Al-Shorta SC

The football team Montakhab Al-Shorta (Police Select Team) was formed in 1932 to represent the Police Schools in Baghdad and participated in the second edition of the Prince Ghazi Cup in the 1932–33 season.[1] Montakhab Al-Shorta's first trophy came in 1938, when they won the Taha Al-Hashimi Cup.[2] In the 1940s, the Police were represented by two individual teams: Madaris Al-Shorta (Police Schools) and Al-Quwa Al-Siyara (Mobile Force).

For the inaugural Baghdad league season in 1948–49, it was decided that Al-Quwa Al-Siyara would play as Montakhab Al-Shorta in the top-flight, while Madaris Al-Shorta would compete in the second division.[3] Montakhab Al-Shorta were relegated from the top-flight, while Madaris Al-Shorta withdrew from the second division before it started.[4] In the 1950–51 season, Madaris Al-Shorta entered the newly-formed third division and Al-Quwa Al-Siyara returned to their original name in the second tier,[5] and the two teams were both leading their respective divisions before the season was abandoned.[6] From the 1951–52 season, Madaris Al-Shorta and Al-Quwa Al-Siyara combined to play as Montakhab Al-Shorta in the top-flight and also established a B team which participated in the region's second division.[4] Al-Quwa Al-Siyara briefly separated in the 1961–62 season to participate as an individual team in the third tier.[7][8]

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

After finishing as runners-up in 1957–58 and 1960–61, Montakhab Al-Shorta won their first Iraq Central FA League title in the 1962–63 season.[9] Aliyat Al-Shorta, a new Police team that had been founded in 1961, were promoted to the region's top-flight in 1963 after winning the third and second divisions in succession, which led to Madaris Al-Shorta and Al-Quwa Al-Siyara returning to competing as separate teams in the first and second tiers respectively.[10] From this point, a Police select team (Montakhab Al-Shorta) no longer competed in the Iraq Central FA League, but rather separate Police teams such as Madaris Al-Shorta, Al-Quwa Al-Siyara, Aliyat Al-Shorta, Shorta Al-Najda and Kuliya Al-Shorta all competed. Instead, Montakhab Al-Shorta was formed from the best players of the individual Police sides during this time to compete against visiting foreign teams and also to participate in the Republic Championship, which they won in 1968 and 1969 led by coach Mohammed Najeeb Kaban.[11] The most successful of the individual Police teams was Aliyat Al-Shorta who won four league titles and reached the final of the 1971 Asian Champion Club Tournament where they refused to face Israeli side Maccabi Tel Aviv.[12]

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 such as the Police teams.[13] With the IFA dictating that only a single club would be allowed to represent the Police in the new top-flight, Al-Shorta Sports Club was established on 18 August 1974 by the Iraqi Olympic Committee, being attached to the Ministry of Interior.[11] The Police Games Directorate, which controlled Police sports in Iraq, 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.[2] After suffering heavy defeats in their first two games,[14] the amateur players were replaced by Shorta Al-Najda and Kuliya Al-Shorta players,[2] before ten Aliyat Al-Shorta players joined the team for the 1975–76 season which led to an improved third-place finish.[15] In 1976, Al-Shorta won the first of three Arab Police Championships while representing the Iraq Police team, with further titles coming in 1978 and 1985. Al-Shorta won their first Iraqi National League title in the 1979–80 season, finishing ahead of rivals Al-Zawraa on goal difference under the leadership of former player Douglas Aziz.[16] 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.[17]

In 1983, the club changed their name to Qiwa Al-Amn Al-Dakhili (Internal Security Forces) while Iraq was at war; that name only lasted for one season before they returned to the name Al-Shorta.[19] On 23 December 1990, Al-Shorta played their first match at their new Al-Shorta Stadium, which was built with the help of volunteers and club workers, 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 the same time as Al-Shorta were playing Al-Sulaikh. Al-Shorta were 2–1 down to Al-Sulaikh before an 84th-minute goal from Mufeed Assem and a 90th-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 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 were also in the lead of the 2002–03 league competition before it was cancelled due to the Iraq War.[20] 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 war.[21] 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.

After an unstable post-war period which culminated in a relegation battle in the 2010–11 season,[22] Al-Shorta returned to the top of Iraqi football in the 2012–13 season, securing their third Iraqi Premier League title with a final-day 3–0 victory over rivals Al-Talaba at Al-Shaab Stadium. Al-Shorta finished in first place in the Premier League in 2013–14 under Brazilian coach Lorival Santos but the season was ended prematurely due to the worsening war situation in the country. 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 the Premier League title again in 2018–19, led by Montenegrin coach Nebojša Jovović, equalling the Iraqi record for most consecutive league games unbeaten (39) in the process.[23] 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.[24][25]

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.[26] 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.

Amjad Kalaf wearing Al-Shorta's home kit in the 2013–14 season.

In 1958, Montakhab Al-Shorta had a yellow and brown kit as well as an all-white kit.[27][28] Since 1974, Al-Shorta have mainly used green home kits, white away kits and purple third kits.[29] However, since the 2016–17 season, Al-Shorta have worn purple as the away kit colour. In 2020, Al-Shorta launched their 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.[34] They are known for setting off fireworks and using flares, as well as using instruments such as drums and air horns. Another prominent fan group called Majaneen Al-Qithara was founded in 2017, while there are several other fan groups in provinces outside Baghdad.

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.[35] 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.

In 1958, Montakhab Al-Shorta hired their first foreign manager in Palestinian coach Dennis Nasrawi. Since 1974, Al-Shorta have been coached by eight foreign managers from six countries (Yugoslavia, Brazil (2), Egypt (2), Jordan, Montenegro and Serbia), while the rest of the club's managers have been of Iraqi nationality.[19][10]

Select team

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
1966–onwards	Mohammed Najeeb Kaban

Sports club

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 Hakeem Shaker 2010–2011 Younis Abid Ali 2011 Hakeem 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 Hakeem 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