Al-Difaa Al-Jawi SC

Full name	Al-Difaa Al-Jawi Sport Club
Founded	1994; 30 years ago (1994)
Ground	Al-Ghazaliya Stadium
Chairman	Maan Zaid Al-Saadi
Manager	Haitham Kadhim
League	Iraqi Second Division League
Home colours Away colours

Al-Difaa Al-Jawi Sport Club (Arabic: نادي الدفاع الجوي الرياضي) is an Iraqi football team based in Baghdad, that plays in Iraqi Second Division League.^[1]

History[edit]

In Premier League[edit]

Al-Difaa Al-Jawi team played in the Iraqi Premier League for the first time in the 1999–2000 season,^[2] and it lasted for six seasons in the Premier League until the 2004–05 season, at the end of which it was relegated to the Iraq Division One.^[3] The team played its first four seasons in the name of Al-Difaa Al-Jawi, and in the last two seasons in the league the name of the club was changed, and it played in the league under the name Al-Estiqlal.^[4]

Re-establishment[edit]

After the team's exit from the Iraqi Premier League in 2005, its sports activities were suspended and the situation continued until 2021, when the club was re-established in that year under its first name (Al-Difaa Al-Jawi) and a new administrative body was elected, and multiple sports teams were formed, including the football team, which is currently playing in the Iraq Division Three.^[5][6]

Managerial history[edit]

• Hakeem Shaker (1997–1999)
• Saleh Radhi (1999–2002)
• Salam Hashim (2002–2003)
• Haitham Kadhim (2022–present)

Famous players[edit]

• Younis Abed Ali
• Ali Mutashar
• Wissam Zaki
• Samal Saeed
• Samer Saeed

Honours[edit]

• Al-Quds International Championship
  • Winner (1): 1999

Other sports[edit]

Basketball[edit]

• Iraqi Basketball Premier League:
  • Champions (3): 1997–98, 1998–99, 2023–24

References[edit]

External links[edit]

• Al-Difaa Al-Jawi SC on Goalzz.com
• Iraq Clubs- Foundation Dates