Kurdistan Region national football team
The Kurdistan Region national football team (Arabic: منتخب كردستان العراق الوطني لكرة القدم, Kurdish: Helbijardey Topî pêy Kurdistan ;ھەڵبژاردەی تۆپی پێی كوردستان), is the national team of Kurdistan Region. They are not affiliated with FIFA or Asian Football Confederation (AFC). The Iraqi Football Association (FA) attended a meeting held by the NF-Board in June 2006.[1]
| Nickname(s) | The Tricolour | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Association | Kurdistan Football Association | ||
| Confederation | ConIFA | ||
| Head coach | Khasraw Groon | ||
| Most caps | Heydar Gharaman | ||
| Home stadium | Franso Hariri Stadium, Erbil Zakho International Stadium, Zakho | ||
| |||
| First international | |||
 Kurdistan Region 2–2 Sápmi  (Gällivare, Sweden; 7 July 2008) | |||
| Biggest win | |||
 Tamil Eelam 0–9 Kurdistan Region (Östersund, Sweden; 1 June 2014) | |||
| Biggest defeat | |||
 Chameria 6–0 Kurdistan Region (The Hague, Netherlands; 17 June 2017) | |||
| VIVA World Cup | |||
| Appearances | 3 (first in 2008) | ||
| Best result | Champions, 2012 | ||
History
The team played in the 2008 VIVA World Cup for the first time, finishing in the 4th place after a 3–1 loss to Sápmi. Their first and only win in the 2008 tournament came against Provence.
Although Kurdistan is not a member of FIFA, but the Kurdistan football team has participated some international football tournament. For example in 2011 the Kurdish team took part the Palestine Cup and defeated Mauritania and Tunisia . In December 2008, during the 5th General Meeting, Kurdistan was granted full membership to the NF Board and tournaments Kurdistan eventually became champions on home turf in 2012, defeating Northern Cyprus 2–1 in front of 22,000 fans . In the spring of 2024 The Kurdistan football team will take part in the CONIFA World Football Cup again which will be held in Kurdistan Region
Official Kurdistan FA Emblem
The Kurdistan Region FA emblem was designed by Kurdish artist Rawand Sirwan Nawroly (Kurdish: رهوهند سیروان نهورڕۆڵی). The emblem represents the Kurdish flag colours, where the red represents the Kurdish Newroz fire. The yellow ball represents the Kurdish Sun and the green banner represents the green Kurdistan scenery.
Competitive record
| Year | Position | GP | W | D | L | GS | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| VIVA World Cup | |||||||
.svg.png.webp){kind=small} 2006 | did not enter | ||||||
| 2008 | 4th | 5 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 7 | 7 |
 2009 | 2nd | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 11 | 4 |
 2010 | 2nd | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 5 |
| 2012 | 1st | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 2 |
| Palestine International Cup | |||||||
 2012 | 3rd | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 4 |
| International Tournament of Peoples, Cultures and Tribes | |||||||
.svg.png.webp){kind=small} 2013 | 1st | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 1 |
| ConIFA World Football Cup | |||||||
| 2014 | 6th | 5 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 14 | 6 |
 2016 | 8th | 5 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 9 | 3 |
.svg.png.webp){kind=small} 2018 | did not enter | ||||||
 2020 | Canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic | ||||||
| 2024 | Qualified as hosts | ||||||
| Total | Best: 1st | 33 | 18 | 8 | 7 | 73 | 28 |
.svg.png.webp){kind=small}
| Others tournaments | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Round | Score | Result | |
| Palestine International Cup | ||||
| 2012 | Round 1 | Kurdistan Region 3–1 .svg.png.webp){kind=small} Mauritania | Win | |
| Round 2 | Kurdistan Region 1–1  Indonesia | Draw | ||
| Round 3 | Kurdistan Region 1–2  Tunisia | Lose | ||
| International Tournament of Peoples, Cultures and Tribes | ||||
| 2013 | ||||
| Round 1 | Kurdistan Region 1–1  UGA Ardeiv |
Draw | ||
| Round 2 | Kurdistan Region 6–0  Western Sahara | Win | ||
| Semi final | Kurdistan Region 1–0  Quebec | Win | ||
| Final | Kurdistan Region 1–0 Provence | Win | ||
Current squad
| No. | Pos. | Player | Date of birth (age) | Caps | Goals | Club |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | GK | Sarhang Muhsin | 29 | 22 | 0 |  Al-Shorta |
| 12 | GK | Znar Faizi | 0 | 0 | Duhok | |
| 22 | GK | Rebaz Abdulla | 21 | 0 | 0 | Erbil |
| 2 | DF | Bayar Abubakir | 5 | 0 | Duhok | |
| 3 | DF | Herdi Siamand | 33 | 11 | 1 | Erbil |
| 20 | DF | Jassim Mohammed Haji | 32 | 10 | 1 | Zakho |
| 13 | DF | Aras Mustafa | 28 | 1 | 0 | Zeravani |
| 4 | DF | Hawkar Latif | 26 | 0 | 0 | Nawroz |
| 8 | DF | Khalid Mushir | 35 | 12 | 2 | Zakho |
| 5 | DF | Kamaran Ali | 27 | 3 | 0 | Zakho |
| 21 | DF | Niaz Muhamad | 26 | 5 | 0 | Erbil |
| 14 | MF | Hawre Jalal | 26 | 3 | 5 | Peshmargay Hawler |
| 15 | MF | Muhamad Sabir | 1 | 0 | Erbil | |
| 19 | MF | Diyar Rahman | 30 | 5 | 1 | Erbil |
| 10 | MF | Ali Aziz | 27 | 10 | 4 |  Ararat Yerevan |
| 16 | MF | Ahmet Isik | 19 | 12 | 19 |  Arminia Tegel |
| 6 | MF | Abdulla Kaifi | 24 | 0 | 0 | Kirkuk |
| 11 | MF | Kosrat Baiz | 25 | 5 | 2 | Erbil |
| 9 | MF | Rekar Hashim | 23 | 1 | 0 | Erbil |
| 17 | FW | Hunar Ahmad | 4 | 2 | Zeravani | |
| 18 | FW | Ayub Ayad | 31 | 1 | 0 | Zeravani |
| 7 | FW | Farhang Wriya | 2 | 1 | Peshmargay Hawler | |
| 23 | FW | Farhan Shakor | 21 | 9 | 5 | Erbil |
Managers
| Manager | Period | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Win % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Abdullah Mahmoud |
2008–2016 | 29 | 15 | 7 | 7 | 51.72 |
| Khasraw Groon |
2016–present | 11 | 6 | 4 | 1 | 54.54 |
| Totals | 40 | 21 | 11 | 8 | 52.50 | |
References
- "The first football World Cup for nations that do not exist". Play the Game, Steve Menary. September 23, 2006.
Kurdistan will host CONIFA World Football Cup in 2024
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