LaLiga have ended their consultancy and football development project with the Iraq Football Association. The collaboration began in 2023, but the original contract has now expired. Negotiations followed, during which LaLiga put forward a set of alternatives designed to establish a new framework for continued cooperation, yet no deal materialised.
A project backed at the highest levels
LaLiga president Javier Tebas said: "Iraq has one of the most passionate and committed football fan bases in the world, and this enthusiasm has been a constant source of inspiration for our team throughout these three years. Everything we have built together represents a legacy for Iraqi football. I am convinced that the foundations we have laid are solid, and I am confident that those now responsible for them will know how to preserve them and work to develop them."
Signed in 2023 under Adnan Dirjal, then president of the Iraq Football Association, the agreement saw LaLiga station a permanent team on the ground in Baghdad from the outset. Hundreds of specialists at their Madrid headquarters and international offices backed up that work.
Tebas himself drove the project from the start, overseeing its development personally and visiting Iraq on numerous occasions.
Key milestones: business development and professional competitions
• A comprehensive reorganisation of the first and second divisions, with 20 teams taking part and 380 matches held, alongside the introduction of new play-off systems to determine promotion, retention and relegation, which helped enhance competitiveness and professionalism, with a clearer definition of roles and responsibilities within the Iraq Football Association and the competition structures.
• The implementation of a conditional asymmetric calendar, alongside a phased strategy developed since 2023, aimed at aligning the season's start and end dates with the major European leagues. The work carried out during the summer of 2026 was decisive in ensuring that the new season began on sound foundations, accommodating the requirements of the Iraq Cup, the new Iraqi Super Cup, the national team's commitments, and clubs' participation in continental tournaments.
• The implementation of the first phase of the financial monitoring system for clubs, including financial regulations and training programmes in Iraq and Spain, and the establishment of a licensing committee and an appeals committee.
• The introduction of Video Assistant Referee (VAR) technology for the first time in the history of Iraqi football.
• A 6.5-fold increase in the value of audiovisual rights, with more than 20 million digital viewers recorded during the 2025-2026 season, at an average of 112,000 views per match.
• An agreement with Adidas to be the official supplier of match balls, alongside the implementation of the first professional model for activating and measuring sponsorship in the competition's history.
• Growth of the competition's digital ecosystem by 39.6%, and by 81.7% when WhatsApp is included, reaching 474,600 followers. The combined total of followers across the 20 clubs reached 6.29 million, with all clubs recording positive growth rates.
• The organisation of 20 workshops, the training of more than 500 specialists from 40 clubs, and the delivery of more than 200 hours of training, including three immersion programmes at LaLiga's headquarters in the Spanish capital, Madrid. The programmes covered all areas of the project, including business development and sporting development.
Key milestones: sporting development and youth football – "Project Dream"
• The establishment of the youth league system in Iraq, which expanded from 66 teams in the 2023-2024 season to 174 teams, 1,608 matches and 4,070 registered players in the 2025-2026 season, with increases exceeding 163% in the number of teams, 301% in the number of matches, and 142% in the number of players.
• For the first time, all players were registered via a digital platform, MyIFA, which included regulations to limit age manipulation. The system also accredited 856 coaches, 994 referees and 226 match observers.
• The Iraq Football Association's talent centre in Baghdad assessed 1,424 participants from 66 institutions, and selected 96 players and 14 coaches to undergo a data-based individual monitoring process.
• LaLiga drew up a three-year strategic plan for the development of the Iraq Football Association, which was presented to the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) and received FIFA's approval. This accreditation helped enable the Iraq Football Association to join FIFA's Talent Development Scheme (TDS) and to move from the "Development" category to the "Ambition" category, raising the funding allocated to it from zero to 250,000 US dollars.
Flexibility in efforts to continue the partnership
The original contract expired in April 2026. While waiting for the Iraq Football Association to complete its electoral process, LaLiga kept both its team and its work running in Baghdad.
Once the new leadership took up its duties, the Iraq Football Association asked LaLiga to keep its team in Iraq for a further three months while the two sides negotiated a new agreement. LaLiga agreed and carried on.
LaLiga showed plenty of flexibility and commitment throughout this period, tabling several technical and contractual options. They accepted the Iraq Football Association's decision not to continue "Project Dream" and, at the association's request, added a new line of work dedicated to refereeing.
Drawn up with Spain's Technical Committee of Referees (CTA), the proposal included appointing a lead expert to work permanently on the ground, alongside direct support from prominent international refereeing figures.
It went further still. Iraq's refereeing representatives would get the chance to attend the Technical Committee of Referees' weekly internal review sessions, an unprecedented opportunity at the level of international refereeing.
Despite the wide range of alternatives on the table, the two parties could not strike a new deal.
LaLiga insist they remain ready to work with Iraqi football again, and they thank the Iraqi officials, clubs, coaches, referees and fans for their cooperation across the past three years.
The systems put in place, the personnel trained and the knowledge transferred all form a strong foundation for Iraqi football to build on as it continues its development journey.
LaLiga will press on with their commitment to developing the game internationally. They are currently running numerous consultancy projects across a range of areas, from sporting development and the professionalisation of leagues and clubs to audiovisual production, academies and youth development, applying the same standards of excellence, professionalism and commitment that defined their work in Iraq.