Iraq has been leveraging soccer diplomacy to mend ties with Arab Gulf states, after decades of conflict. The country ended its most recent war, against Islamic State, at the end of 2017.

Iraq’s Ali Qasim, left, celebrates with team mates after the Under-20 World Cup round of 16 soccer match between Iraq and Paraguay, in Antalya, Turkey, Wednesday, July 3, 2013. Iraq defeated Paraguay ...

Iraq, whose 43 million population is 10 times that of Kuwait, has a history of on-off rivalry with the tiny oil-rich emirate. The two states are building rival port projects though they are also ...

Several hundred fans waved Iraqi flags and scuffled with police as they pushed through airport security to greet the country's soccer heroes as they stepped off a charter plane about 7 p.m.

Iraq announced on Tuesday the dismissal of head coach Jesus Casas with just two games remaining in Asian qualification for the 2026 World Cup. In a statement, the Iraq Football Association said ...

The 24-member soccer squad will join at least six other Iraqi athletes -- five male and one female -- in track, boxing, swimming, taekwondo and weightlifting who qualified or were invited by the ...

NPR's Leila Fadel talks to Lucian Read, director of Lions of Mesopotamia, about the Iraqi national soccer team's unlikely Asian Cup victory in 2007. The win came at the height of Iraq's civil war.

Iraq's soccer team beat Saudi Arabia in Sunday's Asian Cup final. The upset victory gave Iraqis a rare chance to celebrate. Hassan Al-Khalidy, a 24-year-old Iraqi medical student and soccer fan ...

HADITHA, Iraq (AP) - The bodies of 19 Iraqis were left Wednesday in a soccer stadium in this town 140 miles northwest of Baghdad, an Iraqi reporter and residents said.

BAGHDAD, July 28 -- Security forces will conduct an emergency operation during Sunday's soccer game between Iraq and Saudi Arabia to prevent a repeat of the deadly violence that has accompanied ...

The Iraqi Soccer League has three divisions: north, central and south. Most of the teams are named after government ministries that support the individual clubs.

Iraq’s triumph in the Asia Cup signals a soccer program rising from the ashes, even as the country descends deeper into civil conflict. The resurgence of Iraqi soccer is one of the few untainted ...