Jamil Abbas ( ar, جميل عباس; 1 January 1927 – 7 July 2005) was one of the longest serving national captains of

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

. He was part of the Iraqi national team for over 15 years. The defender was captain of

, as well as the Olympic and Army teams from 1954 to 1966; a record. Abbas was known to millions of Iraqis by the

nickname A nickname is a substitute for the proper name of a familiar person, place or thing. Commonly used to express affection, a form of endearment, and sometimes amusement, it can also be used to express defamation of character. As a concept, it is ...

Jamoli. Born in 1927 in

Baghdad Baghdad (; ar, بَغْدَاد , ) is the capital of Iraq and the second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located on the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon and the Sassanid Persian capital of Ctesipho ...

, the left full back turned

centre half In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either ...

played for Nadi Al-Olympia Al-Maliki (Royal Olympic Club) in Adhammiya from 1945. He went onto join one of Iraq's top sides of the 40s and 50s, Haris Al-Maliki (Royal Guards). Abbas continued to play for the team until 1957, when he joined the newly formed Farqa Al-Thalatha (Third Armoured Division). In 1951, at age 23, Abbas was lining up in Iraq's first national team alongside the best players in Iraq against the Turkey B team in Izmir and an Ankara XI, and four years later, he was starring for the Iraqi Army team against Egypt after Iraq was affiliated into CISM. Abbas captained

at the 2nd

Pan Arab Games The Arab Games ( ar, الألعاب العربية), also called the Pan Arab Games, are a regional multi-sport event held between nations from the Arab world. They are organized by the Union of Arab National Olympic Committees. The first Gam ...

Beirut Beirut, french: Beyrouth is the capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, which makes it the third-largest city in the Levant region. The city is situated on a peninsula at the midpoint o ...

, where they played their first international match against

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria ...

; Abbas went onto score in Iraq's second game against

Tunisia ) , image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa , image_map2 = , capital = Tunis , largest_city = capital , ...

, from the

penalty spot The penalty area or 18-yard box (also known less formally as the penalty box or simply box) is an area of an association football pitch. It is rectangular and extends 16.5m (18 yd) to each side of the goal and 16.5m (18 yd) in front of it. With ...

however the game ended in 4-2 defeat. In late 1959, Abbas captained the first Iraqi Olympic team which included the likes of Mohammed Thamir and

Ammo Baba Emmanuel Baba Dawud (27 November 1934 – 27 May 2009), better known as Ammo Baba ( ar, عمو بابا, syr, ܥܡܘ ܒܒܐ), was an Iraqi Assyrian football player and coach of the Iraq national football team. He scored the first international ...

to a 3-0 win over

Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to Lebanon–Syria border, the north and east and Israel to Blue ...

in a

1960 Summer Olympic Games The 1960 Summer Olympics ( it, Giochi Olimpici estivi del 1960), officially known as the Games of the XVII Olympiad ( it, Giochi della XVII Olimpiade) and commonly known as Rome 1960 ( it, Roma 1960), were an international multi-sport event held ...

qualifying match. Due to his absence through injury in the following round against Turkey in

Adana Adana (; ; ) is a major city in southern Turkey. It is situated on the Seyhan River, inland from the Mediterranean Sea. The administrative seat of Adana province, it has a population of 2.26 million. Adana lies in the heart of Cilicia, ...

, the Iraqi Olympic team lost 7-1. Abbas led Iraq to their first

Arab Cup The FIFA Arab Cup ( ar, كأس العرب, translit=Kaʾs al-ʿArab), or simply Arab Cup, is an international association football competition which has been organized by FIFA since 2021, and is contested by the senior men's national teams of ...

in Kuwait in 1964 and two years later after sitting out the 1966 Arab Cup which Iraq won in Baghdad the famed captain retired. In his last match on April 4, 1966 at the age of 39, the stars of the Arab football world turned out for a game between Third Armoured Division and an Arab national team at the Al-Kashafa Stadium in Baghdad. The match ended in a 0-0 draw. Iraqi Football History website, details on Arab Select XI and Al-Farqa Al-Thalatha match After he retired, a statue of the Iraqi captain was unveiled at the entrance of the Al-Kashafa stadium, that he had graced for over three decades. He died in 2005.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Abbas, Jamil 1927 births 2005 deaths Sportspeople from Baghdad Iraqi footballers Iraq international footballers Association football defenders