West Asian Football Championship kicks off Tuesday in Iraq
The ninth edition of West Asian Football Federation Championship will kick off on Tuesday in Iraq with the participation of nine football teams, including the national football team of Kuwait for the first time since the lifting of the international suspension.
Matches are to be played at two stadiums: Karbala International Stadium in Karbala province, south of Baghdad, and Franso Hariri Stadium in Erbil province, the capital of Iraq's Kurdistan Region.
The event is scheduled to be held between July 30 and August 14 and will attract the national football teams of Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Jordan, Palestine, Lebanon, Syria and Yemen, in addition to host Iraq.
Iraq is hosting the tournament for the first time in its history after the security situation improved in the country.
The West Asian Football Federation Championship is a competition consisting mainly of West Asian countries and territories held since 2000. The Iranian team has the most titles with four wins. In 2010, Kuwait won the tournament in Jordan after defeating Iran 2-1.
