Open Fun Football Schools in Kirkuk & Tuz (Kirkuk) 7 – 8 and 12 – 13 – 14 November

 

Strategically located on the crossroads of nationalities and linguistic borders, and an underground rich in oil, the ethnically mixed Kirkuk is disputed territory.  Ever since the oil was discovered in the 1920ties, to control this wealth continuous attempts have been made by Iraqi governments to rework the region’s ethnic make-up and reduce the political power and presence of the resident ethnic groups. Lately, the former regime of Saddam Hussein exercised a vicious combination of ethnic cleansing when tens of thousands of Kurdish and Turkmenian and Christian families were forcibly expelled, alternatively intimidated to relinquish their identities and to register officially as Arabs, and a policy of “arabization” as Arab families from the Southern Iraq were resettled in the area. With a referendum to be held on whether Kirkuk Province should become a part of Iraqi Kurdistan repeatedly delayed and has yet no firm date in sight, the people of Kirkuk have inherited a volatile powder keg of unresolved ethnic conflict.

 

 

This makes Kirkuk an obvious setting for CCPA Iraq, building communication across local communities through our multi-ethnic children’s grassroots’ football activities.

 

 

During 7-8 and 12-13-14 November in collaboration with local clubs one multi-ethnic Open Fun Football School was shared between Kirkuk city and Tuz. The Open Fun Football School gathered a total of 290 boys, 86 being Arabs, 83 Kurdish, 98 Turkmenian and 23 Christian. On the opening days the football school was visited by local officials, and in Tuz the Turkmenian representative of the Ministry of Youth and Sport Baghdad distributed CCPA diplomas to the participating children at a closing ceremony of the 3 days activities inhere. The activities in Kirkuk was covered by Al Hurya TV, Al Rasheed TV, Al-ayen  TV, Afak TV and Ashtar TV. In Tuz the Al Hayr, one Kurdish and one Turkmenian TV channel broadcast news stories about the Open Fun Football School into the region.