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Iraqi fans celebrate lifting of 3-decade FIFA ban

Iraqi soccer fans are celebrating the lifting of FIFA’s three-decade-long ban on their country holding international competitions as the southern city of Basra prepared to host a friendly match with Qatar on Wednesday. The world soccer’s governing body lifted the ban last Friday, allowing Iraqi cities of Basra, Karbala and Irbil to host full international […]

Susannah George writes for AP:

Iraqi soccer fans are celebrating the lifting of FIFA’s three-decade-long ban on their country holding international competitions as the southern city of Basra prepared to host a friendly match with Qatar on Wednesday.

The world soccer’s governing body lifted the ban last Friday, allowing Iraqi cities of Basra, Karbala and Irbil to host full international games and competitions for the first time since the 1990 invasion of Kuwait.

Even while the ban was in place, Iraq was still allowed, since 2017, to host friendly matches and tournaments — such as three- nation face-off between Iraq, Qatar and Syria slated to begin Wednesday evening.