Football Association: Preparations for the Asian play-off matches to qualify for the 2026 World Cup

Iraqi Football Association member Ghaleb Al-Zamili confirmed on Sunday that the Iraqi Premier League will continue after the third round before being temporarily suspended starting October 5, in coordination with national team coach Graham Arnold. Al-Zamili explained in an interview that the reason for the suspension is due to the difficulty of professional players gathering in their foreign clubs outside of the internationally approved “FIFA D” days, which imposes challenges for the effective preparation of the national team during this period. He pointed out that the lack of time and the failure of professional players to join the national team’s training early prompted the technical staff to dispense with playing any friendly matches and instead focus on direct preparation for the Asian play-off matches to qualify for the 2026 World Cup. Regarding the public attendance for the upcoming matches to be held in Saudi Arabia, Al-Zamili revealed that the Iraqi Football Association has contacted the Saudi side requesting an increase in the share of tickets for Iraqi fans, and is awaiting an official response from the Saudis in this regard. The Iraqi national team will play its first match in Group Two of the Asian qualifiers against Indonesia on October 11. The next match will be against the host team, Saudi Arabia, on the 14th of the same month, at the Jewel Stadium in Jeddah.