Shafaq News- Chicago
Iraq's nationalfootball team completed its first training session on United States soil Sundayahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, even as a separate crisis mounted over thefate of more than 3,000 supporter tickets whose whereabouts remain unaccountedfor following “an unauthorized handover by former leadership.”
Training in Chicago
The squad trained infull at its Chicago base under head coach Graham Arnold, an Australian who tookcharge of Iraq in May 2025 and guided the team through a grueling qualificationcampaign to reach the tournament. Arnold ordered the session closed to mediaand the public, according to the Iraqi delegation.
One player was absent. Defender Ahmed Yahya, who plays for Baghdad-based club Al-Shorta, departed thecamp and returned to Iraq after sustaining a hamstring injury. The IraqiFootball Association (IFA) confirmed Saturday that Yahya had been ruled out ofthe tournament and would be replaced in the final squad by Ahmed HassanMakenzie. The delegation's official photographer, Talal Salah, also left theUnited States en route to Spain, accompanying Yahya on the journey home.
Iraq is scheduled toface Venezuela in a friendly on Wednesday in Chicago —its final preparatoryfixture before entering group-stage competition. The tournament marks Iraq'sfirst World Cup appearance since their sole participation 40 years ago, atMexico 1986.
Venezuela, Iraq'sWednesday opponent, lost 2-1 to Turkiye in a separate friendly earlier Sunday. Turkiye is itself scheduled to face Iraq in Chicago on June 10, according tothe Iraqi delegation.
Iraq opens its WorldCup campaign against Norway on June 16 at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough,Massachusetts. The team is drawn in a group that also includes France andSenegal.
Ticket Controversy
A board member of theIraqi Football Association disclosed Sunday that 3,150 tickets allocated toIraqi supporters for the team's three opening group matches —against Norway,France, and Senegal— were handed to a US-based company without the knowledge ofthe federation's executive office and without a formal legal contract.
Ghalib al-Zamili, theboard member, told Shafaq News that the tickets had been transferred by AdnanDirjal, who served as IFA president until May 23, 2026, according to publicrecords. He described the handover as a "wrongful act" and said thecurrent federation has been unable to determine the whereabouts of the tickets.
Circulating documentsreviewed by Shafaq News indicate the tickets, 1,050 per match, were purchasedfor a combined total of approximately $1.408 million, drawn from a FIFA grantallocated to qualifying nations to cover World Cup participation costs. Thetickets were delivered in full to the company in question with no legalagreement in place, according to al-Zamili.
The IFA is currentlyworking through coordinators in the United States to recover the tickets orestablish their status, al-Zamili said. Calls from within Iraqi sportingcircles for a formal investigation into the matter have grown in recent days,with questions raised about which individuals or entities benefited from thearrangement.
No official statementon ticket replacement or alternative allocation for Iraqi supporters has beenissued by the federation at the time of publication.
