Mohamed Fathi, coach of Mosul’s soccer club in northern Iraq, hardly recognizes the ruined soccer stadium once used by Islamic State (IS) group fighters to fire rockets and lob mortars from.
Piles of rubble lie alongside a pitch of bumpy sand. The high concrete stadium tiers surrounding it — with all of their seats torn out — look dangerously close to collapse.
“After this was destroyed, there’s no other stadiums in the city to play football,” Fathi said, waving his hand at the crumbling building. “The impact of the destruction is enough to tell you everything that happened here.”
Photo: AFP
Jihadi fighters from the Islamic State group seized Mosul in 2014, later expanding its so-called “caliphate” to over one-third of Iraq and into Syria.
In 2017, Iraqi and coalition forces forced the insurgents out in a grinding urban battle that left Mosul in ruins.
The bullet-riddled 20,000-seat Al-Idara Al-Mahalia Stadium, home to Mosul Sports Cub, was not spared, caught up in the deadly battles for control.
Two other smaller stadiums in town were also damaged.
“Sadly the central government doesn’t realize that football is what brings life back to a town, its people and its youth,” Fathi said. “So things have stayed the same.”
Mosul Sports Club was once a solid performing club that produced some of the country’s best players.
They include Hawar Mulla Mohammed, who led Iraq to their historic 2007 Asian Cup championship and who played professionally in Europe.
Decades earlier, Iraq’s national squad made their only World Cup appearance in Mexico in 1986.
Mosul’s own son, skilled midfielder Haris Mohammed, ably led his country to the rare international honor.
Founded in 1947, Mosul played 18 seasons in Iraq’s premier league before their relegation to the first division a decade ago.
With thousands of roaring fans passionately backing their team, locals dubbed it the “stadium of horrors” for visiting teams.
However, that ominous label would take on a more sinister meaning with the arrival of the militants.
“I used to follow soccer matches here, and suddenly out of nowhere convoys of IS militants decked out with guns would show up,” said Omar al-Mosuli, a resident in his 30s. “It was a frightening scene and I used to walk away quietly.”
Islamic State’s terror-ridden reign was marked by beheadings and shootings. Like so many other facets of daily life, soccer changed.
The sport disappeared as a professional pursuit and violence became established a past-time instead.
“Under the stands, IS fighters transformed the space into a massive weapons depot,” Mosuli said. “They set up launchpads inside the stadium to fire rockets during the battle to liberate the city.”
He recalled how the extremists forced people to play in long shorts that reached below their knees — and there was a strict ban on anyone donning jerseys of their favorite international teams or players.
Matches would be abruptly halted for prayer time, he said.
Amid Mosul’s disfigured landscape, its committed players still train on the stadium’s dusty pitch a couple of times a week.
There are no other suitable fields to play on.
“We are forced to train here now,” Fathi said. “The club’s president and some of the staff even pay for the equipment out of their own pocket.”
OFFENSE SHINES: First baseman Pan Chie-kai hit a solo homer in the fifth inning as all 10 batters Taiwan used contributed at least one hit toward their team total of 14 One day after their first shutout loss at the WBSC Premier12, Taiwan yesterday bounced back with a commanding 8-2 victory over the US, keeping their hopes for a spot in tomorrow’s final alive. The win in the Super Round marked Taiwan’s first triumph over the US at a top-tier international baseball tournament since 2003. Their previous win over the US was at the 2003 Baseball World Cup, with only one win in the previous 10 matchups since 1999. Yesterday’s game was tightly contested through the first six innings, with the margin never exceeding two runs. However, the tide turned in the top of
Taiwan last night defeated Cuba 2-0 in their World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) Premier12 Group B game at the Taipei Dome and finished the group second. At the Taipei Tianmu Baseball Stadium, South Korea yesterday defeated Australia 5-2, while Japan last night won 11-3 against the Dominican Republic. On Sunday, Taiwan scored two three-run homers in an 11-3 blowout win over Australia at the Taipei Dome to advance to the Super Round. Fresh off a defeat at the hands of defending Premier12 champions and Group B winners Japan the previous day, Taiwan’s offense came out slugging against Australia from the
Taiwan scored two three-run homers in an 11-3 blowout win over Australia at the Taipei Dome last night to advance to the Super Round of the 2024 World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) Premier12 tournament. Fresh off a defeat at the hands of defending Premier12 champion and Group B winner Japan the previous day, Taiwan’s offense came out slugging against Australia from the off. After taking a walk to first base, Taiwan’s Chen Chieh- hsien (陳傑憲) then stole second before Tseng Song-en (曾頌恩) drew a walk to first in the top of the first inning. Chen then
TWO-NIL LOSS: Taiwan’s best chance to score came at the top of the fifth with the bases loaded and one out, but Venezuela’s Liarvis Breto got out of the jam Taiwan yesterday suffered a shutout 2-0 loss to Venezuela in the opening game of the WBSC Premier12 Super Round at the Tokyo Dome. Taiwan had seven hits, one more than Venezuela’s six, but catcher Carlos Perez’s two-run homer to left field in the bottom of the fourth inning delivered the only runs scored by both teams and secured victory for Venezuela. Taiwan’s best chance came at the top of the fifth inning with the bases loaded and only one out. However, Venezuela reliever Liarvis Breto struck out Chen Chen-wei before reliever Pedro Garcia finished the inning by allowing an infield flyball by Lin
RSS