Iraq’s top judge meets new FA chief over ‘legal obstacles’ to soccer development

BAGHDAD — Supreme Judicial Council President Faiq Zaidan met Iraqi Football Association President Younis Mahmoud in Baghdad on Monday to discuss what a council statement called “legal obstacles” to developing soccer in Iraq.

Zaidan congratulated Mahmoud, a former national team star, on taking over the association, the council’s media office said. Mahmoud was elected in late May, defeating incumbent Adnan Dirjal 38 votes to 21.

The council did not identify the legal issues raised. The meeting came weeks after Iraq ended its first World Cup campaign in 40 years without a point, finishing bottom of Group I with a 4-1 loss to Norway, a 3-0 loss to France and a 5-0 defeat to Senegal, scoring once and conceding 12. Since then the association has said it is focused on technical stability, including a contract extension for coach Graham Arnold, who took charge in May 2025 and led Iraq back to the tournament for the first time since Mexico 1986, via a playoff win over Bolivia.

Shiite National Movement leader Muqtada al-Sadr in late June called for immediate and decisive changes to the team’s management and coaching, saying its World Cup and qualifying performances should not go unaddressed. “I believe it is appropriate to make immediate and decisive changes away from sectarianism, ethnicity and partisanship,” he said.