Although Iraq and Algeria are heading to the men’s U-23 football tournament in the Rio 2016 Olympics, local and external difficulties are standing in the way of adding the best players to their respective national teams.
Turkey’s Çaykur Rizespor Club did not allow its Iraqi players Dhurgham Ismail and Ali Husni to join their national Olympic team. The club reneged on its original deal with Husni – who played a key role in Iraq’s qualification to Rio – which was supposed to permit his temporary release.
Ali Husni and 2015 Asian Cup’s best left-back player Dhurgham Ismail are thus obliged to attend Rizespor’s preseason camps and league games instead of representing their country at the 2016 Olympics, unless FIFA rules otherwise.
Similarly, Iraq’s 2015 player of the year Yaser Kasim might not play with the national team in Rio. His English team, Swindon Town, has agreed to release Kasim in July, but it is currently considering moving him to another team. The latter would then have the last call on whether or not Kasim competes for Iraq in Rio. Having to negotiate Kasim’s situation with a new club poses a problem for the Iraqi officials, as they must decide on the team’s final composition by July 17.
Additionally, the Swiss Grasshoppers Club has allowed Sherko Karim to join Iraq’s Olympic squad, yet it has not released an official statement on the matter.
Iraq’s national football coach Abdulghani Shahad has set July 1 as a deadline for the players to bring forth their teams’ official approval of their participation in the 2016 Olympics. Shahad has also declared that the best player in the Iraqi youth league, Hussain Ali Shehab, was prohibited from joining the national team due to his Schengen Visa.
Algeria’s Football Federation is also having a hard time persuading European clubs to release their Algerian players for the Rio Olympics, despite the federation’s tempting offers. The preliminary Algerian Olympic football team included two Europe-based players, Harris Balqabla and Ramy Bensebaini. Both play in France, along with 22 players from the Algerian league.
Moreover, the federation has struggled with one of the Algerian team’s pillars, Zeineddine Ferhat, who recently signed with the French team Le Havre. The football league’s disciplinary committee decided to ban Farhat for six months starting June 13, based on his unexcused absence from the Olympic team’s training camp.
Nonetheless, both teams have been training hard for the Olympics through camps and friendly games. The federations are striving to construct the best possible team line-ups.
Iraq and Algeria, who will carry the Arab world’s hopes to Rio, are scheduled to compete in friendly games on July 13 and 17 in preparation for the games in August.