Al-Ittihad Sport Club ( ar, نادي الاتحاد الرياضي), is an

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

football team A football team is a group of players selected to play together in the various team sports known as football. Such teams could be selected to play in a match against an opposing team, to represent a football club, group, state or nation, an All-st ...

based in Al-Ashar,

Basra Basra ( ar, ٱلْبَصْرَة, al-Baṣrah) is an Iraqi city located on the Shatt al-Arab. It had an estimated population of 1.4 million in 2018. Basra is also Iraq's main port, although it does not have deep water access, which is hand ...

, that plays in

Iraq Division Three The Iraq Division Three is a football league that is the fourth tier of the Iraqi football league system. The league consists of 173 teams and was founded in 1974. League format The Division Three consists of 173 teams, Each group of teams aff ...

History

Foundation and early years

Al-Ittihad was founded in 1937 in the Al-Bachhari district, and it was the first administrative body headed by ''Nadhum Majeed''. In 1940, ''Tawfiq Al-Ainachi'' assumed the presidency of the club, and the club’s activity stopped at the outbreak of the

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, and in 1945 the club resumed its activity, and it moved to a new location in the Al-Saee district. In the 1940s, the club was receiving direct support from Prince Abd al-Ilah. Prince Abd al-Ilah's encouragement was the first motive for the club's activity, as he visited

on every occasion, he came to the stadium to enjoy one of the football matches that the club was running. He also donated a silver cup to the football club bearing his name in 1947, and on April 22, 1949 the prince spent an entire day in the club's hospitality to supervise himself the activities of the club teams, and the club's name was changed to the Royal Al-Ittihad Sport Club. At the end of the 1940s and the beginning of the 1950s, the president of the club was ''Sami Al-Hilali'', who issued the first

sports Sport pertains to any form of competitive physical activity or game that aims to use, maintain, or improve physical ability and skills while providing enjoyment to participants and, in some cases, entertainment to spectators. Sports can, th ...

newspaper A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as politics, business, sports a ...

in September 1950 under the name of ''Al-Ittihad Sports Newspaper'', he was an influential figure, and at that time he was communicating with club administrations in neighboring countries to conduct

friendly matches An exhibition game (also known as a friendly, a scrimmage, a demonstration, a preseason game, a warmup match, or a preparation match, depending at least in part on the sport) is a sporting event whose prize money and impact on the player's or ...

and hold

sporting events Sport pertains to any form of Competition, competitive physical activity or game that aims to use, maintain, or improve physical ability and Skill, skills while providing enjoyment to participants and, in some cases, entertainment to specta ...

In FA Basra League

Al-Ittihad has participated in the

Iraq FA Basra League The Iraq FA Basra League ( ar, دوري الاتحاد العراقي لمنطقة البصرة) was the top-level division of football in Basra between 1948 and 1973. It was controlled by the Basra branch of the Iraq Football Association and was ...

(the top division) since its inception in 1948. The 1949–50 season was the second season of League organised by the Basra branch of the Iraq Football Association. The tournament began on 19 October 1949, and the regular season ended in November 1949 with

Sharikat Naft Al-Basra Sharikat Naft Al-Basra ( ar, فريق شركة نفط البصرة, lit=Basra Petroleum Company), known as BPC for short, was an Iraqi football team based in Basra. They became Iraq's first ever national cup winners when they won the 1948–49 Ir ...

and Al-Ittihad qualifying for the final. Al-Ittihad lost 5-1 in the final and took second place.

In Premier League

Al-Ittihad played in the

Iraqi Premier League The Iraqi Premier League ( ar, الدوري العراقي الممتاز) is the top level of the Iraqi football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it is operated by the Iraq Football Association (IFA) and operates on a system of promotion ...

for the first time in its history in the 1976–77 season, and it came in sixth place as its best position in the history of the tournament, as it played 11 matches, winning 4, drawing 3 and losing 4 of them, and the team's player Abbas Fadhel won the league's top scorer title with six goals, in conjunction with four other players. In the 1977–78 season, the team finished the league in 11th place, as it played 13 matches, won 3, drew 3, and lost 7 of them. In the 1978–79 season, the team fell to the bottom of the league standings, after playing 22 matches, winning only one match, drawing 2 and losing 19 of them, and relegated to the

Iraq Division One The Iraq Division One is the second-highest division of the Iraqi football league system after the Premier League. The league is contested by 24 clubs. It is operated by the Iraq Football Association (IFA). Each season, the two top-finishing teams ...

. The club played in Iraq Division one and won this championship in 1980–81 season and promoted in the Iraqi Premier League again and played in 1981–82 season.

Famous players

Karim Allawi Karim Mohammed Allawi (born 1 April 1960) is an Iraqi football midfielder who played for Iraq in the 1986 FIFA World Cup The 1986 FIFA World Cup was the 13th FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial football tournament for men's senior national tea ...

* Mejbil Jwayed * Hassan Ali Funjan *

Rahim Bakr Rahim Bakr is a former Iraqi football midfielder who played for Iraq between 1988 and 1989. Bakr played for Al-Mina'a, Al-Ittihad and Al-Bahri, after retiring, he worked as a coach at the Basra Specialized Spherical School. References ...

Abdul Karim Jassim Abdul Karim Jassim Bader ( ar, عبد الكريم جاسم بدر; born 15 May 1956), also known as Jombi, is an Iraqi football coach and former player. Personal life He is son of former Iraqi international player Jassim Bader. Honours Pla ...

Honours

National

(second tier) **Winners (2): 1975–76, 1980–81

Regional

(top tier) **''Runners-up (1):'' 1949–50

President assassination

On January 18, 2005, unidentified armed persons

assassinated Assassination is the murder of a prominent or important person, such as a head of state, head of government, politician, world leader, member of a royal family or CEO. The murder of a celebrity, activist, or artist, though they may not have a ...

the club's president, Alaa Hamid Nasih in

, and then escaped without being arrested.

Al-Ittihad Women

Al-Ittihad Club is the first club in

that was concerned with the women's sports movement. In 1957, the first woman was elected as a member of the administrative board of the club, Saadiya Abdul Wahed Al-Farhan. Mondays were designated for women to engage in sports activities, and this led to the formation of women's teams, so that The women's athletics team participated in the national championship in 1975.

References

External links

Al-Ittihad SC
on Goalzz.com

Basra Clubs Union

Hanna Al-Sheikh Cup
{{Iraq Division Three Football clubs in Iraq Association football clubs established in 1937 Football clubs in Basra Basra