They were not matches that ended with goals only, but rather it was a strong message that had its extension, repercussions, and significance on the Iraqi and Arab reality.
The Gulf Championship 25, according to observers, will have spillovers and repercussions on various fields, including politics and the economy, and will usher in a new era of Iraq’s foreign relations with the Arab world.
The twenty-fifth tournament recorded a distinguished presence at the level of public attendance of the people of the Arab Gulf and the level of organization, as well as the unparalleled support and attribution provided by the Arab media for the success of the Iraqi hosting.
The championship also showed great Gulf cohesion and intimate familiarity with the people of Iraq through words of praise and love, exchanging feelings of contentment and pleasure, and the extent of the Iraqis’ hospitality to their brothers who came to them across the Shatt al-Arab.
Before and following the start of the tournament, the term “Arabian Gulf”, which was circulated by Iraqi and football leaders, was strongly present and struck Iranian expansionist propaganda in killing, which stirred Tehran’s anger.
For nearly two decades, Iraq has been suffering, at the level of its political and economic decision, from Tehran’s interference in its internal affairs and its attempt to turn its lands into a backyard to settle its differences with its opponents in the region and the world.
Despite the attempts that were made to distance Iraq from its national and Arab path, the Iranian wager weakened day following day following Baghdad opened up to the Gulf capitals and their international space.
The real beginnings of Iraq’s return to the Gulf Arab incubator are at the beginning of 2015, during the government of Haider al-Abadi, the exchange of visits between senior officials and the end of the estrangement between Riyadh and Baghdad, which lasted for more than a quarter of a century.
Subsequently, these relations intensified and were reflected in the form of agreements and memorandums of cooperation following their pace increased during the government of Mustafa Al-Kadhimi, and the country seemed strongly present in its Arab and international environment.
The head of the “Political Thinking” center, Ihsan Al-Shammari, says that “the wrong policies of some political classes that controlled the reins of decision-making in Iraq during the past eras following 2003, harmed the country’s higher interests and distanced the people from their Arab affiliation by turning the country’s compass away from its heart.” Arabic in response to foreign agendas.
Al-Shammari added, during an interview with “Al-Ain News”, that “Gulf 25 showed beyond any doubt the desire of the people of Iraq to belong to the Gulf and the Arabs in general, which was translated by the masses in word, deed and behavior during that tournament.”
And he sympathizes by saying: “I believe that what happened represents a major shift in the present of Iraq and the future of its foreign relations, which requires opponents and opponents of that rapprochement, whether from some political forces at the domestic level or externally by some parties, to re-read the positioning of loyalty and belonging and the sincerity of the map of Arab Gulf blood.” .
This is not enough, as Al-Shammari points out, since the matter requires the maintenance of these positions by the influential parties in the Iraqi political decision-making kitchens, in a way that guarantees the recovery and continuity of Arab relations.
Political analyst Ghaleb Al-Daami believes that “Iraq before the Gulf 25 and beyond will be different and contrary to the desires of many political forces wishing to keep the country under the anvil of the foreign agenda.”
Al-Daami continues his speech, saying, “The Arab Gulf Championship, in its latest edition, blew up twenty-year plans that sought to separate Iraq from its Arab-Gulf path, so one of the most important fruits of that is to strengthen the bonds of belonging and the depth of Gulf rooting by linking Iraq with its people and people who are thirsty for a return to what it was.”
Al-Daami added to Al-Ain News, that “the Iraqi people shouted that they are Arabs from A to Z, and that their Gulf interface and compass cannot be distorted or manipulated, even if they are absent.”
