FIFA bans Iraq from playing at home
Iraq will have to play all their home games of the 2014 FIFA World Cup and 2012 London Olympics qualifiers at a neutral venue following a ban by FIFA on playing on the Iraqi territory.
In a letter sent to the Iraq Football Association, FIFA cited general security concerns from the Iraq vs Jordan match, played in Arbil on 2nd September where the the security plan did not meet the structural, technical, organisational and operational requirements specified in FIFA Safety Regulations.
The letter also added that no preliminary competition matches of the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil and the preliminary competition of the Olympic football tournament London 2012 shall take place on Iraqi territory until further notice and that all upcoming Iraq matches will need to be relocated to a neural venue.
Iraq will have to nominate a neutral ground in Asia for the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil by 1st October and 2012 London Olympics qualifiers by 3rd October.
The neutral venue should not be one of the countries that Iraq is playing against in the qualifiers.
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