Importance of football to Iraq

LFIQ Joint President Dave Anderson has tabled a Commons motion on the unifying role of sport in Iraq and the case of Iraqi footballer Nashat Akram

The motion reads:

That this House regrets the decision to refuse a work permit for the purposes of joining Manchester City to Iraqi footballer Nashat Akram, who played a major role in the Iraqi national squad's victory in the recent Asia Cup, on the grounds that, at 72nd in the international rankings, Iraq falls just outside the basket of 70 teams from which such candidates can be considered; notes that football is a great unifying force in Iraq and that Nashat's transfer to a major league team would also do much to boost the sport in Iraq; further notes the judgement of Manchester City Manager Sven-Göran Eriksson, that Nashat is a very good footballer with an excellent pedigree; and urges that consideration be given to the Iraqi Government request to revise this decision in the light of the fact that Iraqi football needs nurturing after several decades of fascist-type rule by the Ba'athists which isolated and hampered Iraqi football.