Renovation Celebrated With Tournament For Local Players
The joint efforts of the Coalition, the Iraqi National Army and the Iraqi National police, along with efforts from citizens and the Sons of Iraq have led to the rejuvenation and reopening of the Mahmudiyah Soccer Stadium.
The Stadium had been closed for some time due to security and other concerns. The stadium was triumphantly reopened on April 24th, and the celebration included a Tournament between teams made up of citizens and Iraqi nationals.
This is a new idea, but one that met with a lot of local citizen support. The Tournament was conducted as a double elimination tournament, with a total of twenty-four different teams participating. This will be the first of three tourneys that are planned for this summer, and was a brainchild and product of the U.S. Agency for International development.
Security and overwatch safety for the event and the stadium was the responsibility of the 6th Iraqi Army, 25th brigade. But there was an air of joyful relaxation, and the security concerns were not the uppermost on the minds of the competitors and the fans.
Due to the hard work of Coalition and Joint forces construction crews, the new stadium has fencing around the field, a new improved field drainage system, and three separate levels of concrete bleachers. “This is a place for adults and Children to come and enjoy soccer,†said Garbi Abbas.
Mr. Abbas is the Youth Director for Mahmudiyah Qada Council, and a main supporter of the new soccer Stadium.
