The Iraqi Football Association on Sunday decided to postpone elections for its board until further notice amid divisions which threaten to see Iraq barred from international competition.
The election, originally set for Saturday, has been held up because the IFA's governing committee has split into rival camps: one supporting the incumbent president, who has links to executed dictator Saddam Hussein's former regime, and another backing a pro-government challenger.
The former group gathered in the northern city of Arbil, while the latter met in Baghdad. World football governing body FIFA has threatened to ban Iraq from international play over "governmental interference in the electoral process" of the IFA. Incumbent president Hussein Said at the meeting in Arbil, the capital of Iraq's autonomous Kurdish region, that the IFA's 63 committee members had unanimously agreed to send a letter to FIFA requesting a postponement.