The Iraqi Minister of Youth and Sports is running for the presidency of the Football Association

The Iraqi Minister of Youth and Sports, Adnan Darjal, became the first minister to contest the elections to run for the presidency of the Football Association, scheduled for Tuesday, amid an electoral race that brings him together with former international colleague Sharar Haider.

The elections to choose a new board of directors for the federation are taking place after the end of the temporary body tasked by the International Federation (FIFA) early last year, against the background of a collective resignation submitted by the members of the former federation, due to judicial circumstances in the courts in which he was a party.

Haider said, "For me, the elections represent a competition and a confrontation with the government authority and confronting public money. The other competitor, Adnan Darjal, is the minister. All the clubs are under his hands and the public money is at his disposal."

Haidar, 54, who heads the Karkh club's management, added, "I will leave everything to the election hall tomorrow and to the opinion and convictions of the General Assembly."

On the other hand, sports journalist Ghazi Shaye considered that the conflict is tilted towards men, noting that his work as Minister of Sports brought him close to clubs and other sports institutions. In addition to being one of the symbols and flags of football, this makes him eligible to win the presidency of the Federation.

Derjal is also preparing for non-sporting electoral competitions, by announcing his candidacy for the Iraqi parliament elections, representing one of the electoral districts within the capital, Baghdad.

The men of his country's arrival to the World Cup Qatar 2022 is one of the most important priorities of his mission, after he succeeded in persuading football officials in the Gulf to grant Iraq the hosting of the 25th Gulf Championship in Basra at the end of this year.

More than 26 candidates are competing to win membership in the administration of the next ten-member federation, while the former Iraqi national team captain Younis Mahmoud ran for the position of second deputy without a competitor, and the same situation for the position of first deputy with Ali Jabbar's candidacy without a competitor as well.

controversy and popularity

The nomination of the sixty-year-old, who is known as the rock of Iraqi defense, as Minister of Youth and Sports last year sparked a lot of controversy, despite his great popularity, when he was chosen for this position by the coalition of Sunni forces within the Iraqi parliament, as he belongs to the Shiite sect.

At the time, the Speaker of Parliament who leads that coalition, Muhammad al-Halbousi, commented, "Adnan Darjal, Dukan Dam," referring to his defensive solidity, as a giant player, "outside sectarian calculations and crosses them."

Surprisingly, Derjal found himself in the corridors of politics, after he was named Minister of Youth and Sports in May last year.

Derjal launched his electoral program 48 hours ahead of schedule, focusing on priorities that he believed the previous federation administrations had not been able to achieve.

He pledged to devote his experience to the administrative and institutional work that he gained during his career in order to contribute to building a promising and bright future for Iraqi football, spreading it as a cornerstone of Iraqi society, and launching the (Dream 2030) project for age groups.

The fierce defender's men started his career with Al-Zawra Club, one of the most famous clubs in the capital, in 1979, and after three seasons he moved to Al-Talaba Club, before settling in 1984 in the ranks of Al-Rashid team, whose administration was headed by the son of former Iraqi President Uday Saddam Hussein.

Recourse to the courts

After Drajal finished his career as a player, he was appointed coach of the Iraqi national team in 1992, then became a member of the Football Association’s administration. He was, along with his colleague Hussein Saeed, one of its most prominent members. He moved in 1995 to Qatar and worked as a coach with Al-Wakra, Al-Shamal and Al-Araby clubs.

Darjal, who enjoys extensive and important relations with Gulf federations, retired from training in 2004 to devote himself to the administrative field with some Qatari clubs, as well as devote himself to the economic and commercial field.

After 25 years of leaving the country, he returned in 2018 aspiring to the presidency of the Iraqi Federation, but his ambition collided with the statute of the Federation, which was considered by men as a fraudulent system and subject to manipulation in order to exclude him from candidacy.

Yesterday's defender's ambitions did not stop at the limits of his expulsion, so he resorted to the courts, which convicted the former president of the Federation, Abdul Khaleq Masoud and his deputy, Ali Jabbar, on charges of tampering with the statute. The two parties were forced to settle a collective resignation.

On the other hand, Haider, who held the position of first vice-president of the former Federation, began his career with Al-Rasheed Club and joined its ranks in 1986 along with important names, including the late Ahmed Radi and Natiq Hashem, as well as men and Karim Muhammad Allawi.

He represented other public clubs, including Al-Zawraa and Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya, before playing with the Algerian youth of Batna.

He settled in the mid-nineties in London to get rid of the suffering of the Iraqi players from the strictness and cruelty of the Iraqi Federation, which was headed by Uday Saddam Hussein until his return to Iraq after 2003.

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