Bahrain will replace Iraq as host of the 2013 Gulf Cup, the island kingdom's sports officials said yesterday, a decision the Iraqis say was politically motivated.
Sheikh Ahmed bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the general secretary of Bahrain's Olympic Committee, said the decision to move the tournament to Bahrain was made by the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), a group of six Gulf states.
Sheikh Ahmed did not give the reason for the decision for the change of venues.
"When the decision came to us, we said we are ready," Sheikh Ahmed said. "It will be the fourth Gulf tournament for Bahrain so for us it has become a regular exercise."
The 2013 Gulf Cup was originally awarded to Basra, Iraq's second largest city, but Bahrain's media said Basra's stadium and hotel construction were given a poor review by the GCC football committee.
Iraqi sports officials were angered and disappointed by the decision.
"The decision to give the Gulf Cup to Bahrain instead of Basra was unfair and unjust," said Munis Abdullah, a senior member of the Iraqi Olympic Committee in Baghdad.
He said the Gulf officials, who toured Basra's Gulf Cup sites last week, had "some concerns about the pace of work", but Iraq assured them the venues will be completed in time for the tournament.
"There was some politics involved in this decision because of the stance of the Iraqi government toward the uprising in Bahrain," Abdullah said.
Mohammed Fawzi, the UAE Olympic and senior national team midfielder, said the venue change was made in good faith and not for any other reasons.
"Those who are in charge must have made their findings before deciding on the change," he said. "We still hear of the unrest in the country and to shift the venue may be the right thing to do."
Yemen hosted eight teams during the last Gulf Cup in 2010 amid tight security due to conflicts across the country.
Bahrain was the host of the inaugural Gulf tournament in 1970. Since then, the Gulf kingdom has raised its profile by becoming the first Arab country to host a Formula One Grand Prix in 2006, although this year's season-opening race was cancelled due to the unrest. The European Tour's Volvo Golf Champions has also been moved from Bahrain to South Africa because of the recent troubles.
Violence has subsided significantly in Iraq, although in September, the football's world governing body banned Iraq from playing any home qualifiers. Fifa said the decision was prompted by the "general security situation" in Iraq, and stadium failures in the Kurdish city of Irbil when Iraq hosted Jordan in a World Cup qualifier.
Waleed Hameed, the head of the Sports and Youth Council in Basra, said the decision to strip Iraq of Gulf Cup hosting rights is not based on the "reality on the ground".
"When the Gulf officials visited the sites, they praised our work," Hameed said. He added that 70 per cent of the venues are finished and the project will be completed by June 2013.
"They issued their report that has nothing to do with reality on the ground," Hameed said. "I think that politics played a great role in this."
* Agencies