Mosul sports complex faces redevelopment dispute

Shafaq News- Nineveh

Parts of Mosul’s Al-Dawasa Sports Complex have been demolished under a commercial redevelopment project that threatens its sporting role, Mosul Youth Forum Director Ziad Ghanem Mahmoud said on Wednesday.

Mahmoud told Shafaq News that the contracts granted to the investor contain no sporting component and instead provide for hospitals, pharmacies, and cafes. The forum building, the Blue Hall, and a sports enclosure had already been demolished.

He also accused the investor of dismantling and selling steel structures from the site without authorization, and a complaint filed with Iraq’s Federal Integrity Commission had previously led to the investor being detained for several days.

Nineveh Sports Directorate Deputy Director Saqr Talib previously estimated that about 3,000 athletes use the complex each month and said a hall had been demolished and its steel removed after an investor took control of the site.

Iraq’s National Investment Commission, however, lists an Al-Dawasa Stadium project that includes commercial facilities alongside plans to rehabilitate the main stadium and build a multipurpose sports hall, a swimming pool, and a five-a-side football pitch. According to Mahmoud, ownership of the properties had been transferred from the Youth and Sports Ministry to Nineveh province.