Soccer Iraq

Soccer Iraq is an English-based Iraqi website and social media agency providing a variety of news, statistics and services for Iraqi football, ranging from coverage on the Iraq national football team and its players to news on the Iraqi Premier League.

Soccer Iraq
Type of site
Sports journalism
Social media agency
Available inEnglish
URLwww.socceriraq.net
Launched2015

On 17 May 2021, Soccer Iraq partnered with Al-Shorta Sports Club to manage the club's official English-language social media profiles. On 17 May 2023, Soccer Iraq reached an agreement with the Iraq Football Association (IFA) to launch and administer new social media channels for the Iraq national football team in English.

History

Soccer Iraq launched on 11 March 2015 with the aim of creating an English-based website covering Iraq's national football team, the Lions of Mesopotamia,[1] as well as the domestic club competitions and the nation's foreign-based players.[2] In 2017, Soccer Iraq assisted the Iraq Football Association (IFA) in the process of verifying the IFA's official social media profiles.[3] In 2020, Soccer Iraq helped facilitate Safaa Hadi's move to the Russian Premier League by streamlining the communication of the Russian Football Union and PFC Krylia Sovetov with Al-Shorta SC regarding the completion of administrative procedures.[4]

Soccer Iraq has also been involved in research into the earliest league and cup tournaments played in Iraq.[5] Several current and former international players are in regular interaction with the website's posts on social media.[6][7][8][9][10] The website has published several interviews since its launch – most recently with Gonzalo Rodríguez García, Osama Rashid, Mohannad Abdul-Raheem, Rebin Sulaka, Lorival Santos, Marin Ion, Justin Meram and Ali Adnan.[11]

Providing Information

Throughout the years, Soccer Iraq has provided information regarding the Iraqi game to many major news networks and has been relied on by news organisations around the world, such as International Business Times,[12] La Gazzetta dello Sport,[13] Marca,[14] L'Equipe,[15] Goal,[16][17] Al Jazeera,[18] ESPN FC,[19] Asian Football Confederation,[20][21] Diario AS,[22] Daily Mail, Daily Express,[23] Sport.ro,[24] Major League Soccer,[25] Panorama,[26] Mundo Deportivo,[27] The Washington Post,[28] The National,[29] Fox Sports,[30][31] Transfermarkt,[32] RT, Emarat Al Youm,[33] 90min.com,[34] SPORTbible,[35] Vancouver Whitecaps FC,[36] Tuttosport,[37] Sportskeeda,[38] Football Manager,[39] Telemundo Deportes,[40] Het Nieuwsblad,[41] Corriere dello Sport,[42] Le Matin,[43] Index.hr,[44] Bola,[45] Sport1,[46] L'essentiel,[47] Vanity Fair,[48] NOS,[49] Algemeen Dagblad,[50] Thanh Niên,[51] Siol,[52] La Nación,[53] NRC Handelsblad,[54] Cumhuriyet,[55] Al Akhbar,[56] Radiotelevizija Slovenija,[57] Kurir,[58] El Comercio,[59] La República,[60] El Liberal,[61] La Prensa,[62] Koran Sindo,[63] Žurnal24,[64] DV,[65] The New Arab,[66] TyC Sports,[67] Nova Sport 1,[68] HobbyConsolas[69] and Kurdistan 24.[70]

Partnerships

On 17 May 2021, Iraqi club Al-Shorta SC announced on its official website that it had partnered with Soccer Iraq to manage its English-language social media profiles and streamline its digital content across all accounts. The move came after Al-Shorta's participation in Asia's top club competition, the AFC Champions League, with the club appointing Soccer Iraq due to its "six years of experience in social media and digital marketing".[71] On 29 June 2021, Al-Shorta became the first Iraqi club to receive Twitter verification, through its English-language account.[72]

On 17 May 2023, Soccer Iraq reached an agreement with the Iraq Football Association (IFA) to launch and manage official English-language social media channels for the Iraq national football team, with the IFA commending the distinctive style of Soccer Iraq's body of work in digital media and its pioneering of English-language coverage of football in the country.[73]

Player of the Year

Soccer Iraq launched an Iraqi Player of the Year award for the first time in 2021. Mohammed Qasim Majid won the inaugural award and was congratulated by his club, while goalkeeper Jalal Hassan won the award in 2022.[74][75]

Year Rank Player Position Votes (%)
2021[76] 1st Mohammed Qasim Midfielder 59.4
2nd Fahad Talib Goalkeeper 19.6
3rd Ahmed Ibrahim Defender 10.6
2022[77] 1st Jalal Hassan Goalkeeper 52.2
2nd Aymen Hussein Forward 30.2
3rd Manaf Younis Defender 9.0

Goal of the Season

Soccer Iraq launched the first ever Goal of the Season competition for the Iraqi Premier League starting from the 2016–17 season. The winner is chosen by a Twitter poll between the four best goals. Al-Zawraa midfielder Ali Raheem won the award in both of its first two seasons.

Source[78]

Season Scorer Nationality For Against Stadium Date
2016–17 Ali Raheem  Iraq Al-Zawraa Al-Shorta Al-Shaab Stadium 10 May 2017
2017–18 Ali Raheem  Iraq Al-Zawraa Al-Hussein Al-Shaab Stadium 30 May 2018
2018–19 Mohanad Ali  Iraq Al-Shorta Al-Naft Al-Shaab Stadium 4 March 2019
2019–20 Saad Abdul-Amir  Iraq Al-Shorta Al-Minaa Al-Shaab Stadium 7 March 2020
2020–21 Joseph Nathaniel  Nigeria Al-Hudood Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya Al-Shaab Stadium 13 February 2021
2021–22 Alaa Abbas  Iraq Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya Al-Karkh Al-Shaab Stadium 20 October 2021

Team of the Decade

In late 2019, Soccer Iraq commemorated the end of the 2010s with the Soccer Iraq Team of the Decade which was voted for by fans over a two-month period via a series of Twitter polls. After several thousands of votes, 28 players were narrowed down to the final eleven and the team was revealed on 31 December 2019.[79] The selection of Mohanad Ali in the Team of the Decade was discussed by the official Asian Football Confederation broadcast during Iraq's match with Iran in 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifiers.[80]

2010–2019[81]
Goalkeeper Defenders Midfielders Forwards

References
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  2. "Al-Zawraa v Al-Shorta: My experience of a Baghdad Derby". 24 September 2018.
  3. "Iraq FA receives verification". 16 February 2017.
  4. "More Than A Game: Football In Iraq". Sideline Scouted. 29 October 2017. Retrieved 1 May 2019.
  5. "لاول مرة .. تفاصيل أول بطولات الدوري وبطولة الكأس موسم 1948/1949". 31 July 2020.
  6. "Al-Zawraa 2–1 Al-Samawa". 3 July 2018.
  7. "Iraq will play Bahrain in the Gulf Cup semi-final on Thursday". 2 December 2019. Archived from the original on 2021-12-26.
  8. "Osama Rashid is off the mark in this season's Liga Portugal". 1 November 2019.
  9. "Noor Sabri never lost a penalty shootout in his career". 18 July 2020. Archived from the original on 2021-12-26.
  10. "MUFC youngster Zidane Iqbal has obtained an Iraqi passport". 20 May 2020. Archived from the original on 2021-12-26.
  11. "Soccer Iraq – Interviews".
  12. "Isis: Iraqi anti-Islamic State hero footballer Ali Adnan 'makes it to European football'". International Business Times. 24 June 2015.
  13. "Ali Adnan, dal passaggio alla Roma alla guerra in Iraq". La Gazzetta dello Sport. 2014.
  14. "Real Madrid supporters club in Iraq attacked by terrorists – 16 dead". Marca. 13 May 2016.
  15. "Irak : le gardien Alaa Ahmed a joué le lendemain de la mort de son fils". L'Equipe.
  16. "Long-range stunner beats 'keeper from 40-yards". Goal.
  17. "สะเทือนเอเชียนเกมส์! อิรัก U16 ถูกจับได้โกงอายุ". Goal.
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  47. "Il tait le décès de son bébé pour disputer un match". L'essentiel. 17 February 2018.
  48. "La favola dei calciatori dell'Ostersund, che vincono grazie a letture, mostre e balletti". Vanity Fair. 27 October 2017.
  49. "Barcelona en Benfica scoren niet • knotsgekke slotfase bij Young Boys-Atalanta". Nederlandse Omroep Stichting. 23 November 2021.
  50. "Drie dagen in het spoor van Dick Advocaat bij Irak: 'Ik weet ook wel dat er vreselijke dingen zijn gebeurd'". Algemeen Dagblad.
  51. "Các đối thủ cùng bảng tuyển Việt Nam chạy đà cho Asian Cup 2019". Thanh Niên. 25 December 2018.
  52. "Srečko Katanec Iračanom: Nimam čarobne palice". Siol.
  53. "La oferta irrisoria que hizo la Juventus por Mohanad Ali, la joven promesa del fútbol iraquí". La Nación. 31 January 2019.
  54. "Dick Advocaat wordt bondscoach van Irak - NRC". NRC Handelsblad. 31 July 2021.
  55. "Dick Advocaat, Irak Milli Takımı'nın başına geçti". Cumhuriyet. 31 July 2021.
  56. "شاهد... هدف غريب في الدوري العراقي". Al Akhbar.
  57. "Na derbiju Irak – Iran brez zadetkov". Radiotelevizija Slovenija.
  58. "PENAL SERIJA O KOJOJ BRUJI SVET: Golman dobio crveni karton, igrač odbranio šut vredan Svetskog prvenstva". Kurir. 19 June 2023.
  59. "Argentina goleó 4-0 a Iraq en la previa del partido ante Brasil en Arabia". El Comercio.
  60. "Bolivia, en su último partido del 2018, igualó sin goles ante Irak". La República. 19 November 2018.
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  69. "¡El incentivo definitivo! Promete una PS5 a cada jugador por ganar al máximo rival". HobbyConsolas. 7 January 2021.
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  75. "محمد قاسم يفوز بجوائز أفضل لاعب لعام ٢٠٢١". Al-Shorta. 1 January 2022. Archived from the original on 2022-08-05.
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