“Me and Ethiopian Insurance had an agreement before I left for Iraq!” Ethiopian midfielder Gatoch Panom

Ethiopian midfielder Gatoch Panom stated that he left Ethiopian Insurance for Newroz FC in January for free. Panom joined the Iraq Stars League side in a six-month deal.

Panom told Hatrick Sport newspaper that he had an agreement with Insurance before proceeding with the move. “Me and Ethiopian Insurance agreed before I left for Iraq. I told them I will leave if a foreign club approached me. They agreed. So everything happened based on our contractual agreement.”

The former Ethiopian Coffee and Saint George midfielder is enjoying early success with Newroz, scoring a dramatic late equalizer in their draw with reigning Iraqi champions Al Shorta on January 24. He said he found the Iraq Star League to be a good league. “I don’t think people have a profound knowledge on Iraqi football. But when you learn more about it, you will change your perception. I didn’t expect the league to be very strong.”

Panom wants a return to the national side before the FIFA World Cup qualifying games against Egypt and Djibouti in March. The 30-year-old missed out on Ethiopia’s final 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying matches in November, last appearing when he played the full match in a 0-3 defeat to Guinea in October.

Newroz are 10th in the standings with 26 points. They are unbeaten in the league since Panom joined them in mid-January.