The Kurdistan national football team ( romanized : jêgrtîya welatî ya tepapê ya Kurdistan ê) is the national team of the Kurdistan Region. They are not affiliated with FIFA or Asian Football Confederation (AFC).
History Although Kurdistan is not a member of FIFA or the AFC, Kurdistan has participated various international football tournaments.
The Iraq Football Association (IFA) attended a meeting held by the N.F.-Board in June 2006. In December 2008, during the 5th General Meeting, Kurdistan was granted full membership to the N.F.-Board and their tournaments. The team played in the 2008 VIVA World Cup for the first time, finishing in the fourth place after a 3–1 loss to Sápmi. Their first and only win in the 2008 tournament came against Provence.
In 2011 the Kurdish team took part the Palestine International Cup and defeated Mauritania and Tunisia U22. Kurdistan eventually became champions on home turf in the 2012 Viva World Cup, defeating Northern Cyprus 2–1 in front of 22,000 fans.
On 9 September 2024, it was announced that Kurdistan had been suspended by CONIFA.
Official Kurdistan FA Emblem The Kurdistan Region FA emblem was designed by Kurdish artist Rawand Sirwan Nawroly (). 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 YearPositionGPWDLGSGAVIVA World Cup 2006did not enter 20084th512277 20092nd4202114 20102nd430195 20121st4400112Palestine International Cup 20123rd311154International Tournament of Peoples, Cultures and Tribes 20131st431091ConIFA World Football Cup 20146th5131146 20168th523093 2018did not enter 2020Canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic 2024Canceled due to security concernsTotalBest: 1st3318877328
World Cup HistoryYearRoundScoreResultVIVA World Cup 2008Round 1 2–2 DrawRound 1 3–0 WinRound 1 1–2 LoseRound 1 0–0 Draw3rd Place 1–3 Lose2009Round 1 4–0 WinRound 1 1–2 LoseSemi-Final 6–0 WinFinal 0–2 Lose2010Round 1 4–1 WinRound 1 3–2 WinSemi-Final 2–1 WinFinal 0–1 Lose2012Round 1 6–0 WinRound 1 1–0 WinSemi-Final 2–1 WinFinal 2–1 WinConIFA World Football Cup 2014Round 1 1–2 LoseRound 1 9–0 WinQuarter-finals 1 (2) – (4) 1 DrawPlacement Round 1 2 (5) – (4) 2 DrawPlacement Round 2 1 (3) – (4) 1 Draw2016Round 1 3–0 WinRound 2 3–0 WinQuarter-finals 2 (6) – (7) 2 DrawPlacement Round 1 0 (5) – (6) 0 DrawPlacement Round 2 1 (2) – (4) 1 Draw
Others tournamentsYearRoundScoreResultPalestine International Cup2012Round 1 3–1 WinRound 2 1–1 DrawRound 3 1–2 LoseInternational Tournament of Peoples, Cultures and Tribes2013Round 1 1–1 UGA Ardeiv DrawRound 2 6–0 WinSemi final 1–0 WinFinal 1–0 Win
Current squad As 2016:
Managers ManagerPeriodPlayedWonDrawnLostWin % Abdullah Mahmoud2008–201629157751.72 Khasraw Groon2016–present1164154.54Totals 40 21 11 8 52.50
Honours Non-FIFA competitions Viva World Cup Champions (1): 2012 Runners-up (2): 2009, 2010
References