Pitch politics: Iraq-Kuwait match tests post-Saddam ties

By Timour Azhari and Ahmed Hagagy

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Thousands of Iraqi football fans were expected in Kuwait on Tuesday for a World Cup qualifier, the first time they have been allowed to attend since former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein invaded the emirate 34 years ago.

The busloads of Iraqis rolling over the border for the 7 p.m. (1600 GMT) game illustrated slowly-warming ties two decades after Saddam's fall in the 2003 U.S.-led invasion, though sensitivities remain and match arrangements have sparked some controversy.

"I can't explain how I feel," said Abbas Abdelatif, a middle-aged Iraqi, waiting to board a bus in the southern Iraqi city of Basra that borders Kuwait.

"I haven't seen Kuwait in more than 30 years. There was war and problems but now, God willing, the situation will get better and better."

The match takes place at Jaber Al-Ahmad International Stadium in Kuwait City, with Iraq leading Group B of the Asian Football Confederation's qualifying matches for the 2026 World Cup.

Iraq, whose 43 million population is 10 times that of Kuwait, has a history of on-off rivalry with the tiny oil-rich emirate. The two states are building rival port projects though they are also seeking to link power grids by the end of 2024.

Iraq has been leveraging football diplomacy to mend relations with Arab Gulf states after decades of conflict and rocky relations, with the country ending its most recent war, against Islamic State, at the end of 2017.

It hosted the Gulf Cup in Basra last year for the first time since 1979, a milestone in regional reintegration.

Yousif Faal, spokesperson for the Iraqi football federation, said he hoped the rivalry, once considered the Arab world's greatest, stayed on the pitch. "It's a sporting competition, we should not insert politics into this."

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Saddam invaded and briefly annexed Kuwait in August 1990 before being ousted by a U.S.-led coalition in the Gulf War. Iraq was subsequently placed under severe sanctions and required to pay over $52 billion in war reparations, completed in 2022.

Despite improving relations since Saddam's 2003 ouster, challenges persist. Last year, Iraq's top court ruled an accord demarcating maritime borders with Kuwait unconstitutional, in a blow to growing goodwill.

"Kuwait ... wants good relations with its neighbours, especially Iraq, but Iraq must show and confirm its good intentions by resolving some issues, most notably the maritime border issue," said Abdulaziz Alanjeri, founder of Kuwait-based think tank Reconnaissance Research.

Some old habits also die hard.

Adnan Dirjal, Iraq's football association president, mistakenly referred to Kuwait as a province during an interview, echoing Saddam's 1990 claim of Kuwait as Iraq's 19th province.

He later apologised.

Initial reports suggested few or no Iraqi fans would be allowed to attend, prompting warnings of reciprocal treatment from Basra's governor.

Iraq's ambassador to Kuwait later announced 5,000 fans could attend, with specific passport and vehicle requirements.

"I think the important issue is that this sporting event marks the beginning of opening the door to discussing the subject of Kuwaiti-Iraqi relations," Anjeri said. "It's a good sign that our Iraqi brothers are interested in visiting Kuwait."

Iraqi fans view the match as a goodwill gesture.

"I hope the legacy of the former regime dies with this new generation," said Amer Hakim, an Iraqi supporter.

"The Iraqi people are not to blame for what happened because of Saddam Hussein."

(Reporting by Timour Azhari and Maher Nazeh in Baghdad, Mohammed Aty in Basra and Ahmed Hagagy in Kuwait City; Editing by Andrew Cawthorne)