Playing football on Iraq's minefield

I guess the Indian football federation or their bosses at the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) should be aware of Iraq's current situation. You don't have to be an elderly statesman to know what is Iraq today. You sit in Geneva or at Kuala Lumpur or even in Delhi, everybody is aware of Iraq's current political turmoil.

But I would like to know if AIFF or any of the AFC officials have recently been to the strife-torn nation. It's not an exotic hot sea beach of Mauritius or an expedition to Masai Mara. Iraq is all about a terror-filled nation. Killings, bombings continue to hit hard. I guess, the football officials would definitely skip even a sponsored tour to Iraq. Then why send some innoncent young footballers to Iraq particularly after the countinuous upsurge in violence in recent years. Why did they shift India's Group C matches to Iraq? Is it all about football promotion or ensuring a 'genuine' vote for the next AFC elections.

Is it a sheer lack of vision or a deliberate attempt to promote football in a country where gun-totting US security forces are a common sight? And AFC talks about playing football on a minefield. Post Saddam Hussein, suicide bombers and explosions have become too common. Iraq has become the next Aghanistan and Pakistan. Maybe, even a bit more scary and volatile. Definitely you cannot put these teams including India on the gallows because you never know which way the suicide bombers will chase you. Be it Mosul, Baghdad or even Arbil (where the AFC U-19 Championship's Group C matches will be played) violence and killings have become a regular sight in this West Asian nation.

Besides last Sunday's twin suicide bombings in Baghdad, which left at least 155 people dead, are playing on the players' minds. Arbil, the venue of the AFC event, lies 80km east of Mosul in north Iraq and it is the capital of the Kurdistan Autonomous Region and Kurdistan Regional Government. The attacks were the deadliest in Iraq in two years. No wonder, the young Indian footballers are scared.

The very fact of playing their qualifying matches in Iraq has terrified the Indian team, who are caught in a web of fear and anxiety. India have been drawn with Afghanistan, Iraq, Oman, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia in AFC U-19 qualifiers.
The Indian players, who are currently on a tour to Dubai, are terrified. They just don't want to travel to Iraq. It is quite risky. But it's difficult to convince the AIFF and AFC mandarins who are just too excited to promote the game in Iraq.