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Despite the political hardships that Iraq goes through daily, they remain one of the top West Asian footballing countries in Asia. War and civil instability continue to plague this country but it has never brought football to a complete standstill.
Established in 1948, the Iraqi FA joined FIFA two years later. However, their membership in AFC only came in 1971. Despite all the hardships it goes through, achievements at both international and domestic level have been numerous for the war-ravaged country.
At the regional level, Iraq won the Arab Cup four times - 1964, 1966, 1985, 1988 and the Gulf Cup, three times - 1979, 1984 and 1988. In the youth level, they claimed the AFC U-19 titles five times - 1975, 1977, 1978, 1988 and 2000.
No doubt, the 1986 Mexico World Cup brings smiles to the faces of many Iraqis as they qualified for the final rounds for the first time in history. Recently, the Athens 2004 Olympic saw another miracle as Iraq become the only Asian country to reach the semi finals. In fact, Iraq tasted success in 1982 already, winning the gold medal in the Asian Games held in India.
On the domestic front, Police club nearly won an Asian club title but withdrew as they had to face then AFC member, Israel club, Maccabi Tel Aviv in the 1971 final.
Police club was formed even before the FA was established. Other clubs to have its early existence were Air Force in 1931 and Transportation club in 1937. After that, many other clubs came into existence.
The Iraqi league started in 1962 and continued until 1973. In these 11 years, only clubs from Baghdad participated before it was open to all clubs in Iraq.
Currently, the league struggles to continue with numerous stoppages due to domestic violence and instability. However, Iraq’s national team consistent performance continues unabated by all these happenings.
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