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Akad women celebrate their Iraqi league basketball championship. GLOBE PHOTO

Suleimania city honored to host the championship in which Akad wins the title for the fourth consecutive time.

After several basketball clubs in the south of Iraq refused to participate in the female Iraqi basketball league, Akad and Sanharib became the only two consistently challenging teams attempting to win the league title.

The teams taking part in the league, which began on October 20 in Suleimaniya city, included Akad from Erbil province, Qaraqoosh from Mosul, Suleimaniya, Peshmarga, Newroz, New Sirwan from Suleimaniya, and Sanharib from Duhok city. They were divided into two groups.

Tired from the long hours of travel, Akad lost its first game against the hosts, Suleimaniya. But they got back on track and beat Suleimaniya in the semifinal rematch.

Taking advantage from not having Akad from its group, Sanharib was able to reach the final game very easily.

Being beaten by Akad in the Kurdistan League final match last August, Sanharib players competed nervously throughout the whole game. Akad played with confidence and won 77-52. "Actually we were not successful to win our first game against Suleimaniya because we were not comfortable comfortable and we were tired as three points prevented us from achieving our purpose of winning," "said player Slivana Najeeb, 28. "Defeating the same team in the semifinal with 15 points ahead proved to everybody that we would win the first game too if we were not tired. We played a fantastic game."

Najeeb is married with two kids, which made her job a little bit difficult. But she never thought of quitting. The continuous support from her husband and club officials greatly benefited her. "I was told my 3-year-old son was sick as I was in Suleimaniya and the tournament was still running. I went home to see him, then went back to play."

She believes the players' high morale will surely sink if the government does not provide support. "We expect better financial support from the Kurdish government as we, unlike some other simple teams, should be regarded differently for winning the Iraqi league title five times so far,"noted Najeeb.

Under the supervision of their famous coach, Ali Muhammed, the team exercised regularly for two months, five days a weak, in preparation for challenging participating teams in the league.

Asked if a player had more influence upon changing the results and gaining more points for the team, Muhammed stated: "I do not want to differentiate among the players since none of them were trying to only impose her skills; each one completed the other's mission, which was only winning the title."

Muhammed thinks his team's defending line proved theirs was the best basketball game as they were sending and transferring the ball to players in the front line within five seconds.

What made Akad appear a little bit different, according to Muhammed, was using the "help and cover"techniques by the players confidently and smoothly without difficulty. The players used to practice the techniques and follow trainer's instructions properly during their daily trainings before the league began.

Players said it was their love of the team and the continuous motivation and encouragement from all the club administration members when asked why Akad's team remained champions of the Kurdistan and Iraqi league.

"I happened to notice that a player was sick and I told her to relax for a game, but she refused, wondering if her absence might cause an unwanted outcome,"noted Muhammed.

In spite of having more than enough substitutes to replace the main players, the team still aspires to train as many as they can especially cubs and juniors who can be selected from the schools.
Muayad Slewa, a member of the club administration who led the club delegation in their traveling to Suleimaniya city, said" "Except the first game, we played comfortably for having most of the Kurdistan league participant teams in the Iraqi league also."

Slewa was impressed by Qaraqoosh's style of playing, as they were like members of one family because all of them were relatives each belonging to a Qaraqoosh village in Mosul.

Concerning Baghdad clubs' exclusion from the tournament, Dr. Thaer Abdulahad, head of Akad club, noted: "Some teams in the south refused to contribute in the competition probably because they did not want to be beaten by us, though some say it is because they don't have the adequate budget for the trip and hotel costs, realizing they had to stay in Suleimaniya for almost a week."
Abdulahad is a member of the newly constituted Kurdish Parliament. His main mission is to attempt to create better conditions for the athletes and sports infrastructure in Kurdistan through his suggestions.

Although the club has one of the best complex facilities in which the players train, what concerns most staff members of the club is that they don't have the budget for the club's needs.

"The players have only a modest monthly allowance, which is only enough for their transportation,"said Anwar Salman, deputy head of Akad. Salman believes the prosperous clubs should be rewarded while the unsuccessful ones have to be questioned when not earning positive results.

"Of course, our players like to get to the international championship levels, and they expect the club officials to bring this dream into their real days. But we know it's going to take hard work with our not having what international teams have,"stated Salman.

Akad was founded in 1992, but due to not having a sufficient number of players, three years later the basketball team was established. The club was also the only one at that time in Kurdistan to have a female basketball team. The current basketball team, with six players playing for the Iraqi national team, is supposed to play at the Arab Championships next year.