The sport of football in the country of Iraq is run by the Iraq Football Association .[ 1] [ 2] The association administers the national football team as well as the Iraqi football league system .[ 3] [ 4] [ 5] [ 6] [ 7] Football is the most popular sport in Iraq.[ 8]
National teams
Bashar Resan with Iraq
The national team have qualified for the final tournament of the World Cup once in 1986 which was held in Mexico . Success in the Asian Cup has been more widespread, winning the tournament in 2007 and finishing fourth in 1976 and 2015 . As of 2015 the women's national team have not entered either of these competitions.[citation needed ]
The under-23 side has had success at the Asian Games winning silver at the 2006 edition in Qatar and bronze in the 2014 tournament , held in South Korea . Their best placing in Olympic football has been fourth at Athens in 2004.[citation needed ]
As of 18 July 2024 the men's team were ranked 55th in the world[ 9] while the women's team are ranked 172nd[ 10]
The Ministry of Youth and Sports developed plans to drastically improve sports infrastructure and have decided to build big stadiums in every governorate of Iraq . The government gave them a $2.5bn package for this cause, and plans have been drawn up to build most of the stadiums below. They have also used some of this budget to improve football on a local level in areas of the country. Most stadiums listed below have been funded by this package, unless they are one of the older stadiums, or the proposed Baghdad Sports City, which will be funded by the Saudi king, King Salman .[citation needed ]
#
Image
Stadium
Location
Current Capacity
Sport
Home team(s)
Year Built
Coordinates
1
Basra International Stadium
Basra
65,227
Football
Iraq national football team
2013
30°26′23.6″N 47°46′47.3″E / 30.439889°N 47.779806°E / 30.439889; 47.779806 (Basra International Stadium )
[ 11] [ 12] [ 13]
2
Al-Shaab Stadium
Baghdad
35,700
Football
Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya , Al-Shorta SC , Al-Talaba SC
1966
33°19′29.53″N 44°26′07.09″E / 33.3248694°N 44.4353028°E / 33.3248694; 44.4353028 (Al-Shaab Stadium )
[ 14] [ 15] [ 16]
3
Al-Madina Stadium
Al Habibya, Baghdad
32,000
Football
Iraq national football team
2021
33°21′15.8″N 44°27′20.1″E / 33.354389°N 44.455583°E / 33.354389; 44.455583 (Al-Madina Stadium )
[ 17] [ 18] [ 19]
4
Karbala International Stadium
Karbala
30,000
Football
Karbala SC
2016
32°33′53.4″N 44°00′15.4″E / 32.564833°N 44.004278°E / 32.564833; 44.004278 (Karbala International Stadium )
[ 20] [ 21] [ 22]
5
Al-Najaf International Stadium
Najaf
30,000
Football
Al-Najaf SC , Naft Al-Wasat SC
2018
32°03′58.7″N 44°19′01″E / 32.066306°N 44.31694°E / 32.066306; 44.31694 (Al-Najaf International Stadium )
[ 23] [ 24] [ 25]
6
Al-Minaa Olympic Stadium
Basra
30,000
Football
Al-Minaa SC
2022
30°33′08.6″N 47°46′41.5″E / 30.552389°N 47.778194°E / 30.552389; 47.778194 (Al-Minaa Olympic Stadium )
[ 26] [ 27] [ 28]
7
Franso Hariri Stadium
Erbil
25,000
Football
Erbil SC
1956
36°10′21.1″N 44°00′42″E / 36.172528°N 44.01167°E / 36.172528; 44.01167 (Franso Hariri Stadium )
[ 29] [ 30] [ 31]
8
Kirkuk Olympic Stadium
Kirkuk
25,000
Football
Kirkuk SC
1982
35°26′35.4″N 44°25′16.7″E / 35.443167°N 44.421306°E / 35.443167; 44.421306 (Kirkuk Olympic Stadium )
[ 32] [ 33] [ 34]
9
Maysan Stadium
Amarah
25,000
Football
Naft Maysan SC , Maysan SC
1987
31°50′07.2″N 47°07′37.1″E / 31.835333°N 47.126972°E / 31.835333; 47.126972 (Maysan Stadium )
[ 35] [ 36] [ 37]
10
Duhok Stadium
Duhok
22,800
Football
Duhok SC
1986
36°51′06.9″N 42°59′47.1″E / 36.851917°N 42.996417°E / 36.851917; 42.996417 (Duhok Stadium )
[ 38] [ 39] [ 40]
11
Zakho International Stadium
Zakho
20,000
Football
Zakho SC
2015
37°08′45.5″N 42°40′20″E / 37.145972°N 42.67222°E / 37.145972; 42.67222 (Zakho Stadium )
[ 41] [ 42] [ 43]
12
Al-Kut Olympic Stadium
Al Kut
20,000
Football
Al-Kut SC
2018
32°30′08.6″N 45°50′06.2″E / 32.502389°N 45.835056°E / 32.502389; 45.835056 (Al-Kut Olympic Stadium )
[ 44] [ 45] [ 46]
13
Sulaymaniyah Stadium
Sulaymaniyah
18,000
Football
Sulaymaniyah SC , Newroz SC
35°32′59.4″N 45°25′44.4″E / 35.549833°N 45.429000°E / 35.549833; 45.429000 (Sulaymaniyah Stadium )
[ 47] [ 48] [ 49]
14
Al-Zawraa Stadium
Baghdad
15,443
Football
Al-Zawraa SC
2022
33°20′39.2″N 44°22′05.5″E / 33.344222°N 44.368194°E / 33.344222; 44.368194 (Al-Zawraa Stadium )
[ 50] [ 51] [ 52]
15
Al Ramadi Stadium
Ramadi
15,000
Football
Al-Ramadi SC , Al-Fahad SC
33°25′13.4″N 43°19′18.3″E / 33.420389°N 43.321750°E / 33.420389; 43.321750 (Al-Ramadi Stadium )
[ 53] [ 54] [ 55]
16
Al-Samawah Stadium
Al Muthanna
15,000
Football
Al-Samawa SC , Uruk SC
31°19′58.9″N 45°17′20.2″E / 31.333028°N 45.288944°E / 31.333028; 45.288944 (Al-Samawah Stadium )
[ 56] [ 57] [ 58]
17
Al-Kashafa Stadium
Al Kasrah, Baghdad
14,000
Football
1931
33°21′34″N 44°22′49.5″E / 33.35944°N 44.380417°E / 33.35944; 44.380417 (Al-Kashafa Stadium )
[ 59] [ 60] [ 61]
18
Al Fayhaa Stadium
Basra
10,000
Football
Naft Al-Basra SC , Al-Minaa SC
2013
30°26′33.3″N 47°46′47.3″E / 30.442583°N 47.779806°E / 30.442583; 47.779806 (Al Fayhaa Stadium )
[ 62] [ 63] [ 64]
19
Al-Najaf old Stadium
Najaf
10,000
Football
Al-Najaf SC
1970
32°00′43.6″N 44°19′39.9″E / 32.012111°N 44.327750°E / 32.012111; 44.327750 (Al-Najaf old stadium )
[ 65] [ 66] [ 67]
20
Suq Al-Shuyukh Stadium
Dhi Qar
10,000
Football
Al-Furat SC , Suq Al-Shuyukh SC
2015
30°54′12.6″N 46°27′09.4″E / 30.903500°N 46.452611°E / 30.903500; 46.452611 (Suq Al-Shuyukh Stadium )
[ 68] [ 69] [ 70]
21
Delal Stadium
Zakho
10,000
Football
Zakho SC
37°10′06.3″N 42°41′30.2″E / 37.168417°N 42.691722°E / 37.168417; 42.691722 (Delal Stadium )
22
Al Aziziyah Stadium
Wasit
10,000
Football
Al-Aziziyah SC
2019
32°50′41.7″N 45°08′09.3″E / 32.844917°N 45.135917°E / 32.844917; 45.135917 (Al-Aziziyah Stadium )
[ 71] [ 72] [ 73]
23
Al-Nasiriyah Stadium
Nasiriyah
10,000
Football
Al-Nasiriya SC , Akkad SC
31°01′17.8″N 46°15′04.7″E / 31.021611°N 46.251306°E / 31.021611; 46.251306 (Al-Nasiriyah Stadium )
24
Ba'quba Stadium
Baqubah
10,000
Football
Diyala SC
33°44′53.1″N 44°39′27.1″E / 33.748083°N 44.657528°E / 33.748083; 44.657528 (Ba'quba Stadium )
25
Tikrit Stadium
Tikrit
10,000
Football
Salahaddin SC , Tikrit SC
34°35′46.6″N 43°41′01.7″E / 34.596278°N 43.683806°E / 34.596278; 43.683806 (Tikrit Stadium )
Club tournaments
Aliyat Al-Shorta reached the final of the Asian Club Championship , the biggest tournament in Asian football, in 1971 but withdrew from the final due to it being against an Israeli team. Al-Rasheed also reached the final in 1989 but lost on away goals. Al-Shorta won the first ever edition of the Arab Club Champions Cup in 1982 with Al-Rasheed winning that competition three times in a row (1985 , 1986 , 1987 ). Al-Talaba and Al-Zawraa both lost the final of the Asian Cup Winners' Cup in 1995 and 2000 respectively, before Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya won Asia's second-tier tournament, the AFC Cup , three consecutive times in 2016 , 2017 and 2018 .
Domestic league titles won by club
See also
References
External links