Desperate appeal → Dramatic World Cup PO's support for the Iraqi Football Association... "I'm on my private jet"

*This content was translated by AI.

The Iraqi national soccer team, which was on the verge of failing to advance to the World Cup finals amid the Middle East's war clouds, will use a private jet to head to Mexico, the site of the showdown. Under the active support of the national soccer association, the Iraqi people's desire to go to the finals for the first time in 40 years has been dramatically continued.

The British 'BBC' reported on the 15th (Korea Standard Time) that "The Iraqi national soccer team will travel to Mexico on a private jet to play the World Cup playoffs despite the closure of its airspace due to the worsening situation in the Middle East."

According to the report, Adnan Dirzal, president of the Iraqi Football Association, said in a video statement, "FIFA understood Iraq's difficult conditions and promised full cooperation."

At first, it seemed impossible for Iraq to play in the playoffs. This is because the military conflict between the United States, Israel and Iran, which began at the end of last month, has completely closed its airspace in the Middle East, including Iraq.

In response, Iraqi coach Graham Arnold urgently asked FIFA to postpone the game, saying, "It is impossible to even bring domestic players and staff out of the country."

In particular, more than 60% of the Iraqi team is made up of domestic forces, which is known to have been hit hard by the closure of the airspace. The 25-hour land route to Istanbul, Turkey, which FIFA proposed as an alternative, also had to pass through an Iranian drone attack risk area. At FIFA's suggestion, coach Arnold flatly refused, saying, "We cannot guarantee the lives of the players."

However, President Dirzal sent a letter directly to FIFA President Gianni Infantino, complaining of the difficulties of the journey, and the atmosphere reversed as FIFA accepted it. Infantino instructed Secretary-General Matthias Graftrom to give top priority to the Iraqi national team's trip to Mexico. As a result, the Iraqi team flew to Monterrey, Mexico, on a private jet this weekend.

The visa issue, which had been blocked, was also resolved. Chairman Dirzal said, "We have secured all visas to enter Mexico. Players who are active in Europe will join separately in the region, he added.

Iraq will compete with Bolivia or Suriname in Monterrey on the 1st for a ticket to the North-China U.S. World Cup finals. Iraq, which beat the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in the fifth round of the Asian qualifying round in November last year, is dreaming of advancing to the finals for the first time in 40 years since the 1986 Mexico World Cup.

Chairman Dirzal said, "There are only 17 days left until the game. Iraq's only goal is to advance to the World Cup finals, he said. "In order to achieve the dreams of Iraqi fans, we will provide all the conditions for players to focus only on the game."

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*This content was translated by AI.