Iraq’s first historic national football team during its tour of Turkey in 1951 / Historical Wikimedia archive / Available for publication and news use under the Creative Commons Public Domain. Coach Diaa Habib; Percy Lindsell; Karim Alawi; Nasser Youssef (Nasser Jaco); Shaker Ismail; Saleh Faraj; Saeed Yeshua Murad; Hama Bashka; Jamil Abbas (Jamouli); Touma Abdul Ahad; Adel Kamel; and Wadoud Khalil Jumaa (captain).

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BAGHDAD — Special Report: The contribution of Iraqi Christians to football was not a recent phenomenon associated with professionals playing in Europe or with generations that represented Iraq in continental and international competitions. Its roots go back to the earliest stages of the development of Iraqi football itself, during the first half of the 20th century.

During that period, a number of Iraqi Christian players, particularly members of the Assyrian community, emerged at clubs in Basra and Baghdad and around the Royal Air Force base in Habbaniya. Some of them later went on to join the ranks of Iraq’s first national team in the early 1950s.

According to Iraqi football historian Hussainin Mubarak, in an account published by The Guardian, three players were among the prominent figures who helped shape Iraq’s first national team in 1951, including Saeed Isho and Aram Karam, both of Christian/Assyrian background. The account also highlights the role played by the sporting environment surrounding British air bases and local teams in the emergence of modern Iraqi football.

Saeed Isho: A Member of Iraq’s First National Team

Saeed Isho stands out as one of the earliest Iraqi Christian players to wear the national team shirt.

Isho was born in Basra in 1928. His father was a priest of the Assyrian Church of the East, and the family had settled in the city in the early 20th century. Saeed began playing football in Basra’s schools before joining local teams. He later played for the Basra Petroleum Company team and also represented Al-Minaa Club.

In 1951, Isho was called up to Iraq’s first national team squad and played in what historians describe as the Iraqi national team’s first international match, against Turkey B on May 6, 1951.

According to Hussainin Mubarak’s account, Isho played in defense for the pioneering Iraqi side before leaving Iraq a few months later to study in Britain.

His career then entered a new phase after attracting the attention of football officials in England. He was given an opportunity to become associated with Sheffield United and later played for Manchester United’s reserve team during the 1960s.

His career made Isho one of the earliest Iraqis to combine international representation for his country with experience in English football.

Aram Karam: The Assyrian Forward Who Made an Early Name for Himself

Another prominent figure from the pioneering generation was Aram Karam, an Iraqi Assyrian player who grew up in the Habbaniya area and became known for his ability to score from difficult distances and angles.

Karam belonged to a generation that played football in the environment surrounding the British air bases. He represented several teams before joining sides associated with the air force and later becoming one of the leading figures at the Assyrian Club.

Historical sources indicate that Karam began his career with football teams connected to the air bases in Baghdad and Habbaniya. In 1943, he played for Arsenal Sports Club in Habbaniya, before moving between several teams and eventually joining the Iraq Petroleum Company.

Karam became particularly well known for his shooting and goalscoring ability. At different stages of his career, he served as a player, forward, captain and coach.

In 1951, he belonged to the generation associated with the formation of Iraq’s first national team and later became one of the prominent names in Iraqi football during the 1950s.

Yura Ishaya: The First Iraqi to Play in England

While Saeed Isho and Aram Karam were prominent figures of the early years, Yura Ishaya holds a special place in Iraqi football history as the first Iraqi player to play in England.

Born in 1933 to an Assyrian family, Yura Ishaya grew up in the Habbaniya and air-base environment, where he began playing football at an early age.

In 1953, he attracted the attention of a talent scout associated with Bristol Rovers and moved to England in 1954. There, he played for the club’s third team in the Western League, while also working in Britain.

Sources indicate that Ishaya worked in the British coal mines in order to maintain his legal status and residence in the country while continuing to play football.

In 1955, he returned to Iraq after receiving an offer to return to Baghdad and play for the Iraqi Royal Air Force.

He subsequently became a member of the Iraqi national team and played in the historic match against Morocco at the 1957 Arab Games in Beirut. The match marked Iraq’s first official appearance at a major international tournament and ended in a 3-3 draw.

Ishaya scored one of Iraq’s goals alongside Ammo Baba. Historical sources on Iraqi football identify both Ammo Baba and Yura Ishaya as members of Iraq’s Assyrian minority.

Ammo Baba: A Name That Transcended Community and Club

No account of the role of Christians in the history of Iraqi football would be complete without Ammo Baba, who later became one of the most famous figures in Iraqi football as both a player and coach.

Born Emmanuel Dawood, Ammo Baba was a member of the Assyrian community. He began his sporting career at the Assyrian Club before becoming one of Iraq’s leading players during the 1950s and 1960s.

An academic study of the history of the Assyrian community in Iraq notes that the Assyrian Sports Club, founded in Baghdad in 1955, became an important center for sporting activity. Among the players who began their careers there were Ammo Baba, Edison David and Douglas Aziz.

Ammo Baba later became one of the pillars of the Iraqi national team and subsequently coached the national side at several stages of his career, making him one of the most influential figures in the history of Iraqi football.

He died in 2009 and was buried at Baghdad’s Al-Shaab International Stadium, in an exceptional tribute to his sporting career.

Edison David: From the Assyrian Club to the National Team

Another member of the early generation was Edison David, who began his sporting career in the mid-1950s and was among the Assyrian players who played an important role in the development of modern Iraqi football.

David was born in 1933. He began playing football at an early age with local teams before joining Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya in 1955.

That same year, he was selected for the Iraqi national team and continued representing the country until 1965.

Sources indicate that he played an important role for both the national team and Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya and was named the best player in the Iraqi league in 1958.

An academic study of the Assyrian Club identifies Ammo Baba, Edison David and Douglas Aziz among the prominent players who emerged from the Assyrian sporting institution in Baghdad.

The Assyrian Club: A Sporting Institution That Produced a Generation of Stars

The establishment of the Assyrian Sports Club in Baghdad in 1955 was an important milestone in Iraqi sports history, not only in the history of Assyrian sport.

The club became a venue for football and other sports and attracted players from the Assyrian community, but it did not remain an institution limited to one community.

An academic study published through Cambridge notes that the club became a center for sports not only for Assyrians but for Iraqi sport more broadly, producing a number of national-team players.

Among the prominent names associated with this sporting tradition were:

• Ammo Baba
• Edison David
• Douglas Aziz
• Yura Ishaya
• Aram Karam
• Basel Gerges
• And, in later generations, other players who became part of the history of Iraqi football.

The Assyrian Club thus developed from a sporting institution into an important center that helped produce generations of players and coaches whose influence on Iraqi football continued for decades.

Douglas Aziz: From Player to Coach

Douglas Aziz represents a later stage of this generation, but he belonged to the same sporting tradition associated with the Assyrian Club.

Aziz was a prominent defender before moving into coaching. He later coached Al-Shorta Club and led the team to the first league title in its history during the 1979-80 season, according to sources documenting the Assyrian contribution to Iraqi football.

His career demonstrates that the contribution of Iraqi Christians extended beyond playing to coaching, sports administration and the development of Iraqi clubs.

From the Pioneering Generation to the Golden Era

Over the years, the presence of Assyrian and other Christian players became part of the broader landscape of Iraqi football.

During the 1980s, Basel Gerges emerged as part of Iraq’s golden generation. The Iraqi player of Assyrian background represented the national team between 1982 and 1989 and scored four international goals, according to available records of his career.

Gerges was part of a national team that included major figures such as Hussein Saeed and Ahmed Radhi, during a period widely regarded as one of the significant stages in the development of Iraqi football.

From the Pioneers to Iraq’s World Cup Players

This presence continued in subsequent decades, although the number of Christian players in the national team varied from one generation to another.

In recent years, several players from Iraq’s Chaldean, Syriac and Assyrian communities have appeared for the Iraqi national team, including Rebin Solaka, Frans Dhia Jasim, Aymar Sher and Kevin Yakob, alongside other players of Iraqi Christian heritage.

Recent reports have documented the participation of some of these players in Iraq’s campaign toward the 2026 FIFA World Cup, presenting their presence as part of a sporting history that dates back to the earliest generations of Iraqi football.

Football as Part of Iraq’s Shared History

The stories of these players show that the participation of Iraqi Christians in football did not begin with modern professionalism or with players born abroad. It dates back to the earliest years when the Iraqi national team itself was taking shape.

Saeed Isho belonged to the first generation of the national team, Aram Karam was one of the leading forwards of that generation, while Yura Ishaya became the first Iraqi to gain football experience in England. Ammo Baba, Edison David, Douglas Aziz and others then continued to build on that sporting legacy.

The history of Iraqi Christians in football therefore intersects with the history of Iraqi football itself—from the teams of Basra and Habbaniya and the air bases, to the national team and the Assyrian Club, and eventually to generations that represented Iraq in continental and international competitions.