Surprisingly, the Iraqi soccer star and former captain of the "Black Mesopotamian" team, Adnan Dergal, found himself replacing the sports shirt with the politics shirt, after he was named minister of youth and sports in the government that won confidence last Wednesday, in a step beyond his well-known ambition to lead the Iraqi Football Association.
Darjal, the tall, solid defender, started his football career in the ranks of the ancient Al-Zawra Club in 1979 for three seasons, before moving to the Al-Talaba Club, and from him in 1984 to the Al-Rashid team, which was sponsored by Uday Saddam Hussein, where he ended his career as a player after five years. And in 1992, Darjal appointed a coach for his country, before he continued his training career in a number of clubs, and after that he devoted himself to the world of trade and sports analysis in several TV channels.
After 25 years of leaving Iraq, Darjalan returned for the first time in 2018, aspiring to the presidency of the Iraqi Football Association.
However, at the time, the federation considered the papers presented by men to contest the elections to be "forged". Federation President Abdel-Khalek Masoud passed a formal decision, which he considered issued by the Discipline Committee, stating that depriving men from participating in elections and practicing administrative work in the football field for five years.
The current minister then initiated a lawsuit that led to prison sentences against sports officials, and another lawsuit against Masoud and his deputy, Ali Jabbar, accusing them of tampering with the articles of association of the federation, so the two parties were forced to reach a settlement that decided to resign the federation.
After the resignation, the Majlis announced his intention to run for the presidency of the Federation again, before being named Minister of Youth and Sports in the government of Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kazemi.
The handing over of his new mission comes at a time when the ministry is witnessing sharp differences with the Olympic Committee since its formation in 2004.
"We want athletes to be part of the reform system in the country," Dergal says.
The appointment of "Rock of Defense" as a minister was welcomed by the sports circles. The former leader of the Iraqi team, Younis Mahmoud, considered the men of "a successful choice".
As for the executive director of the Iraqi Olympic Committee, Algeria Al-Sahlani, he pointed out that "men will work close to the athletes (...) and this will enable him to solve many problems in the sports field and restore stability to him."