Al-Najaf FC

Al-Najaf

Full name	Al-Najaf Football Club
Nickname(s)	Ghizlan Al-Badiah (Desert Gazelles)
Founded	1961 (1961)
Ground	Al-Najaf Stadium
Ground Capacity	12,000
Chairman	Sabah Hassan
Manager	Emad Mohammed
League	Iraqi Premier League
2016–17	Iraqi Premier League, 9th
Home colours Away colours

Al-Najaf Football Club (Arabic: نادي النجف لكرة القدم‎‎) is an Iraqi football club based in Najaf. They are members of the Iraqi Premier League. Al-Najaf played in the 2007 AFC Champions League.

History

In 1960, the city of Najaf began an active movement to establish a sports club after the athletes then felt the need of the city to a sports club that absorbed the energies of young people and their creations which are almost lost in the amateur leagues. Some of the dignitaries of the city were contacted for this purpose.^[1] The request was submitted to the Ministry of the Interior, which was responsible for the authorisation of sports clubs in Iraq at that time. The name of Al Ghiri Sports Club was proposed for this institution. In 1961, the Ministry of the Interior approved their request to establish the club and thus wrote the birth certificate of the first sports club in the city of Najaf and consisted of the first administrative body of Messrs. Naji Hassan Hasswa as president and Maki Hadi Maala Vice-President and Alwan Elsafer as secretary^[2]. At the beginning of the establishment of the club, the Ministry of the Interior allocated an annual grant of 60 dinars divided into two instalments, and the club relied on this grant and monthly subscriptions from its members.

Honours

• Iraqi Elite Cup

Winners (1): 1997

Performance in AFC competitions

• AFC Champions League: 1 appearance

2007: Group Stage

Stadium

The An-Najaf Stadium (Arabic: ستاد النجف‎‎) is a football stadium in Najaf, Iraq. It is currently used mostly for football matches and is the home stadium of Al Najaf. The stadium holds 12,000 people.

New Holy Al-Najaf Stadium is a purpose built football stadium being constructed in Najaf, Iraq. Once completed it will have the capacity to hold 30,000 people and become the new home of the Al Najaf. The stadium is protracted to open sometime in the middle 2014.

Statistics

The season-by-season performance of the club over the recent years:^[3]

As of 10 August 2017.

1. ↑ https://www.dorar-aliraq.net/threads/10133-%D8%AA%D8%A7%D8%B1%D9%8A%D8%AE-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A7%D9%86%D8%AF%D9%8A%D8%A9-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B1%D9%8A%D8%A7%D8%B6%D9%80%D9%8A%D8%A9-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B9%D8%B1%D8%A7%D9%82%D9%8A%D8%A9
2. ↑ https://mondialar.com/%D8%B9%D9%85%D9%8A%D8%AF-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B1%D9%8A%D8%A7%D8%B6%D8%A9-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%86%D8%AC%D9%81%D9%8A%D8%A9-%D9%85%D8%AD%D9%85%D8%AF-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%81%D8%B6%D9%84%D9%8A-%D8%B1%D8%AD%D9%84/
3. ↑ http://socceriraq.net/players/al-najaf/