The project also involves creation of football academies in Iraq and education of instructors for these academies. The fifty instructors will teach football to children in the whole of Iraq.
The former president of the Norwegian Football Association, Per Ravn Omdal, participated in the opening, and told the press that football may stimulate solidarity, and thus help the normalisation in Iraq. He added that it is of special priority for Norway to get girls to play football. As part of the project, there will be arranged a large, regional football festival for girls in Amman in the end of November. Girls from Iraq, Jordan, Syria, Palestine, Iran, Lebanon and Norway will participate in the tournament.
For a Norwegian language video clip from the opening, please click here.