International football returned to Iraq for the first time in four years last week, when the Lions faced Jordan in Basra on Thursday. The match was settled by Alaa Abdul-Zahra’s 14th minute strike, a goal that would have sent the vast majority of the 65,000 crowd home happy. Certainly, pictures from the event recorded a stadium packed with smiling, flag-waving fans. It clearly was a night to savour.
The role of sport and football, in particular, is often overstated by those who seek to romanticise and amplify the healing powers of the so-called beautiful game. This was, after all, just the first part of a long journey towards full rehabilitation – Iraq’s national team is still on probation with Fifa, the sport’s governing body – and a night of football is unlikely to ease the pain and suffering caused by extremist attacks earlier in the week in Baghdad.
But it is a start and it does indicate a return to normalcy is possible after years of violence and disruption. For that, we should all hope that this is not a one-off event.
