Iraq's double triumph: This week in Middle East football

History has been made again in Middle Eastern football thia weekend, as for the first time since 1989, an Asian cup final was held in Iraq.

On Saturday night, Iraq's Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya won their third consecutive AFC Cup trophy and set a record for Asia's second-most important club competition.

Al-Jawiya's opponents, Altyn Asyr, became the first ever representatives from Turkmenistan to reach a continental final. But the fans in Basra, known for their passion for football, were all about the triumph of the Iraqi team.

The stadium was packed with 25,000 spectators, who saw Hammadi Ahmed adding yet another goal to his stats in the first half. The young defender Ibrahim Bayesh notched in a superb header in the second half and Al-Jawiya had beaten the Turkmen 2-0.

Hammadi Ahmed won the tournament's Most Valued Player award for a second consecutive year. "All we want is to show respect for Iraq and the Iraqi fans, and that the world would know that there is also normal life in the country," he said in an interview after the game.

"We want to be a country like all others, to host in our home in such atmosphere. Next year, inshallah, we'll do it in Baghdad at the People's Stadium. Allah Akbar."

The festivities were major, but more relaxed than the previous two AFC Cups celebrated by the team. With five titles in four years, and a record three successive AFC Cup wins, Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya has become a real force in Asian football.

Many fans are already demanding that the Asian Football Association allows Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya to play in the Champions League next season. Although they may deserve it, it is doubtful whether it will happen. Iraq has a long way to go, mainly administratively, before it can host Champions League games.

Nevertheless, that a team from a war-torn country such as Iraq can reach sporting success like this is a remarkable achievement. Not without due reason, Al-Jawiya is being referred to as 'the Iraqi Sevilla' - after the Spanish five-time winners of the Europa League competition. The future is bright for al-Suqoor from Baghdad.