Barcelona Fans in Iraq Unite and Aim for Global Recognition In a major organizational move, Barcelona fans in Iraq have united and announced the launch of a central association that brings together fan clubs from five provinces: Baghdad, Kirkuk, Basra, Salah al-Din, and Karbala. This association aims to represent Iraq internationally among global fan networks.
Shwan Abdulkhaliq Faily, one of the regional heads from Kirkuk, explained that Iraq now has the world’s largest base of registered Barcelona supporters. With over 14,000 members, the fan base was ranked first globally by FC Barcelona itself.
Official supporter group representatives held a joint meeting to form a unified entity under the Catalan club. They released a joint statement to express unity and confirm affiliation with the Iraqi Football Association. This move aims to ensure organized and collaborative efforts across all official supporter groups.
Faily pointed out that many groups claim to be official, but in reality, they lack proper recognition. That’s why the new central body works to protect the efforts of Barcelona fans in Iraq from misrepresentation or exploitation.
During the meeting, the group chose Saif Amthal, head of the Baghdad group, as the official spokesperson for the association. However, they are still finalizing leadership roles and structure.
The Iraqi Football Association welcomed the formation of the central supporters’ group. Federation head Adnan Dirjal met with the group members at the football headquarters and listened to a detailed briefing on the association’s formation and development. He also noted that this initiative could support the national teams in future competitions.
The association pledged to assist the federation when needed, including supporting the national team and the Iraqi Stars League. The federation, in return, expressed readiness to remove any obstacles facing the group and encouraged other fan associations to follow a similar model.
Barcelona fans in Iraq thanked the federation for the warm reception and support. They expressed their full commitment to contributing to Iraqi football on a broader scale.
Overall, this unified effort among fan groups reflects a growing sense of sports awareness and organization in Iraq. It offers a promising model for both regional and global fan engagement.
