In the presence of Advisor to Prime Minister Masrour Barzani on Sports Affairs, President of Barzani Charity Foundation, Erbil Governor, Dean of College of Physical Education and Sports Sciences, official authorized of Gold Company, Deputy Minister of Culture and youth, the president of Erbil Club and a number of government, civil and sports personalities, The closing ceremony of the “Hope Festival for Athletics” was held in the hall of the College of Physical Education and Sports Sciences in Erbil. At the end of the ceremony, the first to third winners were awarded.
In the presence of Mr. Bakhtiar Fariq (Advisor to Mr. Masrour Barzani, Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Regional Government for Sports Affairs), Musa Ahmad, President of Barzani Charity Foundation, Omid Khoshnaw, Governor of Erbil, Dr. Ahmad Kochar, Dean of College of Physical Education and Sports Sciences, Diyar Dilpak, official authorized representative of Gold Company, Deputy Minister of Culture and Youth, Erbil Club President and a number of government, civil and sports personalities, on Tuesday August 26, 2025, the closing ceremony of the “Hope Festival for Athletics” was held in the hall of the College of Physical Education and Sports Sciences in Erbil.
Mr. Musa Ahmad, President of Barzani Charity Foundation, welcomed the participants and expressed his gratitude to the organizers of the festival. He also called it a matter of pride that on the recommendation of President Barzani and the Chairman of the Founding Board of the Barzani Charity Foundation, Mr. Masrour Barzani, the Barzani Charity Foundation has been able to help and serve the refugees. Regarding the festival, he hoped that it would be the beginning of a beautiful sports phase for the participants and in the future, they will be seen in high sports positions.
The president of the Barzani Charity Foundation, in his speech, stressed that there are still a large number of refugees in the camps, especially refugees and Iraqi citizens, that the Iraqi government should serve its citizens as in other Iraqi provinces. He said that the Iraqi Ministry of Migration and Refugees has not distributed even a single kilogram of food in the camps in Duhok since the beginning of this year, calling this neglect a “human rights violation” that the Iraqi government has not fulfilled its obligations.
Then Mr. Arian Salahaddin, Deputy Minister of Culture and Youth, in his speech, pointed out that the organization of the sports festival shows the strategy of the Barzani Charity Foundation, which is not limited to the framework to help the victims. He stressed that the Barzani Charity Foundation has crossed all boundaries in terms of providing services to the needy and has not distinguished any color. He also added: “Barzani Charity Foundation has a great humanitarian and national work in terms of ideas and goals. Therefore, we are all proud of the great humanitarian and national work of Barzani Charity Foundation. At the end of his speech, he congratulated the organizers of the festival and wished success to the participants of the festival and said: “As the Ministry of Culture and Youth, we are ready to serve the goals of the foundation with all our institutions, whether in sports, culture, youth services and all areas that the Ministry of Culture can be with you.”
Mr. Bakhtiar Fariq, Advisor to Prime Minister Masrour Barzani for Sports Affairs and member of the Iraqi Olympic Committee, thanked the Barzani Charity Foundation for organizing the sports event and called the support of the Iraqi Olympic Committee a source of pride.
The festival began with the national anthem Ay Raqib and the Iraqi national anthem, followed by the entrance of the camp teams, dance teams and competitions. Finally, the referees and players of the first, second and third places were awarded from the girls and boys teams.
