The Iraq Football Association (IFA) is the governing body of football in Iraq, controlling the Iraqi national team and the Iraqi Premier League. The Iraqi Football Association was founded in 1948 and has been a member of FIFA since 1950, the Asian Football Confederation since 1970, and the Sub-confederation regional body West Asian Football Federation since 2001. Iraq is also part of the Union of Arab Football Associations and the Arab Gulf Cup Football Federation. The Iraqi team is commonly known as Usood Al-Rafidain, which literally means Lions of Mesopotamia.
Iraq competed in the Summer Olympic Games for the first time at the 1948 Summer Olympics in London, England, under the name of the Hashmite Kingdom of Iraq. The country participated in two sports, athletics and basketball, sending a total of 12 athletes.
There are a wide variety of sports played and followed in Iraq. Football is the most popular sport and hobby in Iraq. Football is a considerable uniting factor, following years of war and unrest. Basketball, swimming, weightlifting, bodybuilding, taekwondo, boxing, kickboxing, and tennis are also popular sports and hobbies.
Banipal is an independent literary magazine dedicated to the promotion of contemporary Arab literature through translations in English. It was founded in London in 1998 by Margaret Obank and Samuel Shimon. The magazine is published three times a year. Since its inception, it has published works and interviews of numerous Arab authors and poets, many of them translated for the first time into English. It is also co-sponsor of the Saif Ghobash–Banipal Prize for Arabic Literary Translation.
Alaa Abdul-Zahra Khashen Al-Azzawi, is an Iraqi football player who currently plays for Al-Shorta in the Iraqi Premier League. He is also a member of Iraq national team. He can be deployed as an attacking midfielder or a second striker, and since 2016 plays a striker. He is the third-most capped player in the history of the Iraq national team.
Riyadh Al-Azzawi is an Iraqi-British kickboxer and the 2008 World Kickboxing Network (WKN) World Champion after a fight against 3-times world champion Tomasz Borowiec in the 91 kg category on February 12, 2008, becoming the first-ever Arab World Champion in heavyweight kickboxing with a record 34-0 at the time and is now known as "The Golden Champion". Riyadh Al-Azzawi has a record of 51-0.
The Asian island nation of the Maldives competed at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London from 27 July to 12 August 2012. This was the nation's seventh consecutive appearance at the Olympics, the delegation consisted of two athletes each in track and field and swimming. For the first time since their debut at the Summer Olympics, the Maldives entered one badminton player into the Olympics. Mohamed Ajfan Rasheed, the inaugural Maldivian badminton player to compete at the Olympics, was the nation's flag bearer at the opening ceremony with Azneem Ahmed carrying the Maldivian flag in the closing ceremony. All the athletes qualified for the games through wild cards from International Association of Athletic Federations FINA and Badminton World Federation. The Maldives however, has yet to win its first ever Olympic medal.
Ahmed Kelly is an Iraqi-born Australian Paralympic swimmer. At the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics, his third games, he won the silver medal in the Men's 150 m individual medley SM3.
Ahmed Gebrel is a former Olympic swimmer who was born in Cairo (Egypt) for a Palestinian father and Egyptian mother. He started swimming in Al-Ahly Sporting Club in Egypt at young age. At that time he used to hold only the Palestinian nationality so at age 15 he could represent his country Palestine in 2006. He hold the Palestinian Swimming Records in: 100m, 200m, 400m, 800m and 1500m Freestyle, as well as the 200m and 400m Individual Medley.
Mohannad Abdul-Raheem Karrar, is an Iraqi footballer who plays for Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya and the Iraq national team. An Olympian, Mohannad is the 2012 Asian Young Footballer of the Year, and the 2012 AFC U-19 Championship's MVP.
Mahdi Kamil Shiltagh is an Iraqi midfielder who played for Al-Zawraa and the Iraq national football team.
Aymen Hussein Ghadhban is an Iraqi professional footballer who plays as a striker for UAE Pro League club Al-Jazira and the Iraqi national team.
Dia Al-Azzawi is an Iraqi painter and sculptor, now living and working in London, and one of the pioneers of modern Arab art. He is noted for incorporating Arabic script into his paintings. Active in the arts community, he founded the Iraqi art group known as New Vision and has been an inspiration to a generation of young, calligraffiti artists.
Mohanad Ali Kadhim Al-Shammari, commonly known in Iraq as Mimi, is an Iraqi professional footballer who plays as a forward for Qatari club Al-Duhail and the Iraq national team. He is known for his positioning, shooting, heading, close ball control and dribbling.
The 2018–19 Arab Club Champions Cup, officially named the 2018–19 Zayed Champions Cup to mark 100 years since the birth of the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, was the 28th season of the Arab Club Champions Cup, the Arab world's club football tournament organised by UAFA, and the first season since it was renamed from the Arab Club Championship to the Arab Club Champions Cup.
Iraq participated in the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta and Palembang, Indonesia from 18 August to 2 September 2018. Iraq first competed at the Asian Games in 1974 Tehran, and the best achievement was in 1982 Delhi, when the country was ranked 11th with a total 9 medals, 2 gold, 3 silver, and 4 bronze medals. At the last edition in Incheon, Iraq had collected 4 medals, and was ranked 25th in medals tally.
The 2019–20 Arab Club Champions Cup knockout stage began on 20 August 2019 and ended on 21 August 2021 with the final at the Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium in Rabat, Morocco, to decide the champions of the 2019–20 Arab Club Champions Cup. A total of 32 teams competed in the knockout stage.
The 2022–23 Iraqi Premier League is the 49th season of the Iraqi Premier League, the highest tier football league in Iraq, since its establishment in 1974. It is contested by 20 teams and will host 380 matches. The season started on 9 October 2022 and will end in July 2023.
Iraqi 
