On 19 October, Doha/Qatar not only played host to the FIFA Congress, but also to a discussion between FIFA Executive Committee member and AFC President Mohamed Bin Hammam, FIFA Deputy General Secretary Jérôme Champagne, other members of the FIFA administration and Mark Clark, a representative of the coalition provisional authority (CPA) and an adviser to the Iraqi Ministry of Youth and Sport.

Those present at the meeting discussed a number of matters, including:

* The current situation in Iraqi football;
* The steps taken by FIFA to enact the new statutes of the
Iraqi Football Association;
* The return of Iraqi national teams to FIFA and AFC
competitions;
* FIFA’s development programmes: the Financial Assistance
Programme (USD 326,750 for 2003 and 2004) and Goal, which, with an extra USD$400,000, brings FIFA’s total donation to USD 726,750 and fully covers the cost of the Iraqi Goal project, the construction of new Iraqi FA headquarters in the country’s capital. A sports complex will also be built around the new House of Iraqi Football at a later date.

‘The CPA fully supports all of FIFA’s actions,’ declared Mark Clark. ‘For our part, we intend to look into all of the legal aspects regarding using the land to build the new House of Iraqi Football.’

The three Iraqi FA delegates also played an active role in the debates and voting at the Extraordinary FIFA Congress.

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FIFA Media Department:
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