Al-Talaba SC

Al-Talaba Sports Club (Arabic: نادي الطلبة الرياضي‎) is an Iraqi sports club based in Al-Rusafa, Baghdad. Its professional football team competes in the Iraqi Premier League, the top flight of Iraqi football. Founded as Al-Jameaa Football Club in 1969, the club changed its name to Al-Talaba in 1977. The club's home stadium is Al Talaba Stadium.

Al-Talaba have won five league titles, two FA Cups and three Umm Al-Ma'arik Cups, one of the four clubs that won it the most of any Iraqi club. The club also became the runners-up of the 1995 Asian Cup Winners' Cup.

Since it was first established, Al-Talaba is owned by the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research and the minister is the honorary president of the club.

History

Early years (1964–1980)

In 1964, the University of Baghdad formed a football club made of the best football playing students in the university, under the name of Montakhab Jameaat Baghdad, to compete in the Universities of Iraq League. The first president of the club was Hassan Kanah and the first technical staff consisted of the manager, Ghani Askar, and his two assistants, Moayad Al-Badri and Sami Al-Saffar. The team's first competition to play in was the 1964 Republic Championship.