View source for Iraq Football Association

{{Short description|Governing body of football in Iraq}}
{{National football association
|Logo               = Iraq Football Association crest.svg
|Founded            = {{Start date and age|df=yes|1948|10|8}}
|FIFA affiliation   = 1950
|Region             = [[Asian Football Confederation|AFC]]
|Region affiliation = 1970<ref>{{cite web|url=http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/Digitised/Article/straitstimes19701219-1.2.208.aspx|title=Tengku re-elected AFC president|date=19 December 1970|publisher=[[The Straits Times]]}}{{cite web|url=http://eresources.nlb.gov.sg/newspapers/Digitised/Article/beritaharian19710101-1.2.97.aspx|title=Seluroh Asia tetap sokong Sir Stanley|date=1 January 1971|publisher=[[Berita Harian]] (Malay language)}}</ref>
|Subregion          = [[West Asian Football Federation|WAFF]]
|Subregion affiliation = 2001 <small>(founding member)</small>
|Headquarters       = [[Zayouna]], [[Baghdad]], [[Iraq]]<ref>{{Cite web|last=FIFA.com|title=Member Association - Iraq |url=https://www.fifa.com/associations/association/irq/about|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190306042847/https://www.fifa.com/associations/association/irq/about|url-status=dead|archive-date=March 6, 2019|access-date=2020-10-31|website=www.fifa.com|language=en-GB}}</ref>
|President          = [[Adnan Dirjal]] 
|Vice-President     = Ali Jabbar {{small|(1st)}}<br />[[Younis Mahmoud]] {{small|(2nd)}}
|Website            = {{URL|https://www.ifa.iq}}
}}

The '''Iraq Football Association''' ('''IFA''') ({{langx|ar|الاتحاد العراقي لكرة القدم}}) is the governing body of football in [[Iraq]], controlling the [[Iraq national football team|Iraqi national team]] and the [[Iraqi football league system]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nzherald.co.nz/iraq/news/article.cfm?l_id=52&objectid=10759253 |title=Football mad Iraq's new field of dreams – Iraq |publisher=NZ Herald News |website=[[The New Zealand Herald]] |date=2011-10-15 |access-date=2014-02-18}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.aljazeera.com/sport/football/2011/06/201161817443610159.html |title=Iraq elect new football head - Football |publisher=Al Jazeera English |access-date=2014-02-18}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.wsc.co.uk/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2488&Itemid=29 |title=When Saturday Comes – War games |publisher=Wsc.co.uk |date=2012-07-09 |access-date=2014-02-18}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|author=Suzanne Goldenberg |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2003/jul/23/iraq.suzannegoldenberg |title=Uday: career of rape, torture and murder &#124; World news |work=[[The Guardian]] |date=23 July 2003 |access-date=2014-02-18}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/si_online/news/2003/03/24/son_of_saddam/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030602110204/http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/si_online/news/2003/03/24/son_of_saddam/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=June 2, 2003 |title=SI.com – Sports Illustrated – The Magazine – From Sports Illustrated: Son of Saddam – Monday March 24, 2003 05:00 PM |publisher=Sportsillustrated.cnn.com |date=2003-03-24 |access-date=2014-02-18}}</ref> The Iraqi Football Association was founded in 1948 and has been a member of [[FIFA]] since 1950, the [[Asian Football Confederation]] since 1970, and the Sub-confederation regional body [[West Asian Football Federation]] since 2001. Iraq is also part of the [[Union of Arab Football Associations]] (founded in 1974) and the [[Arab Gulf Cup Football Federation]] (founded in 2016). The Iraqi team is commonly known as ''Usood Al-Rafidain'' ({{langx|ar|أسود الرافدين}}), which literally means ''Lions of [[Mesopotamia]]''.

==History==
The Iraq Football Association (Ittihad Al-Iraqi Le-Korat Al-Kadem) was formed on October 8, 1948, and was the third sports union to be founded in Iraq after the Track and Field Athletics and the Basketball Federations. The two unions took part at the [[1948 Summer Olympics|1948 Olympic Games]] in London, held from July 29 to August 14, however the IFA had not been founded, so no football team took part in the Olympics. It was during the Olympics that the idea of a football association in Iraq was put forward. During the 1948 London Olympic Games, [[Iraq national basketball team|Iraq's basketball team]] lost every game by an average of 104 points per game. They scored an average of 23.5 points per game. The team included Iraq's first ever-national football captain [[Wadud Khalil Jumaa|Wadud Khalil]] and another member of Iraq's first ever-national squad in 1951, the outside right [[Salih Faraj]].<ref name=IFA>{{cite web|last1=Mubarak|first1=Hassanin|title=Iraqi Football History|date=21 March 2013 |url=https://iraqsport.wordpress.com/2013/03/21/iraqi-football-history//}}</ref>

==First administration==
The first Iraqi FA administration was headed by President Obaid Abdullah Al-Mudhayfi and Saadi Jassim as general secretary, with its headquarters in the Sheikh Omar district in [[Baghdad]]. The IFA was an association of 14 teams from all over Iraq, they included the Royal Olympic Club (‘Nadi Al-Malikiya Al-Olympiya’), Royal Guards (‘Haris Al-Maliki’), Royal Air Force (‘Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya Al-Malikiya’), Police Schools (‘Madaris Al-Shurta’), Kuliya Al-Askariya (‘Military College’), Dar Al-Mualameen Alaliya (‘Highest Teacher's House’), Casual's Club, Al-Marouf Al-Tarbiya (‘Physical Education’), Kuliya Al-Hakok (‘College of Law’), Quwa Al-Siyara (‘Armoured Cars’) from the capital Baghdad and four other teams [[Al-Minaa|Nadi Al-Minaa Al-Basri]] (Basra Port Club), Sharakat Al-Naft Al-Basra (Basra Petroleum Company) from Basra and branches in the provinces of [[Mosul]] and [[Kirkuk]].<ref name="IFA"/>

{{wikinews|Iraq threatened with expulsion from world football by FIFA}}

==Controversies==
{{see also|Age fraud in association football}}

The Iraqi youth national teams have been ejected from tournaments for fielding over-age players.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Massive age fraud in the Iraqi youth team|url=https://www.football.com/en-gb/massive-age-fraud-in-the-iraqi-youth-team/|date=17 June 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160629134425/https://www.football.com/en-gb/massive-age-fraud-in-the-iraqi-youth-team/|archive-date=2016-06-29|access-date=2016-02-03}}</ref> In 1989, Iraq was banned for using over-age players in the U-20 World Championships in Saudi Arabia. That ban was extended when [[Invasion of Kuwait|Iraq invaded Kuwait]] in August 1990.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Clarey|first=Christopher|date=1993-10-16|title=SOCCER; Iraqi Soccer Team Takes Its First Shot at a Big Target and Misses|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1993/10/16/sports/soccer-iraqi-soccer-team-takes-its-first-shot-at-a-big-target-and-misses.html|access-date=2020-05-24|issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

==Competitions==
The IFA organises several national competitions, including:
* [[Iraq Stars League]]
* [[Iraqi Premier Division League]]
* [[Iraqi First Division League]]
* [[Iraqi Second Division League]]
* [[Iraqi Third Division League]]
* [[Iraq FA Cup]]
* [[Iraqi Super Cup]]
* [[Iraqi Women's Football League]]

===Current title holders===

{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Competition
! Year
! Champions
! Runners-up
! Next edition
|-
! colspan=6|Senior football (men's)
|-
| [[Iraq Stars League]]
| [[2024–25 Iraq Stars League|2024–25]]
| [[Al-Shorta SC|Al-Shorta]]
| [[Al-Zawraa SC|Al-Zawraa]]
| [[2025–26 Iraq Stars League|2025–26]]
|-
| [[Iraqi Premier Division League]]
| [[2023–24 Iraqi Premier Division League|2023–24]]
| [[Diyala SC|Diyala]]
| [[Al-Karma SC|Al-Karma]]
| [[2024–25 Iraqi Premier Division League|2024–25]]
|-
| [[Iraqi First Division League]]
| [[2024–25 Iraqi First Division League|2024–25]]
| [[Al-Hashd Al-Shaabi SC|Al-Hashd Al-Shaabi]]
| [[Al-Jaish SC (Iraq)|Al-Jaish]]
| [[2025–26 Iraqi First Division League|2025–26]]
|-
| [[Iraqi Second Division League]]
| [[2024–25 Iraqi Second Division League|2024–25]]
| [[Aliyat Al-Shorta SC|Aliyat Al-Shorta]]
| [[Masafi Al-Shamal SC|Masafi Al-Shamal]]
| [[2025–26 Iraqi Second Division League|2025–26]]
|-
| [[Iraqi Third Division League]]
| [[2024–25 Iraqi Third Division League|2024–25]]
| [[Al-Sinaat Al-Harbiya SC|Al-Sinaat Al-Harbiya]]
| [[New Sirwan SC|New Sirwan]]
| [[2025–26 Iraqi Third Division League|2025–26]]
|-
| [[Iraq FA Cup]]
| [[2023–24 Iraq FA Cup|2023–24]]
| [[Al-Shorta SC|Al-Shorta]]
| [[Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya]]
| [[2024–25 Iraq FA Cup|2024–25]]
|-
| [[Iraqi Super Cup]]
| [[2022 Iraqi Super Cup|2022]]
| [[Al-Shorta SC|Al-Shorta]]
| [[Al-Karkh SC|Al-Karkh]]
| [[2025 Iraqi Super Cup|2025]]
|-
| Iraqi Republic Championship
| [[2023 Iraqi Republic Championship|2023]]
| Salahaddin XI
| Baghdad Karkh XI
| ''TBD''
|-
! colspan=6|Youth football (men's)
|-
| Iraqi Reserves (U-21) League
| 2024–25
| [[Al-Minaa SC|Al-Minaa]]
| [[Amanat Baghdad SC|Amanat Baghdad]]
| 2025–26
|-
| Iraqi Youth (U-17) League
| 2024–25
| [[Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya]]
| [[Al-Minaa SC|Al-Minaa]]
| 2025–26
|-
| Iraqi Junior (U-16) League
| 2023–24
| [[Peshmerga Sulaymaniya SC|Peshmerga Sulaymaniya]]
| [[Al-Zawraa SC|Al-Zawraa]]
| 2024–25
|-
| Iraqi School (U-14) League
| 2023–24
| [[Peshmerga Sulaymaniya SC|Peshmerga Sulaymaniya]]
| [[Naft Maysan SC|Naft Maysan]]
| 2024–25
|-
! colspan=6|Senior football (women's)
|-
| [[Iraqi Women's Football League]]
| [[2023–24 Iraqi Women's Football League|2023–24]]
| [[Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya]]
| [[Naft Al-Shamal SC|Naft Al-Shamal]]
| ''TBD''
|}

==Association information==
As of 1 June 2024, the members of the Iraq Football Association leadership team are:<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.fifa.com/associations/association/irq/about |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190306042847/https://www.fifa.com/associations/association/irq/about |url-status=dead |archive-date=March 6, 2019 |title=Iraq: Association Information |work=[[FIFA]] |access-date=2020-06-14}}</ref><ref name="the-afc.com">{{Cite web|title=The AFC.com - The Asian Football Confederation|url=https://www.the-afc.com/afc-home/member-associations/iraq/iraqi-football-association/|access-date=2020-10-31|website=The AFC|language=en-GB}}</ref>
{|class="wikitable"
!Position
!Incumbent
|-
|President
|{{flagicon|Iraq}} [[Adnan Dirjal]]
|-
|First Vice-president
|{{flagicon|Iraq}} Ali Jabbar
|-
|Second Vice-president
|{{flagicon|Iraq}} [[Younis Mahmoud]]
|-
|General secretary
|{{flagicon|Iraq}} Mohammed Farhan Obaid
|-
|Treasurer
|{{flagicon|Iraq}} [[Abdul Khaliq Masood|Abdul-Khaliq Masoud]]
|-
|Technical director
|{{flagicon|}} vacant 
|-
|[[Iraq national football team|Team]] coach (men's)
| {{flagicon|Spain}} [[Jesús Casas]]
|-
|[[Iraq national under-23 football team|U-23]] coach
|{{flagicon|Iraq}} [[Radhi Shenaishil]]
|-
|[[Iraq national under-20 football team|U-20]] coach 
|{{flagicon|Iraq}} [[Emad Mohammed]]
|-
|[[Iraq national under-17 football team|U-17]] coach 
|{{flagicon|Iraq}} [[Ahmed Kadhim]]
|-
|[[Iraq women's national football team|Team]] coach (women's)
|{{flagicon|Germany}}{{flagicon|New Zealand}} [[Olli Harder|Oliver Harder]]
|-
|[[Iraq national futsal team|Futsal]] coach (men's)
|{{flagicon|Brazil}} Ricardo "Cacau" Camara Sobral
|-
|[[Iraq women's national futsal team|Futsal]] coach (women's)
|{{flagicon|Iran}} Shahnaz Yari
|-
|Media/communications manager
|{{flagicon|Iraq}} Yousif Fi'al
|-
|Head of Futsal and Beach Football committee
|{{flagicon|Iraq}} Ali Abdul-Hussein
|-
|Deputy Head of Futsal and Beach Football committee
|{{flagicon|Iraq}} Zeyad Shamil
|-
|Head of Competitions committee
|{{flagicon|Iraq}} Firas Mutashar
|-
|Head of Refereeing committee
|{{flagicon|Iraq}} Najah Raham
|-
|Deputy Head of Refereeing committee
|{{flagicon|Iraq}} Mohammed Kadhim Arab
|-
|Head of Technical committee
|{{flagicon|Iraq}} Wissam Najib
|-
|Head of Disciplinary committee
|{{flagicon|Iraq}} Ali Wali
|-
|Members of the expatriates committee
|{{flagicon|Iraq}} Zaid Al-Zaidi <hr /> {{flagicon|Iraq}} Ali Shehim <hr /> {{flagicon|Iraq}} Ahmed Al-Falluji
|}

Other members:<ref name="the-afc.com"/>

Govand Abdul-Khaliq, Raheem Lafta, Ahmed O. Zamil Al-Mousawi, Firas Nori Bahr Al-Uloom, Mohammed Nasser Shakroun, Ghalib Abbas Al-Zamili, Yahya Zghair, Khalaf Jalal, Ghanim Oraibi, Rasha Talib

==List of presidents of IFA==
The following is a '''list of [[president (corporate title)|president]]s of Iraq Football Association (IFA)'''.

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! Presidency 
! President
! Took office
! Left office
|-
| 1 
| Abdullah Al-Muthaifi
| 1948
| 1952
|-
| 2
| Akram Fahmi
| 1953
| 1954
|-
| 3 
| Saadi Hussein Al-Douri
| 1954
| 1955
|-
| 4
| Ismail Mohammed
| 1955
| 1956
|-
| 5
| Hadi Abbas
| 1956
| 1959
|-
| 6
| Adeeb Najeeb
| 1959
| 1961
|-
| 7
| [[Adil Basheer]]
| 1961
| 1964
|-
| 8
| Fahad Juwad Al-Meera
| 1964
| 1968
|-
| –
|
| 1968
| 1976
|-
| 9
| Moayad Al-Badri
| 1976
| 1977
|-
| 10
| [[Hisham Atta]]
| 1977
| 1980
|-
| 11
| Soryan Tawfeeq
| 1980
| 1984
|-
| 12
| [[Sabah Mirza|Sabah Mirza Mahmoud]]
| 1984
| 1985
|-
| 13
| [[Uday Hussein]]
| 1985
| 1988
|-
| 14
| Kareem Mahmoud Mulla
| 1988
| 1990
|-
| 15
| [[Uday Hussein]]
| 1990
| 2003
|-
| 16
| [[Ahmed Radhi]]
| 2003
| 2004
|-
| 17
| [[Hussein Saeed]]
| 2004
| 2011
|-
| 18
| [[Najeh Humoud]]
| 2011
| 2014
|-
| 19
| [[Abdul Khaliq Masood]]
| 2014
| 2020
|-
| 20
| Eyad Al Nadawi
| 2020
| 2021
|-
| 21
| [[Adnan Dirjal]]
| 2021
| present
|}

==See also==
* [[Iraq national football team]]
* [[Iraqi football league system]]
* [[List of Iraqi football champions]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*[https://www.fifa.com/about-fifa/associations/IRQ Iraq ] at FIFA site
*[https://www.the-afc.com/afc-home/member-associations/iraq/iraqi-football-association Iraq ] at AFC site

{{Sports governing bodies in Iraq}}
{{Football in Iraq}}
{{Asia in topic|Football in}}
{{International football}}
{{AFC associations}}
{{UAFA Football}}

[[Category:Football in Iraq]]
[[Category:Sports governing bodies in Iraq|Football]]
[[Category:National members of the Asian Football Confederation]]
[[Category:Sports organizations established in 1948]]
[[Category:1948 establishments in Iraq]]
[[Category:Association football governing bodies in Asia]]
[[Category:Member associations of the West Asian Football Federation]]
[[Category:Members of the Union of Arab Football Associations]]
[[Category:Members of the Arab Gulf Cup Football Federation]]