ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — Famed Iraqi musician Ilham al-Madfai has released a song in tribute of national footballing legend Ahmed Radhi, who died last month after contracting the coronavirus. Madfai, a composer, singer and guitarist, released Lan Nansak – We Won't Forget You – last week. "We will never forget you and you will remain in our hearts forever," read the description accompanying the song published on Madfai's YouTube channel on June 29. Radhi, 56, is perhaps the highest-profile Iraqi to have succumbed to COVID-19, passing away at a Baghdad hospital on June 21, eight days after contracting the virus. The two-part track sees Madfai first recite an original poem for Radhi, before he breaks into song about Baghdad, with lyrics adapted from verse written by Syrian poet Nizar Qabbani. Radhi scored Iraq's first – and to date, only – FIFA World Cup goal, in 1986. He was on the Iraqi team that won the Pan-Arab Games football tournament in 1985, and the Arabian Gulf Cup in 1988 - ranking as tournament top scorer in both. Radhi represented Iraq at the 1988 Olympics in Seoul, South Korea, and was awarded as Asian Footballer of the Year that same year by International Federation of Football History & Statistics (IFFHS). He came ninth in the IFFHS' Asian Player of the Century rankings in 1999. Iraq is continuing to reel from the COVID-19 pandemic weeks after Radhi's death, with the number of cases recorded so far at more than 62,000. Virus-related deaths stand at over 2,500. Cases of the virus in Iraq began to spike in late May, and the country's health system has struggled to accommodate for the influx of the newly sick. Hospitals across the country have reported shortages in necessary beds, ventilators and medical supplies. Radhi was the second professional Iraqi footballer known to have died from the virus, following the death of sporting peer Ali Hadi on June 12. World-renowned singer Madfai was born to Kurdish parents in Baghdad in 1942. He is known for combining traditional Arabic music with the sounds of western instruments - particularly the guitar, which he is seen playing in almost all of his songs. Having played at prestigious venues worldwide, including the Royal Albert Hall in London, Madfai currently resides in Jordan.
