# 2024–25 Al-Mina'a SC season

The 2024–25 season will be Al-Minaa's second season in the newly-formed Iraq Stars League, and their 48th season in the top division of Iraq football.

## Review
### Background

After Al-Minaa Club entered into an administrative crisis last season, as FIFA imposed a ban on contracting players, it was forced to play with the academy players. Despite all the difficulties, it was able to ensure its survival in the Iraq Stars League since the 35th round and finished the league in 12th place, which was considered a football miracle. However, coach Hassan Ahmed apologized for continuing with the team and withdrew after the end of the season. So the club's newly elected management began contracting with Spanish coach Pablo Grandes in 29 July to prepare a team that would compete for the league.

### Summer transfer window

The Iraq Stars League summer transfer window runs from 2 August to 2 September 2024. Al-Minaa announced from the first day the renewal of the contract of right back Hameed Ali Hameed.
On 5 August, Al-Minaa announced the signing of three professional players and the renewal of two local players. The club signed 22-year-old Tunisian attacking midfielder Abdallah Amri from Tunisian club CS Sfaxien, 25-year-old Gabonese international defensive midfielder Clech Loufilou from Omani club Sur, and 23-year-old Swedish left winger of Iraqi origin Hamid Abdulla from Swedish club Rosengård. The club also renewed the contracts of goalkeeper Jaafar Shenaishil and midfielder Ayad Abed Farhan.
On 7 August, the club renewed the contract of the team's goalkeeper and the U-17 national team, Ammar Ali, and on 8 August, it renewed the contract of the right winger, Sajjad Alaa, and announced the signing of the 24-year-old Congolese right winger, Tuisila Kisinda, coming from the Moroccan club, RS Berkane. On 9 August, the club renewed the contract of defensive midfielder Haidar Salem.
On 10 August, coach Pablo Grandes arrived in Basra from Spain with his assistant Iván McCarroll to officially lead the Al-Minaa team. He was introduced to the media as the coach of Al-Minaa, and he said in the press conference that he wanted to compete for advanced positions in the league and that he chose Al-Minaa because it is the oldest club among the Iraqi clubs and that he would work to create a competitive team.
On 12 August, the club announced the signing of 31-year-old Spanish striker Lolo Plá from Spanish club, Talavera. The contract of central midfielder Mohammed Khudhair was also renewed, as was the contract of centre back Hussein Amer after his return from a loan to Naft Maysan.
On 13 August, the club announced the signing of 29-year-old Zimbabwean international centre back Gerald Takwara from Saudi club Ohod. Centre back Mohammed Ghaleb's contract was also renewed, as was goalkeeper Abed Saleem Hammad's contract after he returned from loan to Amanat Baghdad. On August 15, 16 and 17, the contracts of defenders Mojtaba Ali and Abbas Yas and striker Salem Ahmed were renewed. On 18 August, the club renewed the contracts of left-back Muslim Mousa and left-winger Karrar Jaafar, and a day later announced the signing of 23-year-old midfielder Amir Ahmed from Al-Naft. On 21 August, the club renewed the contract of right-back Karrar Al-Amir Ali.
On 26 August, the club announced the signing of 30-year-old striker Mohannad Abdul-Raheem from Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya. It also announced the signing of 24-year-old Spanish right-back Raúl Parra from Portuguese club Estoril. Thus, the club announced the completion of the six professional players, according to the IFA regulations, which requires that the number of professional players not exceed six players.
On 27 August, the club announced the signing of 36-year-old striker Alaa Abdul-Zahra from Al-Shorta. On 28 August, the club announced the signing of 28-year-old Swedish defensive midfielder of Iraqi origin, Sumar Almadjed, from the Swedish club Helsingborgs IF. On 30 August, the club announced the signing of 24-year-old Swedish defensive midfielder of Iraqi origin, André Alsanati, from the Swedish club IK Sirius.

### Pre-season

The 2024 WAFF U-16 Championship took place in Jordan from 2–11 September. Two Al-Minaa first-team players were named in squads for the tournament, Ammar Ali and Zain Al-Abidin Jassim. They played in the starting lineup in the first match against Lebanon in 4 September, and Jassim scored two goals.
The Iraqi U-20 team left for China in 1 September to play two friendly matches against China in preparation for the 2025 AFC U-20 Asian Cup qualification. The travelling delegation was joined by three Al-Minaa first-team players who had previously been named in the squad: Karrar Jaafar, Muslim Mousa and Mohammed Ghaleb.
Gerald Takwara (Zimbabwe) was called up to respective country' senior squads for international fixtures in September.
On 1 September, Al-Minaa announced a pre-season tour to Antalya, and the following day it was also announced that Spanish match analyst Daniel Casas Trillo had joined the coaching staff, as he joined the team in Antalya with player Raúl Parra.
On 5 September, Al-Minaa took on Süper Lig club Antalyaspor. Sajjad Alaa gave Al-Minaa an early lead. Alaa Abdul-Zahra scored a second goal. In the second half, Lolo Plá scored the third goal, helping Al-Minaa win 3–0.
On 7 September, Tunisian Abdallah Amri and Gabonese Clech Loufilou joined the team's training in Antalya, along with 20-year-old goalkeeper Abbas Karim, who officially signed Al-Minaa from Al-Shorta.
On 10 September, Al-Minaa played against the Iraq Stars League club Al-Zawraa in their second friendly match. Sajjad Alaa gave Al-Minaa an early lead. Lolo Plá scored a second goal, while Ibrahim Ghazi scored for Al-Zawraa. In the second half, Hasan Abdulkareem scored for Al-Zawraa to end the match 2–2.
On 14 September, Al-Minaa played their third friendly match against Turkish Regional Amateur League club Kumluca Belediye Spor, with Hameed Ali Hameed scoring the only goal of the match in the second half to help Al-Minaa win 1-0, and with that the team ended their 14-day pre-season tour in Turkey and returned to Iraq the following day.

### September

Grandes's side kicked off their Iraqi Star League campaign with a 2–1 win over Al-Hudood at home on 22 September. Al-Hudood's Hussein Jabbar in a 19th-minute opener with an own goal after Parra's free kick hit Jabbar's head and changed direction, deceiving the goalkeeper. Almadjed added the second goal in the 51st minute after an assist from Lolo, while Atheer Saleh scored the only goal for the visiting team after three minutes from a free kick. Four players from the first team were missed from the match, Mohannad Abdul-Raheem due to injury, and three players, namely Muslim Musa, Mohammed Ghaleb and Karrar Jaafar, were selected by the coach of the U-20, Emad Mohammed, to participate in the 2025 AFC U-20 Asian Cup qualification in Thailand, which will be played from September 25 to 29. They played in the starting lineup in the first match against Brunei and Karrar Jaafar scored two goals in this match.
Al-Minaa travelled to the capital to face Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya at Al-Shaab Stadium in second round. Lolo opened the scoring from long range in the 23th minute. Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya drew level with a penalty kick scored by Saad Abdul-Amir on 88 minutes. Mustafa Saadoon completed the turnaround for Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya in the extra time. The 2–1 loss left the Al-Minaa sitting eighth in the league table.

### October

Al-Minaa announced on 2 October that the arrival of André Alsanati’s international card, and that he is now ready to participate with the team in the upcoming match. The team also regained its three players Muslim Musa, Mohammed Ghaleb and Karrar Jaafar, from the U-20 team, and they are also ready to participate with the team.

## First-team squad

    As of 4 October 2024
| No. | Name | Position(s) | Date of birth (age) | Signed from | Apps | Goals |
| Goalkeepers ||||||||
| 1 | Abed Saleem Hammad | GK | 14 Oct 1995 (1995-10-14) (age 29) | Al-Karkh | 3 | 0 |
| 21 | Abbas Karim | GK | 15 Nov 2003 (2003-11-15) (age 21) | Al-Shorta | 0 | 0 |
| 22 | Jaafar Shenaishil | GK | 21 Apr 2003 (2003-04-21) (age 21) | Al-Minaa Academy | 39 | 0 |
| Defenders ||||||||
| 2 | Raúl Parra | RB / CB | 26 Nov 1999 (1999-11-26) (age 25) | Estoril | 3 | 0 |
| 4 | Mujtaba Ali | CB / RB / LB | 4 Oct 2002 (2002-10-04) (age 22) | Al-Minaa Academy | 31 | 0 |
| 5 | Hussein Amer | CB | 28 Apr 2002 (2002-04-28) (age 22) | Al-Sinaat Al-Kahrabaiya | 1 | 0 |
| 17 | Muslim Mousa | LB / LWB | 11 Mar 2005 (2005-03-11) (age 19) | Al-Minaa Academy | 31 | 1 |
| 18 | Hameed Ali Hameed | RB / RWB | 25 Sep 2004 (2004-09-25) (age 20) | Al-Minaa Academy | 38 | 1 |
| 31 | Gerald Takwara | CB / DM | 29 Oct 1994 (1994-10-29) (age 30) | Ohod | 3 | 0 |
| 33 | Abbas Yas | LB / CB / DM | 3 Jul 2003 (2003-07-03) (age 21) | Al-Minaa Academy | 118 | 4 |
| 40 | Mohammed Ghaleb | CB | 26 Sep 2005 (2005-09-26) (age 19) | Al-Minaa Academy | 24 | 0 |
| Midfielders ||||||||
| 6 | Haider Salem | DM | 3 Dec 1993 (1993-12-03) (age 31) | Naft Al-Basra | 51 | 2 |
| 8 | Sumar Almadjed | DM / CM | 13 Mar 1996 (1996-03-13) (age 28) | Helsingborgs IF | 3 | 1 |
| 13 | Abdallah Amri | AM / CM | 6 Sep 2001 (2001-09-06) (age 23) | CS Sfaxien | 3 | 0 |
| 25 | Amir Ahmed | DM / CM / CB | 6 Jan 2001 (2001-01-06) (age 24) | Al-Naft | 2 | 0 |
| 79 | Clech Loufilou | DM / CM | 12 Apr 1999 (1999-04-12) (age 25) | Sur | 3 | 0 |
| Forwards ||||||||
| 7 | Lolo Plá | ST | 7 Apr 1993 (1993-04-07) (age 31) | Talavera | 3 | 1 |
| 9 | Salem Ahmed | ST | 24 Oct 2002 (2002-10-24) (age 22) | Al-Minaa Academy | 101 | 24 |
| 10 | Alaa Abdul-Zahra | ST / AM | 22 Dec 1987 (1987-12-22) (age 37) | Al-Shorta | 0 | 0 |
| 11 | Karrar Jaafar | LW / ST | 26 Apr 2006 (2006-04-26) (age 18) | Al-Minaa Academy | 55 | 13 |
| 19 | Hamid Abdulla | LW / AM | 1 Apr 2001 (2001-04) (age 23) | Rosengård | 3 | 0 |
| 20 | André Alsanati | RW / AM | 6 Jan 2000 (2000-01-06) (age 25) | IK Sirius | 1 | 1 |
| 26 | Sajjad Alaa | RW / ST | 3 May 2003 (2003-05-03) (age 21) | Al-Minaa Academy | 59 | 14 |
| 29 | Tuisila Kisinda | RW / ST | 20 Dec 1999 (1999-12-20) (age 25) | RS Berkane | 2 | 0 |
| 88 | Mohannad Abdul-Raheem | ST / RW / AM | 22 Sep 1993 (1993-09-22) (age 31) | Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya | 0 | 0 |

## New contracts and transfers
### New contracts

| Date | No. | Pos. | Name |
| 1 August 2024 | 18 | RB | Hameed Ali Hameed |
| 5 August 2024 | 22 | GK | Jaafar Shenaishil |
| 5 August 2024 | 7 | AM | Ayad Abed Farhan |
| 7 August 2024 | 21 | GK | Ammar Ali |
| 8 August 2024 | 26 | RW | Sajjad Alaa |
| 9 August 2024 | 6 | DM | Haider Salem |
| 12 August 2024 | 15 | CM | Mohammed Khudhair |
| 12 August 2024 | 5 | CB | Hussein Amer |
| 13 August 2024 | 40 | CB | Mohammed Ghaleb |
| 13 August 2024 | 1 | GK | Abed Saleem Hammad |
| 15 August 2024 | 4 | CB | Mujtaba Ali |
| 16 August 2024 | 33 | LB | Abbas Yas |
| 17 August 2024 | 9 | ST | Salem Ahmed |
| 18 August 2024 | 11 | LW | Karrar Jaafar |
| 18 August 2024 | 17 | LB | Muslim Mousa |
| 22 August 2024 | 29 | RB | Karrar Al-Amir Ali |

### Transfers in

| Date | Pos. | Name | From | Fee |
| 4 August 2024 | AM | Abdallah Amri | CS Sfaxien | Free transfer |
| 5 August 2024 | DM | Clech Loufilou | Sur | Free transfer |
| 5 August 2024 | LW | Hamid Abdulla | Rosengård | Free transfer |
| 8 August 2024 | RW | Tuisila Kisinda | RS Berkane | Free transfer |
| 12 August 2024 | ST | Lolo Plá | Talavera | Free transfer |
| 13 August 2024 | CB | Gerald Takwara | Ohod | Free transfer |
| 19 August 2024 | DM | Amir Ahmed | Al-Naft | Free transfer |
| 26 August 2024 | ST | Mohannad Abdul-Raheem | Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya | Free transfer |
| 26 August 2024 | RB | Raúl Parra | Estoril | Free transfer |
| 27 August 2024 | ST | Alaa Abdul-Zahra | Al-Shorta | Free transfer |
| 28 August 2024 | DM | Sumar Almadjed | Helsingborgs IF | Free transfer |
| 30 August 2024 | RW | André Alsanati | IK Sirius | Free transfer |
| 4 September 2024 | GK | Abbas Karim | Al-Shorta | Loan |

### Transfers out

| Date | Pos. | Name | To | Fee |
| 27 July 2024 | DM | Dare Olatunji | Naft Maysan | Free transfer |
| 28 July 2024 | ST | William Jebor | Karbalaa | Free transfer |
| 30 July 2024 | CB | Habib Omar Fofana | Diyala | Free transfer |
| 30 July 2024 | DM | Yusuf Touré | Stade Tunisien | Free transfer |
| 12 August 2024 | ST | Mohammed Shokan | Unattached | Released |
| 12 August 2024 | CM | Hamza Hadi Ahmed | Unattached | Released |
| 18 August 2024 | GK | Mohammed Saadoun | Masafi Al-Janoob | Free transfer |
| 11 September 2024 | AM | Ayad Abed Farhan | Newroz | Free transfer |
| 13 September 2024 | RB | Karrar Al-Amir Ali | Al-Bahri | Free transfer |
| 13 September 2024 | LB | Hassan Odah | Al-Bahri | Free transfer |
| 15 September 2024 | RW | Hatim Aysar | Al-Bahri | Free transfer |
| 16 September 2024 | CB | Muntadhar Hassan | Al-Sinaat Al-Kahrabaiya | Free transfer |
| 20 September 2024 | AM | Ahmed Mohsin Ashour | Al-Nasiriya | Free transfer |
| 25 September 2024 | GK | Mohammed Sabah | Al-Gharraf | Free transfer |
| 3 October 2024 | CB | Abdullah Mohsin | Masafi Al-Janoob | Free transfer |
| 9 October 2024 | CB | Emad Yousef | Al-Samawa | Free transfer |

### Promotion from Academy

| Date | Pos. | Name |
| 19 August 2024 | AM | Zain Al-Abidin Jassim |
| 31 August 2024 | AM | Hassan Hamed Khalaf |
| 4 September 2024 | CM | Naji Nasser |
| 4 September 2024 | ST | Muntadher Qahtan |

## Personnel
### Technical staff

| Position | Name |
| Manager | Pablo Grandes |
| Assistant coach | Iván McCarroll |
| Goalkeeping Coach | Amer Abdul Wahab |
| Fitness coach | Amir Razzaq |
| Match analyst | Daniel Casas Trillo |
| Physiotherapist | Sebastian Baltateanu |
| Team supervisor | Taher Balas |

## Kits

Adidas were announced as Al-Minaa's kit supplier as of the start of the season.
Supplier: Adidas
| Home | Away | Goalkeeper$^1$ | Goalkeeper$^2$ |

## Pre-season and friendlies

On 3 September 2024, Al-Minaa arrived in Antalya to pre-season tour, which it started with a friendly against Süper Lig club Antalyaspor.
Win  Draw  Loss  Fixtures

## Competitions
### Overview

| Competition | First match | Last match | Starting round | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record |
| Competition | First match | Last match | Starting round | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Win % |
| Iraq Stars League | 22 September 2024 | TBD | Matchday 1 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 6 | −1 | 040.00 |
| FA Cup | TBD | TBD | Third round | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | +0 | !— |
| Total | Total | Total | Total | 5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 6 | −1 | 040.00 |
Last updated: 29 October 2024 Source: Competitions

### League table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 14 | Al-Karkh | 22 | 8 | 4 | 10 | 22 | 26 | −4 | 28 | |
| 15 | Al-Kahrabaa | 22 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 18 | 22 | −4 | 26 | |
| 16 | Al-Minaa | 23 | 6 | 6 | 11 | 21 | 27 | −6 | 24 | |
| 17 | Naft Al-Basra | 21 | 6 | 4 | 11 | 16 | 27 | −11 | 22 | |
| 18 | Karbala | 22 | 3 | 7 | 12 | 12 | 29 | −17 | 16 | Qualification for the relegation play-off |

#### Summary table

| Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away |
Last updated: 7 March 2024. Source: Goalzz.com

#### Results by matchday

| Matchday | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
| Ground | H | A | H | A | H |
| Result | W | L | L | L | W |
| Position | 1 | 8 | 14 | 17 | 14 |

#### Matches

The league fixtures were announced on 17 September 2024.
Win  Draw  Loss  Fixtures

## Statistics
### Appearances

Nineteen players made their appearances for Al-Minaa's first team during the season.
Includes all competitions for senior teams.
    As of 4 October 2024
2024–25 season :
| No. | Pos. | Player | IS League | FA Cup | total |
| 1 | GK | Abed Saleem Hammad | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| 2 | DF | Raúl Parra | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| 4 | DF | Mujtaba Ali | 0+1 | 0 | 0+1 |
| 5 | DF | Hussein Amer | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 6 | MF | Haider Salem | 2+1 | 0 | 2+1 |
| 7 | FW | Lolo Plá | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| 8 | MF | Sumar Almadjed | 2+1 | 0 | 2+1 |
| 9 | FW | Salem Ahmed | 1+2 | 0 | 1+2 |
| 11 | MF | Karrar Jaafar | 0+1 | 0 | 0+1 |
| 13 | MF | Abdallah Amri | 1+2 | 0 | 1+2 |
| 18 | DF | Hameed Ali Hameed | 2+1 | 0 | 2+1 |
| 19 | MF | Hamid Abdulla | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| 20 | MF | André Alsanati | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 25 | MF | Amir Ahmed | 0+2 | 0 | 0+2 |
| 26 | FW | Sajjad Alaa | 2+1 | 0 | 2+1 |
| 29 | FW | Tuisila Kisinda | 0+2 | 0 | 0+2 |
| 31 | DF | Gerald Takwara | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| 33 | MF | Abbas Yas | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| 79 | MF | Clech Loufilou | 3 | 0 | 3 |

### Goalscorers

The following three players scored for Al-Minaa's first team during the season.
Includes all competitions for senior teams. The list is sorted by squad number when season-total goals are equal. Players with no goals not included in the list.
    As of 4 October 2024
2024–25 season :
| Rank | No. | Pos | Nat | Name | IS League | FA Cup | Total |
| 1 | 7 | FW | | Lolo Plá | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 1 | 8 | MF | | Sumar Almadjed | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 1 | 20 | MF | | André Alsanati | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Own goals | Own goals | Own goals | Own goals | Own goals | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| TOTALS | TOTALS | TOTALS | TOTALS | TOTALS | 4 | 0 | 4 |

### Assists

The following two player registered their assists for Al-Minaa's first team during the season.
Includes all competitions for senior teams. The list is sorted by squad number when season-total assists are equal. Players with no assists not included in the list.
    As of 4 October 2024
2024–25 season :
| Rank | No. | Pos | Nat | Name | IS League | FA Cup | Total |
| 1 | 7 | FW | | Lolo Plá | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 1 | 19 | MF | | Hamid Abdulla | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| TOTALS | TOTALS | TOTALS | TOTALS | TOTALS | 2 | 0 | 2 |

### Disciplinary record

Includes all competitions for senior teams. The list is sorted by red cards, then yellow cards (and by squad number when total cards are equal). Players with no cards not included in the list.
    As of 4 October 2024
| Rk. | No. | Pos. | Player | IS League | IS League | IS League | FA Cup | FA Cup | FA Cup | Total | Total | Total |
| 1 | 18 | DF | Hameed Ali Hameed | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 1 | 79 | MF | Clech Loufilou | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 2 | 8 | MF | Sumar Almadjed | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 2 | 33 | DF | Abbas Yas | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | Total | Total | Total | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 |

### Clean sheets

Goalkeepers with no clean sheets not included in the list.
    As of 4 October 2024
| Rank | Nat | No. | Name | IS League | FA Cup | Total |
| 1 | | 1 | Abed Saleem Hammad | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| TOTALS | TOTALS | TOTALS | TOTALS | 0 | 0 | 0 |

### Captains

Includes all competitions for senior teams. The list is sorted by squad number when season-total number of games where a player started as captain are equal. Players with no games started as captain not included in the list.
    As of 4 October 2024
2024–25 season :
| Rk. | No. | Pos. | Player | IS League | FA Cup | Total |
| 1 | 8 | MF | Sumar Almadjed | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 2 | 33 | DF | Abbas Yas | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| TOTALS | TOTALS | TOTALS | TOTALS | 3 | 0 | 3 |