Al-Shorta SC

Al-Shorta's origins can be traced back to the year 1932 with the formation of the police-representative football team Montakhab Al-Shorta (Police Selection) on 14 November and their participation in the second edition of the Prince Ghazi Cup.[1][2] Montakhab Al-Shorta's first trophy came in 1938, when they won the Taha Al-Hashimi Cup (named after Iraqi general Taha Al-Hashimi), before winning the Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya Cup and the Al-Olympi Club Cup the following year.[3] In 1957, Montakhab Al-Shorta won the Hilla Mutasarrif Cup with a 4–0 victory over the Hilla select team.[4] In 1960, the Police Games Committee, later known as Police Games Directorate, was founded to take control of police-representative sports in Iraq and they decided to expand the Police force's sporting activities in the capital by founding new teams – Shorta Al-Najda (Patrol Police) in 1960 and Aliyat Al-Shorta (Police Machinery) in 1961 – to compete in the regional league system alongside Montakhab Al-Shorta.[5]

Montakhab Al-Shorta players lining up before a match in 1937.

After winning their first Iraq Central FA League title in the 1962–63 season,[6][7] Montakhab Al-Shorta were renamed to Madaris Al-Shorta (Police Schools), a name that was previously used from 1950 to 1952.[5] Madaris Al-Shorta were relegated in 1965, and in 1966 the team was replaced by a new side called Kuliya Al-Shorta (Police College) after a college system was introduced to the Iraqi Police force.[8] Meanwhile, Aliyat Al-Shorta won the region's third-tier title in 1962 and the second-tier title in 1963 and went on to become one of the strongest teams in the region under the management of Mohammed Najeeb Kaban.[3][9] Along with winning the Police Director General Cup and the Police Cup Championship in 1965 as well as the Alexandria International Summer Tournament in 1967,[10][11] Aliyat Al-Shorta won three top-flight league titles in a row (1967–68, 1968–69 and 1969–70) and were the league leaders in the 1966–67 season before it was cancelled.[3] Furthermore, a select team consisting of the best players from Aliyat Al-Shorta, Shorta Al-Najda and Kuliya Al-Shorta won two consecutive Republic Championships in 1968 and 1969 and often played against visiting foreign teams.[12][8]

In 1971, participating under the name Al-Shorta Baghdad,[13][14] Aliyat Al-Shorta became the first Iraqi team to take part in Asia's main club competition, the Asian Champion Club Tournament, and made history by becoming the first Arab side to reach the final.[15] They won all the games they took to the field for en route to the final of the tournament, including two wins against the competition's defending champions Taj Tehran,[16] but refused to face Israeli club Maccabi Tel Aviv in protest at the Israeli occupation of Palestine, waving the Palestinian flag around the field and taking the runner-up spot.[17] They were regarded as champions by the Iraqi media (the Al-Mal'ab newspaper headline read: "The Champions of Asia Return to Baghdad")[18] and were greeted with a heroes' reception upon their return to the country, holding an open top bus parade.[19] Aliyat Al-Shorta won the league title again in 1971–72,[3] also picking up another Police Director General Cup.[20]

Aliyat Al-Shorta occasionally wore the Iraqi Police badge on their kits.

In 1974, the Iraq Football Association (IFA) decided to implement a clubs-only policy for domestic competitions, forming the Iraqi National League of Clubs which was only open to clubs and not institute-representative teams.[21] As they were not formally registered clubs, the PGD's three top-flight Baghdad teams Aliyat Al-Shorta, Shorta Al-Najda and Kuliya Al-Shorta were no longer allowed to compete in official competitions.[5] With the IFA dictating that only a single police-representative club would be allowed to participate in the new top-flight, "Al-Shorta Sports Club" was thus inaugurated as a sports club on 18 August 1974 by the Iraqi Olympic Committee, being attached to the Ministry of Interior.[5][22] The sports club considers itself to be a continuation of the previous Police teams in Baghdad, as the reason for its inauguration was to replace those teams in the top-flight and thus continue the representation of the Iraqi Police force in official competitions.[23][24] The PGD continued to field teams for Aliyat Al-Shorta, Shorta Al-Najda and Kuliya Al-Shorta in unofficial tournaments after 1974, such as the Armed Forces League and the Police tournaments, and Aliyat Al-Shorta were later inaugurated as a new sports club in 1989, entering the lower divisions of the Iraqi football pyramid.[8]

The PGD were strongly opposed to the IFA's new clubs-only policy and decided to field a team of amateurs for Al-Shorta to compete in the inaugural 1974–75 season in protest.[3] After suffering heavy defeats in their first two games,[25] talks between the IFA and the PGD resulted in the amateurs being replaced by Shorta Al-Najda and Kuliya Al-Shorta players,[3] before Aliyat Al-Shorta's players returned for the 1975–76 season which led to an improved third place finish.[26] Al-Shorta won the first two Arab Police Championships in 1976 and 1978, and earned their first Iraqi National League title in 1979–80, finishing ahead of rivals Al-Zawraa on goal difference under the leadership of former player Douglas Aziz.[27] This qualified them for the inaugural Arab Club Champions Cup in 1981–82, and Al-Shorta became the first ever Arab champions with a 4–2 aggregate win over Al-Nejmeh in the final.[28]

In 1983, Al-Shorta won the Bangladesh President's Gold Cup by defeating the Malaysia national team 2–0 in the final.[30] The club changed their name to Qiwa Al-Amn Al-Dakhili (Internal Security Forces) for the 1983–84 season while Iraq was at war; that name only lasted for that one season before they returned to the name Al-Shorta.[31] Al-Shorta won the Arab Police Championship for the third and fourth times in 1985 and 1988 respectively, before achieving victory in the Saddam Qadisiya Championship in 1988 and the Great Victory Championship in 1996, which were both tournaments held between the four Baghdad Derby clubs. Al-Shorta played their first match at their new Al-Shorta Stadium on 23 December 1990, beating Al-Tijara 3–2. In the 1993–94 season, Al-Shorta striker Younis Abid Ali scored 36 league goals which remains an Iraqi record for most goals scored by a player in one league season.

There were three contenders for the 1997–98 Iraqi Premier League title going into the final day of the season; Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya were on top of the league with Al-Shorta in second and Al-Zawraa third. Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya were playing Al-Zawraa at Al-Shaab Stadium at the same time as Al-Shorta were playing Al-Sulaikh at Al-Kashafa Stadium. Al-Shorta were 2–1 down to Al-Sulaikh before an 84th-minute goal from Mufeed Assem and a 93rd-minute penalty kick from league top scorer Mahmoud Majeed earned a dramatic 3–2 victory, which was enough to overtake Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya (who had drawn 1–1 with Al-Zawraa) and achieve their second Premier League title and first for eighteen years. In the process, Al-Shorta broke the Iraqi records for most consecutive wins in a league season and most consecutive league games scored in. That season also saw them reach the quarter-finals of the Asian Cup Winners' Cup, earning wins over Al-Seeb and Bargh Shiraz before being eliminated in the quarter-final.

Al-Shorta reached the quarter-finals of the 1999–2000 Asian Club Championship and won the 2000 Baghdad Day Cup before making history by becoming the first club to win the Iraqi Elite Cup three times in a row, winning the trophy in 2000, 2001 and 2002. They also won their fifth Arab Police Championship and first Jerusalem International Championship titles in 2002, and were in the lead of the 2002–03 league competition before it was cancelled due to war.[32] In April 2003, the club's former goalkeeper and captain Raad Hammoudi became Al-Shorta's president and he saved the club from bankruptcy after the Iraq War.[33] Al-Shorta participated in the 2003 edition of the Arab Club Champions Cup and the 2004 and 2005 editions of the AFC Champions League but were knocked out in the group stage each time.

In the 2005–06 Iraqi Premier League, Al-Shorta finished top of their group in the first stage but were knocked out at the elite stage,[34] and the same was repeated in the 2006–07 and 2007–08 seasons.[35][36] After a lacklustre 2008–09 campaign,[37] Al-Shorta almost reached the semi-finals in the 2009–10 season, but gave away a 2–0 lead versus Al-Najaf to draw 2–2 which saw them eliminated at the elite stage again.[38] In the 2010–11 season, Al-Shorta found themselves in a relegation battle, only surviving the drop on goal difference thanks to a brace from Amjad Kalaf on the final day of the season against Al-Naft.[39] The 2011–12 league returned to a double round-robin format and Al-Shorta achieved improved results under Basim Qasim's leadership until a run of six defeats in their final seven matches saw them drop down to seventh place.[40] Midway through the campaign, Ayad Bunyan became Al-Shorta's president and the club began to experience a change of fortunes.[41]

Al-Shorta returned to the top of Iraqi football in the 2012–13 season, first winning the Baghdad Cup and then securing their third Iraqi Premier League title with a final-day 3–0 victory over rivals Al-Talaba at Al-Shaab Stadium. Al-Shorta successfully defended the Premier League title for the first time in 2013–14 as Brazilian coach Lorival Santos became only the second foreign manager ever to win the competition. Al-Shorta also appeared in the 2014 AFC Champions League qualifiers, losing 1–0 to Al-Kuwait, and they were eliminated from the group stage and round of 16 at the 2014 and 2015 AFC Cups respectively. Al-Shorta won their fifth Premier League title and their third in the past seven seasons in 2018–19, led by Montenegrin coach Nebojša Jovović, equalling the Iraqi record for most consecutive league games unbeaten (39) in the process.[42] Al-Shorta won the Iraqi Super Cup for the first time in 2019 with a penalty shootout win over Al-Zawraa, before reaching the quarter-finals of the 2019–20 Arab Club Champions Cup and being eliminated from the group stages of the 2020 and 2021 AFC Champions Leagues, the former on goal difference.[43][44]

Aliyat Al-Shorta occasionally wore the Iraqi Police badge on their shirts, which consisted of the words Shorta Al-Iraq in a star which was surrounded by laurel leaves. Al-Shorta began to wear a harp on their shirts in the 1992–93 season, after television presenter Majid Abdul-Haq coined the now-popular nickname Al-Qithara (The Harp) to refer to the club on his program Letter of the League by likening the team's attractive style of play to the beautiful tunes of a harp.[45] In 2002, laurel leaves were added to surround the harp on the shirt, with the Olympic rings added underneath to signify Al-Shorta's status as a multi-sport club.

At the start of the 2005–06 season, Al-Shorta adopted a new crest which was blue with a green outline. A harp featured in the centre with the club's year of foundation and the Iraq flag. This remained the logo for seven years until they changed to a circular white crest with a green outline in the 2012–13 season, which contained the same harp, laurel leaves and rings as before but with the addition of the club's name and year of foundation at the bottom. On 12 December 2013, before the start of 2014 AFC Champions League qualifying play-off, Al-Shorta announced the change to a new logo which was designed by Luay Abdul-Rahman, the artistic director of Al-Shorta's newspaper. The harp in the centre of the logo is gold rather than green, and gold is prevalent throughout the emblem. The club's foundation year and the Iraqi flag feature at the top and bottom respectively along with the club's name in English.[46][47]

Amjad Kalaf wearing Al-Shorta's home kit in the 2013–14 season, in which they won the Iraqi Premier League title.

From 1964, Aliyat Al-Shorta wore purple home shirts, often with a white diagonal sash, and white shorts.[8][48] After becoming a sports club in 1974, Al-Shorta mainly switched to using green home kits and white away kits, with purple becoming the third kit colour.[49] However, since the 2016–17 season, Al-Shorta have worn purple as the away kit colour. In 2020, Al-Shorta launched its own clothing brand called Qithara to manufacture kits and other apparel for the club.

Nashat Akram takes a penalty at Al-Shorta Stadium in 2013.

Ultras Green Harp is an ultras group that was formed in 2012 at the start of the 2012–13 season and has grown to become one of Iraq's largest fan groups. It is a self-financed group that travels to both home and away matches across Iraq, providing flags and banners for fans to wave during the game. Before kickoff, the Ultras Green Harp members often hold up a large banner which can vary depending on the opposition.[59] They are known for setting off fireworks when Al-Shorta score a goal and using flares. During the match, they typically chant songs and use instruments such as drums and air horns to create a lively atmosphere.

Al-Shorta are one of the top four clubs in Baghdad. The club compete in Baghdad derbies with the other three big clubs in Baghdad: Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya, Al-Zawraa, and Al-Talaba.[60] The rivalry with Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya developed during the Iraq Central FA League era while the rivalries with Al-Zawraa and Al-Talaba were born after the foundation of the Iraqi Premier League. Of the three, Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya are the most local to Al-Shorta, as their stadium is located only 500 metres away from Al-Shorta's on the opposite side of Falastin Street.

The majority of Al-Shorta's managers in major tournaments throughout their history have been of Iraqi nationality. They have been managed by a total of nine different foreign coaches from seven countries (Palestine, Yugoslavia, Brazil, Egypt, Jordan, Montenegro and Serbia).[31][8]

1932–1974

Montakhab Al-Shorta / Madaris Al-Shorta Dates Name 1932–1935 Mudhafar Ahmed 1935–1950 Mohammed Saeed Wasif 1950–1951 Mohammed Hussein 1951–1955 Fahmi Al-Qaimaqchi 1955–1956 Sabir Lateef 1956–1957 Fadhel Al-Samarrai 1957–1958 Ahmed Abdul-Razzaq 1958 Amer Ahmed Al-Mukhtar 1958 Dennis Nasrawi 1958–1959 Amer Ahmed Al-Mukhtar 1959–1960 Aziz Hammoudi 1960–1966 Fahmi Al-Qaimaqchi

Kuliya Al-Shorta Dates Name 1966–1967 Aziz Hammoudi 1967–1968 Tariq Hussein 1968–1970 Shakib Abdul-Wahab 1970–1974 Younis Hussein Shorta Al-Najda Dates Name 1967–1969 Faiq Muhiddin 1969–1973 Abdul-Qadir Zeinal 1973 Abdul-Qadir Abdul-Nabhi 1973–1974 Abdul-Qadir Zeinal

Aliyat Al-Shorta Dates Name 1961–1973 Mohammed Najeeb Kaban 1973–1974 Shaker Ismail

1974–present

Dates Name 1974 Shaker Ismail 1974–1975 Younis Hussein 1975–1978 Abdul-Qadir Zeinal 1978–1979 Basil Mahdi 1979–1982 Douglas Aziz 1982 Mohammed Tabra 1982–1983 Rajko Menista 1983 Abid Kadhim 1983 Douglas Aziz 1983–1984 Munthir Al-Waadh 1984 Mohammed Tabra 1984–1985 Thamir Muhsin Wathiq Naji 1985 Mohammed Tabra 1985–1987 Abid Kadhim 1987–1989 Douglas Aziz 1989–1990 Mohammed Tabra 1990–1991 Douglas Aziz 1991 Mohammed Tabra 1991–1992 Faisal Aziz 1992–1993 Saad Jamil 1993 Douglas Aziz 1993 Ammo Baba 1993–1994 Mudhafar Nouri 1994 Basim Qasim Muwafaq Hussein 1994–1995 Mohammed Tabra Saad Jamil 1995–1996 Kadhim Al-Rubaie 1996 Basim Qasim 1996–1997 Faisal Aziz 1997 Adnan Jafar

Dates Name 1997 Yahya Alwan 1997 Ammo Baba 1997 Ammo Baba Ayoub Odisho 1997–1998 Abdelilah Abdul-Hameed 1998 Abdelilah Abdul-Hameed Ayoub Odisho 1998 Abdelilah Abdul-Hameed 1998–1999 Faisal Aziz 1999 Ahmed Radhi 1999 Najih Humoud 1999–2000 Ahmed Radhi 2000 Najih Humoud 2000 Adnan Hamad 2000–2001 Ahmed Radhi 2001–2002 Yassin Amal 2002 Ammo Baba 2002 Basim Qasim 2002–2003 Abdelilah Abdul-Hameed 2003 Hassan Farhan 2003 Basim Qasim 2003–2005 Younis Abid Ali 2005 Salih Radhi 2005 Samir Jassim 2005 Hameed Salman 2005–2006 Kadhim Al-Rubaie 2006 Mohammed Khalaf 2006 Yahya Alwan 2006–2007 Shaker Mahmoud 2007 Kadhim Khalaf 2007 Karim Farhan 2007–2008 Thair Ahmed

Dates Name 2008 Faisal Aziz 2008–2009 Haitham Mutaab Muwafaq Hussein 2009–2010 Rahim Hameed 2010 Hakim Shaker 2010–2011 Younis Abid Ali 2011 Hakim Shaker 2011 Nabil Zaki 2011–2012 Basim Qasim 2012 Mohammed Tabra 2012–2013 Thair Jassam 2013–2014 Lorival Santos 2014–2015 Mohamed Youssef 2015 Thair Jassam 2015 Hakim Shaker 2015–2016 Qahtan Chathir 2016 Radhi Shenaishil 2016 Hashim Ridha 2016–2017 Mohamed Youssef 2017 Nadhum Shaker 2017–2018 Marcos Paquetá 2018 Ahmad Salah 2018 Thair Jassam 2018 Haitham Al-Shaboul 2018–2019 Nebojša Jovović 2019 Ahmad Salah 2019–2020 Aleksandar Ilić 2020 Abdul-Ghani Shahad 2020 Haitham Al-Shaboul 2020–2021 Aleksandar Ilić 2021– Moamen Soliman

• Iraqi clubs in the AFC Club Competitions

• Al-Shorta SC Official Website