Youra Eshaya Pera ( syr, ܝܘܪܐ ܐܫܥܝܐ, ar, يورا أيشايا) (1933-1992) 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 the north, Iran to the east, the Persian Gulf and K ...

i and ethnic

Assyrian Assyrian may refer to: * Assyrian people, the indigenous ethnic group of Mesopotamia. * Assyria, a major Mesopotamian kingdom and empire. ** Early Assyrian Period ** Old Assyrian Period ** Middle Assyrian Empire ** Neo-Assyrian Empire * Assyrian ...

football player who was the first Iraqi player ever to play in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...

Early life

He was born in 1933 in

to Eshaya Pera and Batishwa Benyamin. His family moved to

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 ...

to live at the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...

Station Hinaidi in 1935, where Youra's father worked for the Royal Air Force (RAF). In 1937, the family was transferred to Habbaniya along with the rest of the Hinaidi

and

Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian Diaspora, Armenian communities across the ...

civilians and the

Assyrian levies The Assyrian Levies (also known as the Iraq Levies) were the first Iraqi military force established by the British in British controlled Iraq. The Iraq Levies originated in a local Arab armed scout force raised during the First World War. After I ...

employed by the Royal Air Force.

Football career

At the age of 15, Youra started to play Levy Civilian in the RAF Football League in Habbaniya. He was soon promoted to the senior team for the 1949/50 season. In April 1953, Flight Lieutenant R. K. Weston, a talent-scout for

Bristol Rovers Bristol Rovers Football Club are a professional football club in Bristol, England. They compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. They play home matches at the Memorial Stadium in Horfield, they have been ...

spotted him and recommended him to

Bert Tann Bertram James Tann (4 May 1914 – 7 July 1972) was a professional footballer and later football manager, who is best known for managing Bristol Rovers for a spell of 18 years from 1950 to 1968. He is the longest-serving post-war manager of Br ...

the Bristol Rovers manager at that time. Youra arrived in England on in August 1954. Since he only got a one-month work permit in England, he had to appeal twice to extend his work permit. He finally worked as a miner in order to stay in England while playing as an amateur for Bristol Rovers 3rd team in the Western League. He was granted employment by the

National Coal Board The National Coal Board (NCB) was the statutory corporation created to run the nationalised coal mining industry in the United Kingdom. Set up under the Coal Industry Nationalisation Act 1946, it took over the United Kingdom's collieries on "ve ...

and he started working as a miner at

Pensford Pensford is the largest village in the civil parish of Publow in Somerset, England. It lies in the Chew Valley, approximately south of Bristol, west of Bath and north of Wells. It is on the A37 road from Bristol to Shepton Mallet. Pensfor ...

Colliery, Somerset, on November 7, 1954. Youra played only four games in his second season before the president of the

Royal Iraqi Air Force The Iraqi Air Force (IQAF or IrAF) ( ar, القوات الجوية العراقية, Al Quwwat al Jawwiyah al Iraqiyyah}) is the aerial warfare service branch of the Iraqi Armed Forces. It is responsible for the defense of Iraqi airspace as well ...

FC, Brigadier Kadhim Abbadi, invited him back to Iraq. He was offered an Iraqi citizenship and a place for him on the Force as a

warrant officer Warrant officer (WO) is a rank or category of ranks in the armed forces of many countries. Depending on the country, service, or historical context, warrant officers are sometimes classified as the most junior of the commissioned ranks, the mos ...

provided he play for his club and returned to Baghdad in December 1955.

Career statistics

International goals

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

Retirement

He was forced to retire in 1971 after he married a

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

woman because the Baathist Government prohibited military personnel from marrying women from non-Arab countries. He was later transferred to Habbaniya air base where he coached and trained military sportsmen. He moved to Sweden where he worked as a youth soccer coach. He died on July 21, 1992 at the age of 59.

References

Assyrian Information Medium Exchange- Sports Page

* ttp://klanopedia.pl/character/2268,Youra_Eshaya_Pera Clan information, grave picture {{DEFAULTSORT:Eshaya, Youra 1933 births 1992 deaths Assyrian sportspeople Iraqi footballers Iraqi expatriate footballers Iraqi Air Force personnel Sportspeople from Baghdad Bristol Rovers F.C. players Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya players Iranian Assyrian people Iraqi Christians Association football forwards Assyrian footballers Iraq international footballers