Real Madrid plans to open Iraqi soccer academy
The popular Real Madrid Football Club plans to establish a training academy for its many young Iraqi fans.
BAGHDAD — Iraq’s Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi received a delegation from the Spanish Real Madrid Club March 21 to discuss joint sports projects in Iraq. The delegation’s visit was welcomed by not only Iraq’s sports and political elites, but also by the Iraqi people, known for their love for soccer and their enthusiasm for La Liga, Spain's professional soccer league.
Iraqis have set up a Real Madrid Football Fan Association in Iraq and last year, the Espanyol Football Club from Barcelona opened its own soccer academy in Baghdad with Iraqi coaches. The academy participated in this month's youth Black Sea Cup in Russia.
Real Madrid is well aware of its big fan base in Iraq. On March 22, the delegation met with children of the people who died in the bombing that targeted two events for the club's fans in 2006 and 2016 in Baghdad, Tikrit and Diyala.
On May 30, 2016, 16 Real Madrid fans were killed in an attack by the Islamic State at a coffee shop in the town of Baqubah in Diyala, north of Baghdad. Real Madrid mourned its supporters in a statement on the club’s official website.
