Soccer Iraq

Soccer Iraq launched on 11 March 2015 with the aim of creating an English-based website covering the Lions of Mesopotamia.[1]

Throughout the years, Soccer Iraq has provided information regarding the Iraqi game to many major news networks. From speculation on players fighting ISIS, to the Real Madrid fan club massacre and the Iskandariya suicide bombing, the website has been relied on by news organisations all over the world such as International Business Times,[2] La Gazzetta dello Sport,[3] Daily Mail, Daily Express,[4] Marca,[5] L'Equipe,[6] Goal,[7] Asian Football Confederation,[8][9] Diario AS,[10] Sport.ro,[11] Major League Soccer,[12] Panorama,[13] Mundo Deportivo,[14] The Washington Post,[15] The National,[16] Fox Sports,[17][18] Transfermarkt,[19] RT,[20] 90min.com,[21] SPORTbible,[22] Tuttosport,[23] Telemundo Deportes,[24] Het Nieuwsblad,[25] Corriere dello Sport,[26] Le Matin,[27] Index.hr,[28] Bola,[29] Sport1,[30] L'essentiel,[31] Vanity Fair,[32] Thanh Niên,[33] Siol,[34] La Nación,[35] Radiotelevizija Slovenija,[36] Kurir,[37] El Comercio,[38] La República,[39] El Liberal,[40] La Prensa,[41] Koran Sindo,[42] Žurnal24,[43] Lenta.ru,[44] The New Arab[45] and Kurdistan 24.[46]

The website has published several interviews since its launch – most recently with Gonzalo Rodríguez García, Osama Rashid, Mohannad Abdul-Raheem, Rebin Sulaka, Marin Ion, Justin Meram and Ali Adnan.[47]

Soccer Iraq launched the first ever Goal of the Season competition for the Iraqi Premier League starting from the 2016–17 season. The winner is chosen by a Twitter poll between the four best goals. Al-Zawraa midfielder Ali Raheem won the award in both of its first two seasons.

Source[48][49][50]

Season	Scorer	Nationality	For	Against	Stadium	Date
2016–17	Ali Raheem	Iraq	Al-Zawraa	Al-Shorta	Al-Shaab Stadium	10 May 2017
2017–18	Ali Raheem	Iraq	Al-Zawraa	Al-Hussein	Al-Shaab Stadium	30 May 2018
2018–19	Mohanad Ali	Iraq	Al-Shorta	Al-Naft	Al-Shaab Stadium	4 March 2019
2019–20	Saad Abdul-Amir	Iraq	Al-Shorta	Al-Minaa	Al-Shaab Stadium	7 March 2020

In late 2019, Soccer Iraq commemorated the end of the 2010s with the Soccer Iraq Team of the Decade which was voted for by fans over a two-month period via a series of Twitter polls. After several thousands of votes, 28 players were narrowed down to the final eleven and the team was revealed on 31 December 2019.[51]

2010–2019[52]