In Iraq, little people football team dreams big

Twice a week, a small football pitch in Iraq offers the 25-member national squad of little people a chance to fulfil dreams and tackle prejudice.

Omar Abdel Rahman's team has set its sights on an ambitious goal: to travel to Argentina for their first international tournament.

Despite modest means, the players come from across the country to train, leaving behind their daily troubles, discrimination and jibes.

"The team has changed the course of my life and that of the other players," said Abdel Rahman, who works in a Baghdad cafe where he prepares shishas.

"I'm good at football, but we're treated with contempt and it's impossible to play in mainstream teams," said Abdel Rahman, who stands at 1.42 metres (four foot, eight inches).

"But now everything is changing," said the forward, clad in a number nine jersey, with green socks hiked up to his knees.

The team has just returned from a friendly match in Jordan. Next year, they aim to travel to Argentina to take part in the tournament for little people.

In 2018, a "Dwarf Copa America" was held in Buenos Aires, the first of its kind.

The date of the 2022 edition has yet to be set, said Facundo Mariano Rojas, head of the Argentina-based international football federation for little people.

This will depend mainly on restrictions imposed for the coronavirus pandemic, he said.

"We're also looking for financial resources to help the participating countries."

The matches will be played by seven-member teams in indoor stadiums and on futsal fields.

A key difference will be the size of the goals, fixed at 1.7 metres (about 5.6 feet) in height and two metres in width, compared to the regular 2.44 by 7.32 metres.