The Iraq Football Association (Ittihad Al-Iraqi Le-Korat Al-Kadem) was formed on October 8, 1948, and was the third sports union to be founded in Iraq after the Track and Field Athletics and the Basketball Federations. The two unions took part at the 1948 Olympic Games in London, held from July 29 to August 14, however the IFA had not been founded, so no football team took part in the Olympics. It was during the Olympics that the idea of a football association in Iraq was put forward. During the 1948 London Olympic Games, Iraq's basketball team lost every game by an average of 104 points per game. They scored an average of 23.5 points per game. The team included Iraq's first ever-national football captain Wadud Khalil and another member of Iraq's first ever-national squad in 1951, the outside right Salih Faraj.
First administration
The first logo of the Iraq Football Association in 1950.
The first Iraqi FA administration was headed by President Obaid Abdullah Al-Mudhayfi and Saadi Jassim as general secretary, with its headquarters in the Sheikh Omar district in Baghdad. The IFA was an association of 14 teams from all over Iraq, they included the Al-Nadi Al-Olympi Al-Malaki (‘Royal Olympic Club’), Al-Haras Al-Malaki (‘Royal Guards’), Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya Al-Malakiya (‘Royal Air Force’), Madaris Al-Shorta (‘Police Schools’), Al-Kuliya Al-Askariya (‘Military College’), Dar Al-Mualimeen Alaliya (‘Highest Teacher's House’), Casuals Club, Al-Maarouf Al-Tarbiya (‘Physical Education’), Kuliyat Al-Huqooq (‘College of Law’), Al-Quwa Al-Siyara (‘Armoured Cars’) from the capital Baghdad and four other teams Nadi Al-Minaa Al-Basri (Basra Port Club), Sharikat Naft Al-Basra (Basra Petroleum Company) from Basra and branches in the provinces of Mosul and Kirkuk.
The Iraqi youth national teams have been ejected from tournaments for fielding over-age players. In 1989, Iraq was banned for using over-age players in the U-20 World Championships in Saudi Arabia. That ban was extended when Iraq invaded Kuwait in August 1990.
Competitions
The IFA organises several national competitions, including:
