as Iraq's 19th province.
    He later apologized.
    Initial reports suggested few or no Iraqi fans would be allowed to attend, prompting warnings of reciprocal treatment from Basra's governor.
    Iraq's ambassador to Kuwait later announced 5,000 fans could attend, with specific passport and vehicle requirements.
    "I think the important issue is that this sporting event marks the beginning of opening the door to discussing the subject of Kuwaiti-Iraqi relations," Anjeri said. “It is a good initiative that we find a response from our brothers in Iraq to visit Kuwait.
    Iraqi fans view the match as a goodwill gesture.
    "I hope the legacy of the former regime dies with this conscious generation," said Amer Hakim, an Iraqi supporter.
    "The Iraqi people are not to blame for what happened because of Saddam Hussein."
    (Production: Mohammed Aty, Maher Nazeh, Stephanie McGehee, Maria Semerdjian)
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2024. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
Register