Falah Hassan ( ar, فلاح حسن, born 1 July 1951) is a former

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 ...

i international

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

player, and current president of Al-Zawraa Sport Club in Baghdad.

Early life

Falah Hassan was born in 1951 in the village of Mimouna, in a district of

Qal'at Saleh The town of Qal'at Saleh ( ar, قلعة صالح) is the district centre of Qal'at Saleh District, Maysan Governorate, southern Iraq. It is located along the road that links Basra to Amarah, a mere 40 km away. Qalat Saleh’s nearest towns a ...

. His father was a farmer and after the 1958 Revolution, his family moved to Al-Thawra (now Al-Sadr) in the Iraqi capital Baghdad, taking advantage of the new government’s initiative in building low cost housing for families wanting to move to Baghdad, it was there he first played the game on the streets of the city. During the 1970s, Falah Hassan was seen as one of the greatest players in Asia, and was offered lucrative contracts to play professionally abroad, in 1978 he received two offers one from Belgium and the other from the Emirates. Al-Shaab from the UAE reportedly offered Falah and teammate Ali Kadhim a contract to play for them in 1978, while after the arrival of Belgium’s army team in Baghdad, the delegation nearly reached an agreement for a move to a club in Belgium however the officials at the Iraqi FA turned it down saying that Falah Hassan was a national treasure, and that he should not be sold abroad. A year earlier in a dire 0–0 draw with English club

Derby County Derby County Football Club () is a professional association football club based in Derby, Derbyshire, England. In 2022, it was announced that DCFC was acquired by Clowes Developments (UK) Ltd, a Derbyshire-based property group. Founded in 1884 ...

in Baghdad, the player ran rings around the opposition defence. After a dispute with the Iraq FA that led to a suspension from the national side in 1978, Falah returned the following year to guide Iraq to their first Gulf Cup victory, and then went on to lift the 1979 CISM

World Military Championship The World Military Championships (WMC) are the world championships of the military sports, regularly organized by the Conseil International du Sport Militaire, in each of the 26 disciplines of the sport military. History CISM had its roots in Worl ...

in Kuwait, beating Italy 4–3 on penalties.

Career statistics

International goals

''Scores and results list Iraq's goal tally first.''

Post-playing career

Falah Hassan has been the president of

Al-Zawraa SC Al-Zawraa Sports Club ( ar, نادي الزوراء الرياضي) is an Iraqi sports club based in Utayfia, Karkh District (near Tigris River), Baghdad. Their football team compete in the Iraqi Premier League, the top-flight of Iraqi footbal ...

since 2010. The club has been into lots of success under Hassan's regime, winning many trophies and playing in Asian competitions.

References

External links