The Al-Shorta Sports Club (Arabic الشرطة?, “Police Sports Club”) is an Iraqi basketball club based in the city of Baghdad, part of the Al-Shorta Sports Club, active in eighteen sports different, more than any other Iraqi sports club; the team competes in the top national competition, the Iraqi Basketball Premier League[1].
The team colors are green and white; Home matches are played at the Al-Shaab Hall located in the capital Baghdad which can seat 2,800 spectators.
Sports sections began to form within the Iraqi police forces between the 1920s and 1930s; in 1932, the first official sports section was born with the creation of the football team, called Montakhab Al-Shorta.[2][3].
The first basketball teams were formed by the departments of the Police Academy, known as Madaris Al-Shorta, and that of the Mobile Force, which took the name of Al-Quwa Al-Siyara; both teams participated in the Muslim Youth Association Cup in 1951[4]. After the founding of the Iraq Basketball Federation in 1948, a system of regional championships was established for the various basketball teams scattered across the country, the capital Baghdad and nearby cities were included in a single championship, and the Iraqi Police Force decided that a single team, which took the name Al-Shorta Select, would represent the police in the top regional division[5][6].
Al-Shorta Select in 1961 reached the final of the Baghdad Basketball Championship, but lost the final match 62-73 to Al-Hawat[7][8]. The representative also participated in the Iraqi Liwas Basketball Cup in 1962, a competition played between selected teams from different Iraqi provinces, but lost in the debut match with the result of 36–58 against Baghdad Civilian Select[9][10]. Al-Shorta Select also played matches against foreign teams visiting Iraq, including a match against a select team representing the Lebanese Middle East Airlines, held in Baghdad in April 1963[11]and a match against the U.S. Army team stationed in the country on November 22, 1965, which Al-Shorta lost 71–107[12]. In 1966, Al-Shorta Select reached the final of the Republic Cup, but was defeated with a score of 69-79 by the Iraqi Armed Forces Selection[13].
In 1974, the Iraqi sporting world was reformed with the introduction of a rule which no longer provided for the possibility for sports representatives of institutional bodies to participate in national championships; this revolution led to the foundation of the Al-Shorta Sports Club, a full-fledged sports club which was officially registered with the Ministry of Youth and Sports in 1978, with the team however remaining dependent on the Iraqi Ministry of the Interior[14]. In the 1979-1980 season the Iraqi Basketball Premier League was founded, the first national league for basketball clubs in Iraq, Al-Shorta took part in the first edition, finishing the season with a third place, positioning itself behind Al Karkh SC and you have winners from Al Jaish Baghdad[15].
Al-Shorta won its first title in the Iraqi Basketball Premier League at the end of the 1994-95 season under the guidance of coach Jabbar Kamil, then managed to maintain the national title also the following year, 1995-1996, led by captain Abbas Khudhair, who was also named Player of the Season[16][17]. In 2012, Al-Shorta participated in the edition of the Arab Club Basketball Championship, held that year in Benghazi, which concluded with a fourth place in the final ranking[18].
In the 2014-15 season, Al-Shorta, twenty years after their first victory in the Iraqi Basketball Premier League, returned to conquer the top Iraqi championship by defeating Al Karkh SC in the final series, played as the best of three matches, thanks to a three-point basket by DeAndre Rice in the last seconds of the third and decisive game, which allowed Al-Shorta to triumph with the final result of 90-89[19].
The victory of the third and for now last national title qualified Al-Shorta for the 2015 Arab Club Basketball Championship and the 2016 FIBA Asia Champions Cup, competitions in which the team’s experience stopped at the quarterfinals final in both tournaments.
From the 2016-17 season until the 2022-23 season, Al-Shorta reached the final of the Iraqi Basketball Premier League six consecutive times, but on each of these occasions they lost the clash against Al-Naft[20]. The only success achieved in recent seasons for Al-Shorta was the victory of the Iraqi Basketball Perseverance Cup in 2022 after defeating Dijlah Al Jamiea in the final with the result of 87-80[21].
In the 2023-2024 season, they take part in the second edition of the West Asia Super League for the first time, replacing the Jordanian team Al-Ahli Amman[22].
National Titles[modifica | modifica wikitesto]
The roster for the 2023-2024 season [23][24]
Technical staff[modifica | modifica wikitesto]
Role Name Head Coach Ghassan Sarkis Assistant Muayad Al-Rikabi
2024-04-20 14:32:42
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