Women's football in Iraq

Women's football in Iraq
Country	Iraq
Governing body	Iraq Football Association
National team(s)	Women's national team
National competitions
Iraqi Women's Football League
International competitions
Olympics FIFA Women's World Cup(National Team) AFC Women's Asian Cup(National Team)

Women's football in Iraq is popular as there are less social restrictions on women than in the rest of the Arab world .^[1]^[2]^[3] One of the barriers to the sport's growth is the prejudice that many women experience as a result of playing the sport.^[4]^[5]

The national team has never taken part in the FIFA Women's World Cup or the AFC Women's Asian Cup. They are currently ranked joint 138th (and last) due to being inactive.^[6] In 2016, the Iraqi Women's Football League was founded and Ghaz Al-Shamal club won the first women's title.^[7]

References

^ "Women making soccer history". Gulf News. Retrieved 2012-09-17.
^ Kristof, Nicholas D. (2002-10-01). "Iraq's Little Secret". The New York Times. Retrieved 2012-09-19.
^ "Some Iraqi Women Play A Secret Game". NPR. Retrieved 2012-09-19.
^ "Iraqi women risk wrath for interest in football". The National. Retrieved 2012-09-19.
^ Wells, Steven (2007-09-19). "How soccer became a weapon in the War in Iraq". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 2012-09-19.
^ "FIFA rankings". fifa.com. 2015-06-29. Archived from the original on November 1, 2014. Retrieved 2015-06-29.
^ Morgan, Johnny (13 April 2017). For the Love of Football: A Companion. Summersdale Publishers Limited. ISBN 9781786851390. Retrieved 30 July 2017 – via Google Books.