Iraq friendly cancelled after FIFA ban

Africa Nations Championship (CHAN)

Tanzania v Uganda (July 13)

Uganda v Tanzania (July 27)

By Norman Katende

Uganda Cranes will confront Tanzania in their Africa Nations Championship (CHAN) first leg fixture without a trial game.

This is after FIFA slapped a ban on their scheduled friendly opponents Iraq.

FUFA Chief Executive Officer Edgar Watson yesterday confirmed that the federation had called off preparations for the friendly with immediate effect on advice by FIFA.

“We are not going to Iraq. The programme has been cancelled. We are trying to seek for another alternative if possible,” said Watson on Friday morning.

On Thursday, FIFA re-imposed its ban on Iraq against hosting international friendlies due to security concerns.

There are reports that over 2,500 people died in Iraq due to violence between April and June and at least 123 people were killed in the first three days of July.

“Today, we received a notification from FIFA to stop hosting any friendly matches in stadiums in Iraq at the current time, and until further notice, due to the wave of violence,” Iraq official Naim Saddam said.

FIFA had only lifted the ban in March, with a match then played on March 26 against Syria much to the delight of fans in both football-hungry countries.

Before then, Iraq had been banned after a bomb went off inside a coffee shop in central Baghdad, killing four young men watching a game between Iraq and Chile.