# Kurdistan Region national football team

The Kurdistan national football team Kurdish: هەڵبژاردەی نیشتمانی تۆپی پێی کوردستان 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 (Kurdish: ره‌وه‌ند سیروان نه‌ورڕۆڵی). 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

| Year | Position | GP | W | D | L | GS | GA |
| VIVA World Cup ||||||||
| 2006 | did not enter | did not enter | did not enter | did not enter | did not enter | did not enter | did not enter |
| 2008 | 4th | 5 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 7 | 7 |
| 2009 | 2nd | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 11 | 4 |
| 2010 | 2nd | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 5 |
| 2012 | 1st | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 2 |
| Palestine International Cup ||||||||
| 2012 | 3rd | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 4 |
| International Tournament of Peoples, Cultures and Tribes ||||||||
| 2013 | 1st | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 1 |
| ConIFA World Football Cup ||||||||
| 2014 | 6th | 5 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 14 | 6 |
| 2016 | 8th | 5 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 9 | 3 |
| 2018 | did not enter | did not enter | did not enter | did not enter | did not enter | did not enter | did not enter |
| 2020 | Canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic | Canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic | Canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic | Canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic | Canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic | Canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic | Canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic |
| 2024 | Qualified as hosts | Qualified as hosts | Qualified as hosts | Qualified as hosts | Qualified as hosts | Qualified as hosts | Qualified as hosts |
| Total | Best: 1st | 33 | 18 | 8 | 7 | 73 | 28 |
World Cup History :
| Year | Round | Score | Result |
| VIVA World Cup ||||
| 2008 | Round 1 | Kurdistan Region 2–2 Sápmi | Draw |
| 2008 | Round 1 | Kurdistan Region 3–0 Provence | Win |
| 2008 | Round 1 | Kurdistan Region 1–2 Padania | Lose |
| 2008 | Round 1 | Kurdistan Region 0–0 Arameans Suryoye | Draw |
| 2008 | 3rd Place | Kurdistan Region 1–3 Sápmi | Lose |
| 2009 | Round 1 | Kurdistan Region 4–0 Occitania | Win |
| 2009 | Round 1 | Kurdistan Region 1–2 Padania | Lose |
| 2009 | Semi-Final | Kurdistan Region 6–0 Provence | Win |
| 2009 | Final | Kurdistan Region 0–2 Padania | Lose |
| 2010 | Round 1 | Kurdistan Region 4–1 Two Sicilies | Win |
| 2010 | Round 1 | Kurdistan Region 3–2 Provence | Win |
| 2010 | Semi-Final | Kurdistan Region 2–1 Occitania | Win |
| 2010 | Final | Kurdistan Region 0–1 Padania | Lose |
| 2012 |
| 2012 | Round 1 | Kurdistan Region 6–0 Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic | Win |
| 2012 | Round 1 | Kurdistan Region 1–0 Occitania | Win |
| 2012 | Semi-Final | Kurdistan Region 2–1 Provence | Win |
| 2012 | Final | Kurdistan Region 2–1 Northern Cyprus | Win |
| ConIFA World Football Cup ||||
| 2014 | Round 1 | Kurdistan Region 1–2 Arameans Suryoye | Lose |
| 2014 | Round 1 | Kurdistan Region 9–0 Tamil Eelam | Win |
| 2014 | Quarter-finals | Kurdistan Region 1 (2) – (4) 1 Ellan Vannin | Draw |
| 2014 | Placement Round 1 | Kurdistan Region 2 (5) – (4) 2 Occitania | Draw |
| 2014 | Placement Round 2 | Kurdistan Region 1 (3) – (4) 1 Padania | Draw |
| 2016 | Round 1 | Kurdistan Region 3–0 Székely Land | Win |
| 2016 | Round 2 | Kurdistan Region 3–0 United Koreans in Japan | Win |
| 2016 | Quarter-finals | Kurdistan Region 2 (6) – (7) 2 Padania | Draw |
| 2016 | Placement Round 1 | Kurdistan Region 0 (5) – (6) 0 Western Armenia | Draw |
| 2016 | Placement Round 2 | Kurdistan Region 1 (2) – (4) 1 United Koreans in Japan | Draw |
Others tournaments :
| Year | Round | Score | Result |
| Palestine International Cup ||||
| 2012 | Round 1 | Kurdistan Region 3–1 Mauritania | Win |
| 2012 | Round 2 | Kurdistan Region 1–1 Indonesia | Draw |
| 2012 | Round 3 | Kurdistan Region 1–2 Tunisia | Lose |
| International Tournament of Peoples, Cultures and Tribes ||||
| 2013 | Round 1 | Kurdistan Region 1–1 UGA Ardeiv | Draw |
| 2013 | Round 2 | Kurdistan Region 6–0 Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic | Win |
| 2013 | Semi final | Kurdistan Region 1–0 Quebec | Win |
| 2013 | Final | Kurdistan Region 1–0 Provence | Win |

## Current squad

As 2016:
| No. | Pos. | Player | Date of birth (age) | Caps | Goals | Club |
| 1 | 1GK | Sarhang Muhsin | 29 | 22 | 0 | Al-Shorta |
| 12 | 1GK | Znar Faizi | | 0 | 0 | Duhok |
| 22 | 1GK | Rebaz Abdulla | 21 | 0 | 0 | Erbil |
| 2 | 2DF | Bayar Abubakir | | 5 | 0 | Duhok |
| 3 | 2DF | Herdi Siamand | 33 | 11 | 1 | Erbil |
| 20 | 2DF | Jassim Mohammed Haji | 32 | 10 | 1 | Zakho |
| 13 | 2DF | Aras Mustafa | 28 | 1 | 0 | Zeravani |
| 4 | 2DF | Hawkar Latif | 26 | 0 | 0 | Nawroz |
| 8 | 2DF | Khalid Mushir | 35 | 12 | 2 | Zakho |
| 5 | 2DF | Kamaran Ali | 27 | 3 | 0 | Zakho |
| 21 | 2DF | Niaz Muhamad | 26 | 5 | 0 | Erbil |
| 14 | 3MF | Hawre Jalal | 26 | 3 | 5 | Peshmargay Hawler |
| 15 | 3MF | Muhamad Sabir | | 1 | 0 | Erbil |
| 19 | 3MF | Diyar Rahman | 30 | 5 | 1 | Erbil |
| 10 | 3MF | Ali Aziz | 27 | 10 | 4 | Ararat |
| 16 | 3MF | Ahmet Isik | 19 | 12 | 19 | Arminia Tegel |
| 6 | 3MF | Abdulla Kaifi | 24 | 0 | 0 | Kirkuk |
| 11 | 3MF | Kosrat Baiz | 25 | 5 | 2 | Erbil |
| 9 | 3MF | Rekar Hashim | 23 | 1 | 0 | Erbil |
| 17 | 4FW | Hunar Ahmad | | 4 | 2 | Zeravani |
| 18 | 4FW | Ayub Ayad | 31 | 1 | 0 | Zeravani |
| 7 | 4FW | Farhang Wriya | | 2 | 1 | Peshmargay Hawler |

## Managers

| Manager | Period | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Win % |
| Abdullah Mahmoud | 2008–2016 | 29 | 15 | 7 | 7 | 51.72 |
| Khasraw Groon | 2016–present | 11 | 6 | 4 | 1 | 54.54 |
| Totals | Totals | 40 | 21 | 11 | 8 | 52.50 |

## Honours
### Non-FIFA competitions

* Viva World Cup
** Champions (1): 2012
** Runners-up (2): 2009, 2010