Al-Difaa Al-Jawi Sport Club (Arabic: نادي الدفاع الجوي الرياضي) is an Iraqi football team based in Baghdad, that plays in Iraqi Second Division League.[1]
Al-Difaa Al-Jawi team played in the Iraqi Premier League for the first time in the 1999–2000 season,[2] and it lasted for six seasons in the Premier League until the 2004–05 season, at the end of which it was relegated to the Iraqi First Division League.[3] The team played its first four seasons in the name of Al-Difaa Al-Jawi, and in the last two seasons in the league the name of the club was changed, and it played in the league under the name Al-Estiqlal.[4]
After the team's exit from the Iraqi Premier League in 2005, its sports activities were suspended and the situation continued until 2021, when the club was re-established in that year under its first name (Al-Difaa Al-Jawi) and a new administrative body was elected, and multiple sports teams were formed, including the football team, which is currently playing in the Iraqi Second Division League.[5] [6]
Hakeem Shaker (1997–1999) Saleh Radhi (1999–2002) Salam Hashim (2002–2003) Haitham Kadhim (2022–present)