Football pitches emerge as new battlegrounds for control of Iraq

The battle for the control of Iraq has now its reflections on the football pitch, with different groups having different views on the ‘beautiful game’ Iraqi football pitches have emerged as an alternative battleground in the struggle for the control of Iraq between the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), the jihadist group that controls chunks of northern Iraq, and the embattled Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.

Iraqi officials said the broadcasting the World Cup final between Germany and Argentina in Baghdad’s Al-Shaab International Stadium was intended as a show of defiance against ISIL, which now calls itself the Islamic State (IS), who has banned football in territory it controls and reportedly ordered the closure of sports facilities and forbidden the wearing of shirts with images imprinted on them, including football jerseys.

In addition, Iraqi Football Association (IFA) officials announced that they would be organizing football matches across areas of Iraq under government control in protest against ISIL’s targeting of players and fans. They said they would focus on areas that have been attacked by ISIL including:

- Diyala province where five people were killed and 17 wounded by a bomb planted under the seats of a stadium in Ballour as boys aged 10 to 17 were playing;

- Al-Nahrawan where nine people were killed and 21 wounded in a bomb explosion during a football match;
- Al-Madaen where a bomb in a stadium killed one and wounded six others, including an Iraqi member of parliament;
- Al-Zafaaraniya where a bomb killed four people, including three players, and wounded 11 others;
- Al-Qalaa where a bomb in a stadium killed one and wounded 11;
- Kirkuk...