NOCI President Raad Hammoudi and Anadia Mayor Teresa Belim Cardoso met to sign the Memorandum of Understanding in Portugal ©NOCI

The National Olympic Committee of Iraq (NOCI) and Anadia have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to allow Iraqi athletes to use sporting facilities in the Portuguese city to prepare for the Paris 2024 and Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games.

The groundwork of the deal was done in May when a delegation from the Municipality of Anadia met NOCI officials at the governing body's headquarters in Baghdad.

NOCI President Raad Hammoudi and Anadia Mayor Teresa Belim Cardoso then met at the Paços do Concelho earlier this week to confirm the agreement.

The Committee has identified the Anadia High Performance Centre as one of its priority locations for training its elite athletes and teams.

Hammoudi stated that he hoped the cooperation would ensure good results for the country at the upcoming Games and described the Aveiro municipality as an optimum location as it has the "ideal conditions for the preparation of the Olympic cycles of the Iraqi teams".

Anadia was previously used as a training base for the Latvian national football team at the 2004 European Championship ©Getty Images
Anadia was previously used as a training base for the Latvian national football team at the 2004 European Championship ©Getty Images

Iraq has only won one medal at the Olympic Games when Adbul Wahid Aziz claimed bronze in the men's lightweight weightlifting competition at Rome 1960.

At Tokyo 2020, the country only took three athletes - in athletics, rowing, and shooting.

Sculler Mohammed Al Khafaji achieved the best result as he finished 22nd overall in the men's individual event.

Taha Hussein Yaseen finished 6th in his heat in the men's 400 metres while Fatimah Al-Kaabi was 51st in qualification in the women's 10m air pistol, with neither progressing to the final.

Anadia's facilities also served as a training base for Latvia's football team when Portugal hosted the 2004 European Championship.