Al-Rasheed Sports Club ( ar, نادي الرشيد الرياضي) was an Iraqi
sports club
A sports club or sporting club, sometimes an athletics club or sports society or sports association, is a group of people formed for the purpose of playing sports.
Sports clubs range from organisations whose members play together, unpaid, and ...
based in
Karkh
Karkh or Al-Karkh (Arabic: الكرخ) is historically the name of the western half of Baghdad, Iraq, or alternatively, the western shore of the Tigris River as it ran through Baghdad. The eastern shore is known as Al-Rasafa.[Baghdad
Baghdad (; ar, بَغْدَاد , ) is the capital of Iraq and the second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located on the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon and the Sassanid Persian capital of Ctesiphon. I ...]
. Its professional
football team 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 ...
, the top tier of the
Iraqi football, from 1984 until 1990. The club's home stadium was
Al-Karkh Stadium
Al-Saher Ahmed Radhi Stadium ( ar, ملعب الساحر احمد راضي, lit=''Magician Ahmed Radhi Stadium'') is a multi-use stadium in Baghdad, Iraq. It is used mostly for football matches and serves as the home stadium of Al-Karkh. The stad ...
(then known as Al-Rasheed Stadium).
Founded in 1983 by
Uday Hussein
Uday Saddam Hussein ( ar, عدي صدام حسين; 18 June 1964 – 22 July 2003) was an Iraqi politician and the eldest son of Saddam Hussein. He held numerous positions as a sports chairman, military officer and businessman, and was the head ...
, the son of
Saddam Hussein
Saddam Hussein ( ; ar, صدام حسين, Ṣaddām Ḥusayn; 28 April 1937 – 30 December 2006) was an Iraqi politician who served as the fifth president of Iraq from 16 July 1979 until 9 April 2003. A leading member of the revolutio ...
, Al-Rasheed were promoted to the top tier in their first season of existence and went on to win 3
league titles in the row, 2
FA Cups, 3
Arab Champions Cup titles, and reach the final of the
1988–89 Asian Club Championship
The 1988–89 Asian Club Championship was the 8th edition of the annual Asian club football competition hosted by Asian Football Confederation.
Al-Sadd of Qatar won the final and became Asian champions for the first time.
Qualifying Group round ...
. In 1990, the club was dissolved and all its properties as well as its place in the top division were transferred to
Al-Karkh SC
Al-Karkh Sports Club ( ar, نادي الكرخ الرياضي) is an Iraqi sports club based in Karkh, Baghdad. Its professional football team plays in the Iraqi Premier League, the top tier of the Iraqi football. The club's home stadium is Al-S ...
.
History
Taking the
Al-Karkh Stadium
Al-Saher Ahmed Radhi Stadium ( ar, ملعب الساحر احمد راضي, lit=''Magician Ahmed Radhi Stadium'') is a multi-use stadium in Baghdad, Iraq. It is used mostly for football matches and serves as the home stadium of Al-Karkh. The stad ...
as his club's, on 23 November 1983,
Uday Hussein
Uday Saddam Hussein ( ar, عدي صدام حسين; 18 June 1964 – 22 July 2003) was an Iraqi politician and the eldest son of Saddam Hussein. He held numerous positions as a sports chairman, military officer and businessman, and was the head ...
founded a new sports club named Al-Rasheed. The team was put straight into the
second division
In sport, the Second Division, also called Division 2 or Division II is usually the second highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Following the rise of Premier League style compet ...
of Iraqi football by Uday. A few days after their foundation, they played their first match in the second division (Baghdad Group) and it was against
Al-Karkh
Karkh or Al-Karkh (Arabic: الكرخ) is historically the name of the western half of Baghdad, Iraq, or alternatively, the western shore of the Tigris River as it ran through Baghdad. The eastern shore is known as Al-Rasafa.[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 ...]
in their first ever season, after achieving the 2nd Division title by beating
Al-Najaf 1–0 in their final game.
Uday Hussein brought most of the
Iraq national team players into the club, managed by
Ammo Baba
Emmanuel Baba Dawud (27 November 1934 – 27 May 2009), better known as Ammo Baba ( ar, عمو بابا, syr, ܥܡܘ ܒܒܐ), was an Iraqi Assyrian football player and coach of the Iraq national football team.
He scored the first international ...
, the head coach of the national team at the time. The most popular of them were
Ahmed Radhi
Ahmed Radhi Humaiesh Al-Salehi, ( ar, أحمد راضي هميش الصالحي, 21 April 1964 – 21 June 2020) was an Iraqi footballer who played as a forward.
Regarded as one of Iraq and Asia's best players of all-time, Radhi scored the onl ...
,
Adnan Dirjal,
Samir Shaker,
Haris Mohammed
Haris Mohammed Hassan (born 3 March 1958) is an Iraqi football midfielder who played for Iraq in the 1986 FIFA World Cup. He also played for Al-Rasheed Club.
Haris Mohammed was a skilful and creative right sided attacking midfielder, born ...
,
Habib Jafar, and
Laith Hussein
Laith Hussein Shihaib Al-Tawlid ( ar, ليث حسين شهيب التولد; born 13 October 1968) is an Iraqi former football player who was the captain of the Iraqi national team. He was vital to speaking out against Uday Hussein, the chairman ...
.
Many of them, including Ahmed Radhi, were forced to join the club and had no choice in the matter. Uday Hussein was also known to punish players who did not perform up to standards by ordering his guards to beat them, and often forced them to completely shave their heads before matches to embarrass them in public. The club's taking of most of Iraq's best players as well as the fact that they made domestic football much less competitive made the team very unpopular among fans.
![Al-Rasheed SC squad - 1984-85 season](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/ce/Al-Rasheed_SC_squad_-_1984-85_season.jpg)
Al-Rasheed dominated the Iraqi football from the club's foundation until its dissolving. In their first season 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 ...
, the
1984–85 season, Al-Rasheed were in 1st place, at 43 points, but because of the league being abandoned, no champions were announced.
After the abandonment of the league, Al-Rasheed set up the Al-Rasheed Cup which contained 12 of the 14 Iraqi League teams as well as four lower division teams. Al-Rasheed won this tournament by beating
Al-Zawra'a in the final. They participated in the
1985–86 Asian Club Championship
The 1985–86 Asian Club Championship was the fifth edition of the annual Asian club football competition hosted by the Asian Football Confederation, and was the first such tournament in 14 years. Several clubs played in the qualifying round in t ...
but were knocked out in round 2 of the qualifiers. They finished 2nd in the
1985–86 Iraqi League,
but won the 1986 Saddam International Tournament which contained teams from all around the world including
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 the north, Iran to the east, the Persian Gulf and K ...
,
Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
,
Kenya
)
, national_anthem = " Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"()
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, image_map2 =
, capital = Nairobi
, coordinates =
, largest_city = Nairobi
...
,
Jordan
Jordan ( ar, الأردن; tr. ' ), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,; tr. ' is a country in Western Asia. It is situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, within the Levant region, on the East Bank of the Jordan Rive ...
,
Morocco
Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria t ...
and
Kuwait
Kuwait (; ar, الكويت ', or ), officially the State of Kuwait ( ar, دولة الكويت '), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated in the northern edge of Eastern Arabia at the tip of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to the nort ...
.
Being managed by Ammo Baba, they achieved the league in the
1986–87 season,
along with the
Iraq FA Cup
The Iraq FA Cup, known as the Iraq Cup ( ar, كأس العراق) in Arabic, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic Iraqi football. First held in the 1948–49 season for clubs and institutions before returning in 1975–76 ...
, after beating
Al-Jaish Al Jaish is Arabic for army, and may refer to:
* Tala'ea El Gaish SC, a football club based in Cairo, Egypt
* Al-Jaish FC (Iraq), a football club based in Baghdad, Iraq
* Al-Jaish SC (Syria), a football club based in Damascus, Syria
* El Jaish SC, ...
.
In the
1987 Asian Club Championship
The 1987 Asian Club Championship was the 7th edition of the annual Asian club football competition hosted by Asian Football Confederation. Several Asian clubs started the qualifying round in Fall of 1987.
Yomiuri FC (Japan) became the second Jap ...
they were knocked out in the final group stage. Another double success came under the management of
Jamal Salih
Jamal Salih ( ar, جمال صالح) is a former Iraq national football player and coach, and currently as a sports director for Sharjah FC, and has been in the role since march of 2018.
Career
He began his career as a player with Al-Omma Sport ...
in the
1987–88 season.
In the
1988–89 season, Al-Rasheed achieved the league to be their last ever achievement.
Al-Rasheed became the first team to win the Iraqi Premier League three times in the row since it started in 1974.
Al-Rasheed also achieved the
Arab Champions Cup three times in the row; defeating
USM El Harrach
Union Sportive de la Médina d'El Harrach ( ar, الإتحاد الرياضي لمدينة الحراش), known as USM El Harrach or simply USMH for short, is an Algerian Association football, football club based in El Harrach, Algiers. The club ...
in
1985
The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations.
Events January
* January 1
** The Internet's Domain Name System is created.
** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a ...
in
Al-Shaab Stadium
Al-Shaab International Stadium ( ar, ملعب الشعب الدولي, lit=The People's Stadium) is an all-seater multi-purpose stadium in Baghdad, Iraq. The 34,200-seater was the home stadium of the Iraq national football team, as well as the lar ...
,
ES Tunis
Es, ES, or similar may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* An alternate name for the musical note E♭ (E-flat)
* '' E's'', a manga series by Satoru Yuiga
* ''Es'' (film), the German title of ''It'', a 1966 West German film directed by Ulrich Scha ...
in
1986
The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations.
Events January
* January 1
**Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles.
**Spain and Portugal enter ...
in
Stade El Menzah,
and beating
Al-Ittihad Al-Ittihad (Arabic: الاتحاد "The Union"), sometimes transliterated as Al-Etihad or Al-Ettihad may refer to:
Sports Football Libya
*Al-Ittihad Club (Tripoli), a football club based in Bab Ben Gashier
* Al Ittihad Gheryan, a football club bas ...
in the final of
1987
File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport, ...
in
Prince Faisal bin Fahd Stadium
Prince Faisal bin Fahd Stadium (Arabic: ملعب الأمير فيصل بن فهد) (formerly the Malab Reayat Al Shabab Stadium, ملعب رعاية الشباب بالرياض) is a multi-purpose stadium in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, designed by arch ...
.
Al-Rasheed also finished third in the
1989 Arab Cup Winners' Cup. Al-Rasheed's biggest achievement in AFC competitions is that they reached the 2nd place of the
1988–89 Asian Club Championship
The 1988–89 Asian Club Championship was the 8th edition of the annual Asian club football competition hosted by Asian Football Confederation.
Al-Sadd of Qatar won the final and became Asian champions for the first time.
Qualifying Group round ...
, after losing by the away goal rule to
Al Sadd
Al Sadd Sports Club ( ar, نادي السد الرياضي, lit=Dam Sports Club) is a Qatari sports club based in the Al Sadd district of the city of Doha. It is best known for its association football team, which competes in th ...
.
They were the first Iraqi team to reach the final of Asia's main club competition since
Aliyat Al-Shorta in
1971. In the next edition of the Asian Club Championship in
1989–90, Al-Rasheed were very close to reaching the final again, but they failed to. They also failed to win the league title, and they failed to win the cup as they were surprisingly knocked out by lower division team Al-Tijara 3–2 on aggregate. Therefore, they ended the season without winning a trophy.
On 18 August 1990, the
Iraqi Olympic Committee decided to dissolve Al-Rasheed Sports Club and transfer all of its properties to Al-Karkh Sports Club and replacing Al-Rasheed with Al-Karkh 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 ...
.
It is believed that the decision to dissolve the club was made by
Saddam Hussein
Saddam Hussein ( ; ar, صدام حسين, Ṣaddām Ḥusayn; 28 April 1937 – 30 December 2006) was an Iraqi politician who served as the fifth president of Iraq from 16 July 1979 until 9 April 2003. A leading member of the revolutio ...
, due to Saddam being fed up that the club was very unpopular among supporters and players, and fans often chanted against the team.
Stadium
![Al-Karkh Stadium at night, 2014](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/43/Al-Karkh_Stadium_at_night%2C_2014.jpg)
In 1984, Al-Rasheed took over the
Al-Karkh Stadium
Al-Saher Ahmed Radhi Stadium ( ar, ملعب الساحر احمد راضي, lit=''Magician Ahmed Radhi Stadium'') is a multi-use stadium in Baghdad, Iraq. It is used mostly for football matches and serves as the home stadium of Al-Karkh. The stad ...
and turned it into theirs after renovating it and allowing shops to be opened around it. In the dissolving of Al-Rasheed, the stadium returned to its old name as the stadium of Al-Karkh SC.
Statistics
In domestic competitions
In Asia
On July 26, 1990, the second-to-last month of the club's existence:
Honours
Domestic
International
*
* shared record
Friendly
*Saddam International Tournament
**Winners (1): 1986
*Al-Rasheed Cup
**Winners (1): 1985
*Uday Saddam Hussein Championship
**Winners (1): 1984
Other sports
Basketball
*
Iraqi Division I Basketball League
The Iraqi Basketball League, officially known as 1XBET Iraqi Basketball League for sponsorship reasons, is the highest professional basketball league in Iraq.
Current clubs
List of champions
Most successful clubs
Recent finals
References
...
:
**Champions (3): 1984–85, 1985–86, 1986–87
*
Arab Club Basketball Championship
The Arab Club Championship is an annual basketball tournament for Arab teams. The competition is organised by the Arab Basketball Confederation (ABC). Each season is typically held in October and is held in one venue. The tournament typically feat ...
:
**Champions (3): 1987, 1988, 1990
Volleyball
*
Arab Clubs Championship (volleyball):
**Champions (1): 1988
References
{{Iraq Super League
Football clubs in Iraq
Sport in Baghdad
1983 establishments in Iraq
Association football clubs established in 1983
Association football clubs disestablished in 1990
Football clubs in Baghdad
Defunct football clubs in Iraq