Al-Shorta SC

The first Al-Shorta (Police) football team was formed in 1932 by Mudhafar Ahmed, the director of the Police Schools in Baghdad.[1] Al-Shorta participated in the second edition of the Prince Ghazi Cup in the 1932–33 season, and claimed their first trophy in 1938 by winning the Taha Al-Hashimi Cup, followed by victories in the Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya Cup and Al-Olympi Club Cup in 1939.[2] The team later became known as Madaris Al-Shorta (Police Schools) after a new Police team called Al-Quwa Al-Siyara (Mobile Force) was formed.

The Iraq Football Association was established in 1948 and it was decided that an Al-Shorta Select XI (Montakhab Al-Shorta) would compete in the inaugural Baghdad top-flight league season in 1948–49.[3] The Al-Shorta Select XI were relegated from the top-flight that season, and therefore competed in the second division in the 1949–50 season.[4] In the 1950–51 season, Madaris Al-Shorta entered the newly-formed third division and Al-Quwa Al-Siyara competed in the second tier instead of the Al-Shorta Select XI,[5] and the two teams were both leading their respective divisions before the season was abandoned.[6]

The team lining up before a match in 1937.

From the 1951–52 season, Madaris Al-Shorta and Al-Quwa Al-Siyara combined to form the Al-Shorta Select XI 'A' and 'B' teams to compete in the region's top-flight and second division respectively.[4] Al-Shorta Select XI 'A' finished as runners-up of the top-flight in 1957–58, while Al-Shorta Select XI 'B' finished as runners-up of the second division in 1958–59.[7] In 1960, the Police Games Committee was formed to control Police sports in Iraq, and they decided to expand the Police force's sporting activities for the 1960–61 season. Al-Quwa Al-Siyara re-entered the IFA's football pyramid as an individual team, joining the regional second division along with newly-formed Police teams Aliyat Al-Shorta and Shortat Al-Najda,[8] while the Al-Shorta Select XI 'A' and 'B' teams continued to compete in the top-flight and second division respectively.[9][10] After finishing as Iraq Central FA Premier League runners-up again in 1960–61, Al-Shorta Select XI 'A' won the league title for the first time in the 1962–63 season.[11]

At the end of that season, Aliyat Al-Shorta secured promotion to the top-flight, meaning there were two Police teams in the top division.[12] As a result, the Al-Shorta Select XI 'A' team were replaced in the top-flight by Madaris Al-Shorta from the 1963–64 season, while the Al-Shorta Select XI 'B' team were disbanded. From this point, the Al-Shorta Select XI would only compete in the Republic Championship and in matches against visiting foreign teams.[13] Formed from the best players of the individual Police teams, the Al-Shorta Select XI won the Republic Championship in both 1968 and 1969. The Al-Shorta Select XI was led by the coach of Aliyat Al-Shorta, Mohammed Najeeb Kaban, and included many of the star players from Aliyat Al-Shorta, a team that went on to win four league titles and reach the final of the 1971 Asian Champion Club Tournament where they refused to face Israeli side Maccabi Tel Aviv.[14]

In 1974, the Iraq Football Association (IFA) decided to implement a clubs-only policy for domestic competitions, forming the Iraqi National Clubs League which was only open to clubs and not institute-representative teams such as the individual Police teams.[15] 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.[13] 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,[16] the amateur players were replaced by players from the Shortat Al-Najda and Kuliyat Al-Shorta teams for the remainder of the season.[2] Ten Aliyat Al-Shorta players joined the team for the 1975–76 season,[17] and the club was officially registered with the Ministry of Youth and Sports in 1978.[18] Al-Shorta won their first 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.[19] 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.[20]

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.[22] In 1985, Al-Shorta won the Arab Police Championship for the third and final time while representing the Iraq Police team, having previously won in 1976 and 1978. 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 91st-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 (11) and most consecutive league games scored in (37). 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 Umm al-Ma'arik Championship three times in a row, winning the trophy in the 2000–01, 2001–02 and 2002–03 seasons. They were also in the lead of the 2002–03 league competition before it was cancelled due to the Iraq War.[23] 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.[24] 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,[25] 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.[26] 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.[27][28]

Under the management of Egyptian coach Moamen Soliman, Al-Shorta enjoyed one of the best league seasons in their history in 2021–22. Al-Shorta set a record for the earliest Iraqi Premier League title win with seven rounds of the competition remaining, finishing a record 21 points clear at the top of the table, and became the first club to beat all other teams in a 20-team season and the first club to win all Baghdad derbies home and away in one season. Their tally of 91 points equalled the record for the most points in a 38-game season in Iraq.[29] Al-Shorta went on to win the 2022 Iraqi Super Cup with a 1–0 victory over Al-Karkh,[30] and then retained their Iraqi Premier League crown by clinching the 2022–23 title with a 3–0 win away to Naft Maysan in the penultimate round of the season.[31] Al-Shorta also reached the semi-finals of the 2023 Arab Club Champions Cup, defeating CS Sfaxien and Al-Sadd before losing 1–0 to Al-Nassr from a penalty scored by Cristiano Ronaldo.[32]

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 tunes of a musical instrument.[33] In 2002, laurel leaves were added either side of the harp, and the Olympic rings were added at the bottom of the logo to signify Al-Shorta's status as a multi-sport club.[34]

In 2005, Al-Shorta adopted a new emblem which was blue with a green outline, with a harp featuring in the centre of the crest along with the Iraq flag. At the time, the club considered 1975 to be its year of foundation, as this was the year in which the Police Games Directorate accepted the new clubs-only policy in Iraq and integrated its top players into Al-Shorta Sports Club which had been established along with the Iraqi National Clubs First Division a year prior. Thus, 1975 was written on either side of the logo in English and Arabic, and this remained the club's crest for the next seven years. In 2012, the club's administration decided to recognise 1932 as the club's year of foundation, as the club's origins date back to the football team that formed in 1932 and went on to compete in the Iraq Central FA Premier League. This came with a change to the club's logo in the form of a new white circular crest with a green outline, which contained the harp, laurel leaves and Olympic rings inside it along with the club's name and year of foundation at the bottom.[34]

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 centre of the logo features a golden harp on a green and white backdrop, and the club's year of foundation and the Iraq flag feature at the top and bottom of the logo respectively. The club's name in English is displayed in a golden banner towards the bottom of the logo.[34]

On 18 November 2020, the club revealed a brand new crest as part of a ceremony to celebrate its 88th anniversary. However, the logo change was abandoned after a negative reception from supporters.[35]

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

In 1958, the Al-Shorta Select XI had a yellow and brown kit,[36] and also had an all-white kit.[37] The team began to wear purple kits under the leadership of coach Mohammed Najeeb Kaban in the 1960s. Since 1978, Al-Shorta have mainly worn green home kits, white away kits and purple third kits,[38] with the exception of the 1983–84 season when they wore a black home shirt while playing under the name Qiwa Al-Amn Al-Dakhili (Internal Security Forces).

Since the 2016–17 season, Al-Shorta have worn purple as the away kit colour rather than white. In August 2020, Al-Shorta launched their own clothing brand called Qitharah to manufacture kits and other apparel for the club.[39]

Al-Shorta playing in front of their supporters at Al-Shaab Stadium in 2022.

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.[44] 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.[45] The rivalry with Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya developed during the Iraq Central FA Premier League era while the rivalries with Al-Zawraa and Al-Talaba were born after the foundation of the Iraqi National Clubs 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, the Al-Shorta Select XI appointed their first foreign manager in Palestinian coach Dennis Nasrawi. Since 1974, Al-Shorta have been coached by eight foreign managers from six countries. The first of these was Yugoslavian coach Rajko Menista who took charge of Al-Shorta from 1982 to 1983.[22]

Since 2013, Al-Shorta have hired two Brazilian managers (Lorival Santos and Marcos Paquetá), two Egyptian managers (Mohamed Youssef and Moamen Soliman), one Jordanian manager (Haitham Al-Shaboul as caretaker), one Montenegrin manager (Nebojša Jovović), one Serbian manager (Aleksandar Ilić) and one Tunisian manager (Chiheb Ellili). The rest of the club's managers throughout history have been of Iraqi nationality.[12]

Notable managers

The following managers won at least one major trophy when in charge of the team:

Name	Period	Trophies
Select XI
Fahmi Al-Qaimaqchi	1951–1955, 1960–1966	Iraq Central FA Premier League
Sports club
Douglas Aziz	1979–1982, 1983, 1987–1989, 1990–1991, 1993	Iraq Stars League, Arab Club Champions Cup
Abdelilah Abdul-Hameed	1997–1998, 2002–2003	Iraq Stars League
Ahmed Radhi	1999–2001	Umm al-Ma'arik Championship
Yassin Umal	2001–2002	Umm al-Ma'arik Championship
Basim Qasim	1994, 1996, 2002, 2003, 2011–2012	Umm al-Ma'arik Championship
Thair Jassam	2012–2013, 2015, 2018	Iraq Stars League
Nebojša Jovović	2018–2019	Iraq Stars League
Aleksandar Ilić	2019–2020, 2020–2021	Iraqi Super Cup
Moamen Soliman	2021–2023	Iraq Stars League, Iraqi Super Cup
Ahmed Salah	2018, 2019, 2023	Iraq Stars League

• Iraqi clubs in the AFC Club Competitions

• Official website