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After the 1979 Revolution, football was somewhat neglected and cast aside. During the 1980s, the national team did not feature in World Cup competitions due to the homeland–Iraq War (1980–88) and domestic football embraced the inevitable effects of conflict. The national team withdrew from the Asian qualifiers for the 1982 World Cup and refused to participate in the qualifiers for the 1986 World Cup because of having to play on neutral ground.
