Duhok SC

Duhok SC
Full nameDuhok Sports Club
Founded1970 (1970)
GroundDuhok Stadium
Capacity22,800
ChairmanAbdullah Jalal
ManagerAmir Azrafshan
LeagueIraq Stars League
2024–25Iraq Stars League, 7th of 20
Websitehttps://scduhok.com

Duhok Sports Club (Kurdish: Yana Dihok ya Werzişî, Arabic: نادي دهوك الرياضي) is an Iraqi Kurdish professional sports club, based in Duhok, Kurdistan Region, Iraq. Founded in 1970, the club competes in the Iraq Stars League. Duhok SC's biggest rivals are also their neighbours Zakho, producing passionate and fierce matches every season, with whom they contest the "Badinan Derby".

Duhok became the first Iraqi club to both participate in and win the AGCFF Gulf Club Champions League, having been crowned champions in the 2024–25 season.

Club history

Duhok Football Club (Duhok FC) was founded by the youth of Duhok city when three teams joined together to establish the club on 14 December 1970.

Duhok Football Club began its football journey in rural league competitions until the 1974–75 season, when the club decided to suspend its activities to support the post-nationalistic struggle to defend the rights of the Kurdish people in Iraq. In 1976, Duhok Football Team participated in the Iraqi Third Division, and by 1978, the team had moved up to the Iraqi Second Division. During the 1990–91 season, the team did not participate in the league due to a major uprising. The club resumed participation in the 1992–93 season in the Iraqi Fourth Division, earning promotion to the Third Division a year later. In the 1993–94 season, Duhok SC played in the Third Division and was once again promoted, this time to the Second Division.

During the 1980s, Duhok SC had several talented players, one of the most notable being Wahid Kovli. Around 1985, he emerged as a key striker for the team, known for his goal-scoring abilities and impact on the squad’s performance. His skills made him a feared forward in the league and a crucial player for Duhok SC.

The 1994–95 season was a defining moment for Duhok SC, as they claimed the Second Division title and secured a spot in the Iraqi First Division for the 1995–96 season. Duhok SC remained in the First Division throughout the 1996–97 season.

In the 1997–98 season, Duhok SC secured promotion to the Iraqi Premier League by winning the First Division. Since then, the club spent many years in mid-table, occasionally challenging the top Iraqi teams. However, everything changed after the 2003 invasion of Iraq, which brought new opportunities and freedom for Kurdish sports teams and athletes, allowing them to excel in both national and international competitions.

Duhok SC finally realized its full potential during the 2009–10 season when they won their first-ever Iraqi Premier League championship, defeating Talaba SC 1–0 to claim the title. In the 2011–12 season, Duhok SC finished as runners-up, qualifying for the AFC Cup for the second time in its history. The last time Duhok SC played in the AFC Cup was in the 2010–11 season, where they reached the quarter-finals.

Official sponsors

Stadium

Duhok Stadium is the stadium where Duhok Sport Club play their home games. It is a multiuse stadium in Duhok, Kurdistan. The stadium originally held 10,000 people, but after reconstruction it now holds 25,000 people, making it one of the largest in Iraq. It was built in 1992. It is located on Raza Road, Duhok.

Rivalries

Duhok FC fans consider Zakho FC and Erbil SC to be their main rivals. Zakho FC are the club's traditional rivals with whom they contest the "Duhok Derby" but differing fortunes have somewhat diluted the clubs' dislike of each other, even though now Zakho FC are back in the Iraqi Premier League and the rivalry is set to continue and to be more heated than ever. Erbil SC and Duhok SC also share very heated rivalries, as the two main Kurdish teams in the Iraqi league both teams are very much still rivals, even though these clubs are bitter rivals, the number of incidents and violence has decreased incredibly now these clubs share very safe but still heated encounters.

Crest and Nickname

The Duhok SC logo features the club's primary colors, yellow and blue. It depicts a hawk, symbolizing the club's nickname, "Mountains' Hawks" (صقور الجبال). The logo also includes the letters "DSC" at the top, representing Duhok Sports Club, and displays the year of the club's founding at the bottom.

Kits

Playing kit

Duhok's home shirts are now always yellow and blue, in 2012 Duhok Sc introduced a new home kit for the season 2012/2013, a yellow kit with sky blue hoops. Traditionally the home kit has always been yellow, the away kit would usually be blue or blue and white. Duhok SC has made the colours yellow and blue the club's prime colours.

Past kit

Current squad

First-team squad

As of 12 February 2025

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
95 GK  IRQ Mohammed Salih
12 GK  IRQ Ahmed Bashar
33 GK  IRQ Zana Jawzal
2 DF  IRQ Najm Shwan
3 DF  IRQ Masies Artien
52 DF  BRA Moisés
96 DF  BRA Lucas Turci
27 DF  IRQ Bayar Abubakir (captain)
23 DF  IRQ Rebaz Raheem
20 DF  IRQ Mohammed Saeed
30 DF  IRQ Mustafa Owaid
45 MF  GHA Reuben Acquah
55 MF  IRQ Ali Mohsin
5 MF  IRQ Ako Hzair
No. Pos. Nation Player
10 MF  IRQ Haron Ahmed Zubair
25 MF  IRQ Zana Allée
21 MF  IRQ Bewar Fariq
17 MF  IRQ Hassan Emad
99 FW  IRQ Siyaband Ageed
7 FW  IRQ Peter Gwargis
80 FW  CIV Yannick Zakri
29 FW  BRA Marlon
18 FW  IRQ Dhulfiqar Younis
28 FW  LBN Karim Darwiche
88 FW  IRQ Ibrahim Ghazi
11 FW  IRQ Pashang Abdulla
FW  IRQ Mustafa Nawaf

Club managers

Recent history

Season Pos. Pl. W D L GS GA P AFCCL AFCC FA Cup Notes
2000–01 5 30 16 7 7 44 24 55
2001–02 7 38 19 13 6 61 38 70 Round 1
2002–03 27 9 7 11 30 40 34 Round 3 League abandoned due to war
2003–04 7 4 0 3 10 6 League abandoned due to war
2004–05 2nd round 20 9 6 5 25 16
2005–06 2nd round 16 6 6 4 13 10
2006–07 2nd round 17 6 6 5 18 21
2007–08 4th Place 24 14 6 4 22 13
2008–09 3rd Place 27 19 7 1 48 11
2009–10 1 42 26 8 8 71 29
2010–11 1st round 26 12 4 10 36 28 Quarter-finals
2011–12 2 38 21 13 4 57 21 76
2012–13 5 34 16 10 8 54 35 58 Round of 16 Abandoned
2013–14 7 23 7 10 6 30 32 31
2014–15 2nd round 22 6 8 8 22 28
2015–16 Relegated 9 2 1 6 8 15 Semi-finals
  • From 2004/05 season, the competition changed from League system to various rounds including table and knockout rounds.
  • From 2011/12 season, the competition went back to the single league system.
  • From 2014/15 season, the competition returned to a system with various rounds.

Backroom staff and club officials

Name Position
Mesut Meral Manager
Assistant coach
Harjang Babaker Fitness coach
Maan Jameel Goalkeeping coach
Stefanos Anagnostou Match Analyst
Physiotherapist

Boardroom positions

Position Name Nationality
Chairman: Abdullah Jalal
Club Secretary / supervisor: Jassim Mohammed Haji
Director : Khalid Mushir
Member of the administrative board: Millat Jamal

Honours

Type Competition Titles Seasons
Domestic
(national)
Iraq Stars League 1 2009–10
Iraqi Premier Division League (second tier) 1 1997–98
Iraqi First Division League (third tier) 1 1994–95
Domestic
(regional)
Kurdistan Premier League 1 2006–07
International AGCFF Gulf Club Champions League 1 2024–25

Performance in AFC competitions

2011: Quarter-finals
2013: Round of 16
2024–25: Winners

Individual honours

2009 FIFA Confederations Cup

The following players have played in the FIFA Confederations Cup whilst playing for Dohuk :