The UAE Football Association made the request for the match on September 5 to be played in the capital of Jordan rather than in Iran, where Iraq have played the majority of their home fixtures in Asian qualifying due to security concerns.

In a statement to Reuters, the Iraq Football Association (IFA) confirmed the Asian Football Confederation had granted the request but did not specify the reasons behind it.

Iran hosted Iraq's World Cup qualifying encounters with Japan, Australia and Thailand, while their clash with Saudi Arabia was held in Malaysia last year.

Iraq cannot qualify for next year's World Cup in Russia as they sit fifth in the six-team group with five points, 11 points behind third-place Australia with two matches to play.

UAE's chances of qualification are not over, but remain slim.

They must beat Iraq and Saudi Arabia on August 29 to stand any chance of progressing to the next phase.

In May, FIFA's Council approved a motion submitted by the IFA to lift the suspension on the country hosting international football friendly matches "providing certain conditions are met".

The Council also said they would only be granted the right to host matches if "several adjustments are brought into place in the proposed venues" in Erbil, Basra and Karbala.

As a result, the Congress did not need to take a vote on the matter as the ruling Council has the power to make such decisions.

On May 21, an Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Cup clash between Air Force and Al-Zawraa was the first international contest staged in the war-torn nation since 2013.

The hosting of the AFC Cup match was hailed as a turning point for the football-mad country.

A crowd of 11,500 were in attendance to watch the 1-1 draw at the Franso Hariri Stadium in Arbil.

FIFA and the AFC had periodically placed a ban on Iraq hosting international games for security reasons, with the most recent suspension coming four years ago when a coach died in a clash with security forces.