Nashat Akram is the star of Iraqi football.  He helped lead Iraq to their surprise winning of the Asian Cup and he is now on the radar of clubs around the world.  Recently Manchester City tried buying Akram from Al- Ainin the United Arab Emirates, but the Home Office in England who grants work permits and visas denied this from happening.  They say it is because Iraq is ranked outside of the world’s top 70 teams (currently 71), but there are people that are saying this is more of a political decision than anything else.  We all know how difficult it is to get that all important work permit, but you have to wonder if there is more to this than what is on the surface.  For more information on this story, check out this piece that came out in the LA Times today.