Qatar new home for Iraq qualifiers

Iraq will play their home qualifiers for the 2014 FIFA World Cup and 2012 London Olympics in Qatar.

The announcement from the Iraq Football Association (IFA) comes after FIFA’s decision to force Iraq to play their home qualifiers at a neutral venue after safety and security concerns following the September 2 match against Jordan in Arbil.

The crowd at the match appeared over capacity, and there were also power outages which prompted FIFA’s decision.

Last week, IFA president Najih Hmoud said the decision was ‘not appropriate’ because it was based on incorrect information, but the organisation has respected the penalty and moved to find a suitable venue.

“We notified FIFA of our decision. We nominated Qatar to host the matches of our national and Olympic teams. And now we are waiting for FIFA’s answer,” IFA member Kamel Zeghyar told Reuters.

“I do not believe FIFA will reject this request especially after the Qatari Football Association (QFA) welcomed our request and expressed readiness to host the matches.”

QFA general secretary Saoud bin Abdulaziz Al Mohannadi said in a statement that the Iraq senior team and Olympic team would ‘feel most welcomed in Qatar’.

Iraq are in Group A of 2014 FIFA World Cup third-round qualifying in Asia against Jordan, China and Singapore.

Iraq’s next home game is against China on November 11, and they are scheduled to host Australia in Olympic qualifying a fortnight later.