Troubled Iraq league gets August 3 restart

BAGHDAD (AFP) - Iraq's national league will restart on August 3, the Iraqi Football Association (IFA) said on Wednesday, after two weeks of political turmoil.

An Iraqi sells football shirts and accessories at his store in central Baghdad, (© AFP/File - Ali al-Saadi)

The championship was suspended on July 18 after soldiers raided the headquarters of the IFA with an arrest warrant for the organisation's president and other officials.

"The federation decided to start the final pool matches of the Iraq championship on August 3 following the suspension," Abdel Khaleq Massoud, the IFA's finance director told AFP.

Iraq won the Asian Cup in 2007, but the administration of the sport has been plagued by controversy in recent weeks.

On Sunday, the IFA decided to postpone elections for its board until further notice despite the threat of a ban from international competition.

The election has been held up because the IFA's governing committee has split into rival camps: one supporting the incumbent president, who has links to executed dictator Saddam Hussein's former regime, and another backing a pro-government challenger.

World football governing body FIFA has threatened to ban Iraq from international play over "governmental interference in the electoral process" of the IFA.