Al-Shorta Sports Club

What Al-Shorta Sports Club does

Al-Shorta Sports Club (نادي الشرطة العراقي), founded on November 14, 1932, is a Baghdad-based multi-sport club affiliated with the Iraqi Police and the Ministry of Interior. The club operates 19 competitive sports disciplines, with professional football as its flagship product competing in the Iraqi Stars League (دوري نجوم العراق). Its football team is the most successful in Iraqi history, having won 16 league titles and the only club to achieve four consecutive championships (2021/2022 through 2024/2025), in addition to the first Iraqi FA Cup in 2023-2024 and the inaugural Arab Club Champions Cup in 1982. The club's new 10,089-seat Al-Shorta Stadium, inaugurated on November 8, 2025, was built in partnership with Nordic Sport (Sweden) and AKG (UAE), replacing the previous 8,634-seat Al-Qafaf facility.

The club's revenue model is typical of Middle Eastern state-affiliated football clubs: match ticket sales at the stadium, broadcasting rights from Iraqi Stars League participation, merchandise sales (including vintage shirts distributed through third-party retailers), sponsorship deals, and government/police institutional funding. Distribution channels include physical stadium box offices, an official merchandise site referenced through the club's Linktree, and Iraqi sports television broadcast partners. The club maintains an active digital presence across Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, X (Arabic and English accounts), YouTube, Telegram, and Linktree to engage fans and promote match content.

The club's primary customer base is Iraqi football supporters and general sports enthusiasts who attend matches, purchase merchandise, and consume broadcast content. The "Qithara" (القيثارة / Lute) brand identity, adopted in 1992-1993 to reflect the team's playing style, and historical achievements (first Iraqi team in an Asian Club final in 1971, 39 consecutive unbeaten league matches) form the core of its brand equity. Operational governance is institutionally embedded within the Iraqi Police structure, with no external private equity, venture capital, or individual ownership identified in the source data.

Name

Al-Shorta Sports Club

Legal name

Al-Shorta SC (Al-Shorta Sports Club / Iraqi Police Club)

Website

https://alshortasc.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1932

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Al-Shorta Sports Club is a Baghdad-based, Iraqi Police-affiliated multi-sport club founded in 1932, operating 19 sports disciplines with a professional football team that has won 16 Iraqi league titles and four consecutive championships from 2021 to 2025.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Professional Sports Club

NAICS

Sports Teams and Clubs (711211)

SIC

Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900)

akta.pro primary industry

Team Sports Matches (Club & National) (MPAGAMAB)

akta.pro secondary industry

Individual-Sport Clubs & Teams (Cycling Teams, Athletics/Track Clubs, Swimming Clubs, etc.) (MPAKABAD)

Keywords

• Professional football club
• Multi-sport athletics
• Competitive sports teams
• Sports event management
• Athletic competition services

Headquarters

HQ city

Baghdad

HQ country

Iraq

HQ region

Middle East

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Al-Shorta Sports Club operates a professional men's football team that competes in the Iraqi Stars League (دوري نجوم العراق), along with 18 additional competitive sport disciplines including futsal, basketball, handball, volleyball, athletics, boxing, wrestling, weightlifting, bodybuilding, judo, taekwondo, swimming, water polo, archery, beach volleyball, show jumping, foot tennis, and diving. The club delivers live sports entertainment, youth talent development, and match operations anchored at its Al-Shorta Stadium in Baghdad (capacity 10,089, inaugurated 8 November 2025).

Product overview

Al-Shorta Sports Club is a multi-sport club based in Baghdad, Iraq, founded in 1932. The club operates a unified multi-sport portfolio featuring its primary professional football team competing in the Iraqi League (دوري نجوم العراق), along with 18 other sports disciplines including futsal, basketball, handball, volleyball, athletics, boxing, wrestling, weightlifting, bodybuilding, judo, taekwondo, swimming, water polo, archery, beach volleyball, show jumping, foot tennis, and diving. The football team is the club's flagship product, with its home stadium (Al-Shorta Stadium) inaugurated in November 2025 with a capacity of 10,089 spectators.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Qithara (القيثارة): The 'Lute' nickname and emblem adopted in 1992-1993 due to the club's beautiful playing style, as coined by Majid Abdul-Haq.

Products and services

• Football Team (كرة القدم)
• Futsal Team (كرة الصالات)
• Basketball Team (كرة السلة)
• Handball Team (كرة اليد)
• Volleyball Team (كرة الطائرة)
• Athletics Program (ألعاب القوى)
• Boxing Program (الملاكمة)
• Wrestling Program (المصارعة)
• Weightlifting Team (رفع الأثقال)
• Bodybuilding Program (بناء الأجسام)
• Judo Program (الجودو)
• Taekwondo Program (التايكوندو)
• Swimming Program (السباحة)
• Water Polo Team (كرة الماء)
• Archery Program (القوس والسهم)
• Beach Volleyball Team (كرة الطائرة الشاطئية)
• Show Jumping Program (قفز الحواجز)
• Foot Tennis Program (تنس كرة القدم)
• Diving Program (الغطس)
• Al-Shorta Stadium Venue (Home Matches)
• Official Club Merchandise

Quantifiable outcome

• 16 league championships - most successful club in Iraqi football
• +4 more outcomes

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Nordic Sport (Sweden)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSwedish sports infrastructure company that partnered with Al-Shorta SC and AKG to build the new Al-Shorta Stadium. The partnership involved financing, construction, and execution under the supervision of club president Abdelkader Zainal. The stadium was completed in 2025.
• AKG (UAE)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEmirati construction and sports infrastructure company that partnered with Nordic Sport (Sweden) and Al-Shorta SC to build the new stadium complex. The partnership was responsible for the new stadium construction project completed in 2025.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Regional players

• Al-Shorta Damascus (Suriah): Syrian police-affiliated football club sharing the same name and institutional (police/security) heritage as Iraqi Al-Shorta. A regional parallel — same naming convention and security-sector backing — though competing in a different national league.
• Persepolis FC: Iran's most-decorated football club, government-affiliated and multi-sport in structure. Comparable as an institutional, state-linked MENA football brand with deep fan base and continental competition history, operating in a similar Middle Eastern commercial context.

Direct peers

• Karbala FC: Iraqi Premier League club based in Karbala. Comparable in market positioning, league economics, and football operations to Al-Shorta within the same domestic competition.
• Al-Quwwa Al-Jawiya: Iraqi Air Force-affiliated multi-sport club based in Baghdad and a direct league rival. Like Al-Shorta, it operates a multi-sport portfolio and draws on institutional (military) backing, making it structurally and commercially comparable.
• Erbil SC: Kurdistan-region football club competing in the Iraqi Stars League. Comparable in scale, professional football operations, and Iraqi Premier League revenue context to Al-Shorta.
• Al-Naft SC: Baghdad-based Iraqi Premier League club with an institutional (oil-sector) ownership structure. Directly comparable as a fellow Iraqi top-flight club competing for the same sponsorships and league broadcast income.
• Naft Al-Wasat SC: Iraqi Premier League club from central Iraq. Comparable in scale, market, and league-level revenue environment to Al-Shorta as a fellow top-division Iraqi football operation.
• Al-Minaa SC: Basra-based Iraqi Premier League club. Comparable as a multi-sport Iraqi football club sharing the same league broadcast, sponsorship, and merchandise revenue pool as Al-Shorta.
• Al-Zawraa SC: Historic Baghdad-based rival competing in the same Iraqi Stars League and sharing the same supporter base. Both clubs contest the headline Baghdad derbies and compete for the same league titles, sponsorships, and broadcast inventory.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/AlshortaSC_EN
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@alshortasc
• Facebookfacebook.com/AlshortaSC1932
• Instagraminstagram.com/alshortasc1932
• TikToktiktok.com/@alshorta.sc

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Al-Shorta Sports Club