Younis Mahmoud reveals move to address Iraq national team's fitness crisis

Younis Mahmoud, the president of the Iraq Football Association, revealed a concrete move to address the 60th-minute crisis for the Lions of Mesopotamia. He also spoke about the details of his conversation with Iraq's coach Graham Arnold after the national team's exit from the group stage of the Gulf Cup, Gulf 27, in Saudi Arabia.

After Iraq's exit from the tournament, Younis Mahmoud requested coach Graham Arnold to come to Baghdad to present his report on Iraq's participation in the tournament and the reasons for the failure that saw the Lions of Mesopotamia exit in the group stage, despite ambitions to compete for the title.

Younis Mahmoud stated in media remarks: "Some channels and media outlets have started to attack the issue of players and demand not to call up players who are abroad, and this is not correct and is damaging to the country and the Iraqi national team. You, as media, should protect the players; I have no problem if you talk about me or my federation, but the players have their privacy and you must protect them because they represent you."

He added: "Please, leave the topic of the brothers who are abroad, whether they come or not, and let the selections happen on the green rectangle, because these players will represent us in two months at the AFC Asian Cup. The coach complains that the players' physical level does not rise and there is a drop after the 60th minute, and we have contracted a company for GPS devices to monitor them in the clubs and address this issue."

He stated: "Our loss to Saudi Arabia was not a matter of failure; Saudi Arabia plays on its home ground and in front of its fans, and some players may not have had the experience. There were details and simple mistakes that cost us the match. I had a session with coach Graham, and he explained some things that happened, and we benefited from these matches by giving young players the opportunity to emerge and participate."

He continued: "We tried to help the fans and provided them with facilities and financial support to go and serve the national team and support it. It is my duty to follow the media to see the mistakes in my system and take the useful matters from it. I called for the necessity of preserving the players and their privacy, as we will be competing with them in the upcoming challenges such as the AFC Asian Cup and the FIFA World Cup."

He stated: "The Prime Minister is supportive of us, and we will have a meeting with him to explain everything and provide the needs. We have, thank God, obtained the right to host the Gulf Cup 28 in Iraq, and the file will be with the Prime Minister, who will decide where it will be held. Currently, we are working on bringing in a strong technical committee and a prominent refereeing figure to develop the refereeing department."

He added: "I was able to save some money and pay off a portion of the debts and dues owed to referees that have accumulated over the past four years, and the league is running smoothly. We have contracted a specialized company to distribute GPS devices to clubs to monitor players' physical performance and address fitness declines. Our league and clubs have developed, and we have steps and plans ahead that we are following in the right way to ensure continuity in qualifying for the FIFA World Cup."

Iraq's national team has been eliminated from the AFC Asian Cup 27 through a draw, having equal points and goals scored and conceded with Oman. Iraq collected 4 points from their draw with Oman 1-1, their victory over Kuwait 3-2, and their loss to Saudi Arabia 2-0.