Former Iraqi football star Adnan Dirjal swapped his studs for a suit this week when he was named the country's new youth and sports minister. The slender and balding 60-year-old with a quick smile and sloping nose, who was one of Iraq's most prominent national captains, was one of the only recognisable names among 15 ministers approved by parliament on Thursday, after five months of stalemate over a new government.

From pitch to politics: Iraq's new sports minister Adnan Dirjal

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From pitch to politics: Iraq's new sports minister Adnan Dirjal