The Iraq Football Association (IFA) (; ) is the governing body of football in Iraq, controlling the Iraqi national team and the Iraqi football league system. 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 Gulf Football Federation (founded in 2016). The Iraqi team is commonly known as Usood Al-Rafidain (), 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 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'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 and another member of Iraq's first ever-national squad in 1951, the outside right Salih Faraj.
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 Al-Nadi Al-Olympi Al-Malaki (‘Royal Olympic Club’), Al-Haras Al-Malaki (‘Royal Guards’), Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya Al-Malakiya (‘Royal Air Force’), Madaris Al-Shorta (‘Police Schools’), Al-Kuliya Al-Askariya (‘Military College’), Dar Al-Mualimeen Alaliya (‘Highest Teacher's House’), Casuals Club, Al-Maarouf Al-Tarbiya (‘Physical Education’), Kuliyat Al-Huqooq (‘College of Law’), Al-Quwa Al-Siyara (‘Armoured Cars’) from the capital Baghdad and four other teams Nadi Al-Minaa Al-Basri (Basra Port Club), Sharikat Naft Al-Basra (Basra Petroleum Company) from Basra and branches in the provinces of Mosul and Kirkuk.
Controversies
The Iraqi youth national teams have been ejected from tournaments for fielding over-age players. In 1989, Iraq was banned for using over-age players in the U-20 World Championships in Saudi Arabia. That ban was extended when Iraq invaded Kuwait in August 1990.
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
Competition Year Champions Runners-up Next editionSenior football (men's) Iraq Stars League 2025–26 Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya Al-Shorta 2026–27 Iraqi Premier Division League 2025–26 Al-Jolan Ghaz Al-Shamal 2026–27 Iraqi First Division League 2025–26 Masafi Al-Shamal Al-Shatra 2026–27 Iraqi Second Division League 2025–26 Al-Sinaat Al-Harbiya Akkad 2026–27 Iraqi Third Division League 2025–26 Akre Al-Hindiya 2026–27 Iraq FA Cup 2024–25 Duhok Zakho 2026–27 Iraqi Super Cup 2022 Al-Shorta Al-Karkh 2026Senior football (women's) Iraqi Women's Football League 2023–24 Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya Naft Al-Shamal TBD
Association information As of 23 May 2026, the members of the Iraq Football Association leadership team are: PositionIncumbentPresident Younis MahmoudFirst Vice President Sarmad AbdelilahSecond Vice President Mohammed Nasser ShakrounGeneral Secretary Govand Abdul-KhaliqTechnical Director Carlos Rodríguez DíazChild Safeguarding Officer Ibrahim Maroof Ahmed
Other members: Ahmed Al-Musawi, Ghalib Al-Zamili, Emad Yassin, Abdul-Razzaq Akram, Khalaf Jalal, Farqad Abdul-Karim, Kadhim Hamad, Mahmoud Ahmed, Sabah Qasim, Sabreen Hamed
List of presidents of IFA The following is a list of presidents of Iraq Football Association (IFA).
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 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 2026 22 Younis Mahmoud 2026 present
See also Iraq national football team Iraqi football league system List of Iraqi football champions
References
External links Iraq at FIFA site Iraq at AFC site