Naft Al-Wasat
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| Full name | Naft Al-Wasat Sports Club |
|---|---|
| Nickname(s) | Andaleeb Al-Furat (The Euphrates Nightingales) |
| Founded | 2008 |
| Ground | An-Najaf Stadium |
| Capacity | 12,000 |
| Owner | Midland Oil Company |
| President | Abbas Fakhruddin |
| Manager | Ayoub Odisho |
| League | Iraqi Premier League |
| 2015–16 | Iraqi Premier League, 2nd |
Naft Al-Wasat Sports Club (Arabic: نادي نفط الوسط الرياضي; translates to Midland Oil) is an Iraqi sports club based in Najaf, Iraq. Its professional football team plays in the Iraqi Premier League, the top tier of the Iraqi football. The club's home stadium is An-Najaf Stadium.
Founded in 2008, Naft Al-Wasat spent three seasons in the Iraq Division Two and another three in the Iraq Division One until they were promoted from the 2013–14 Iraq Division One to the Iraqi Premier League. In their first season in the Iraqi Premier League, Naft Al-Wasat became the champions by achieving the 2014–15 Iraqi Premier League.
Naft Al-Wasat SC was found on 1 July 2008 by the Ministry of Oil. The founding board consisted of Riyadh Bahr Al-Ouloom, Abbas Fakhruddin, Firas Nouri, Haitham Abbas, Ali Juwad, Yasin Khudhair, Mustafa Mohammed, Hassan Juwad, Wisam Fawzi and Basim Radhi. The club entered the Iraq Division Two and was promoted to the Iraq Division One in the 2010–11 season. In the 2011–12 season, Naft Al-Wasat made their first transfer from other clubs, signing Karrar Abd from Kufa FC in January 2012. In the 2011–12 season, Naft Al-Wasat barely qualified to the second stage, after having 8 wins, 6 draws and 4 losses, only a point away from Kufa FC. In the second stage, Naft Al-Wasat finished in 4th place of the Group 2, at 12 points, after having 4 wins and 4 losses, ending their first season in the Division One with failure.
In the 2012–13 season, Naft Al-Wasat failed again to qualify. In the groups stage, they became in top of Group D, at 27 points, being won 7 matches, drawn in 5 and lost only one. In the second stage they had a big breakdown, finishing in 5th place in Group 2, after winning only one match, drawing in 5 and losing 3. In the 2012–13 Iraq FA Cup, they reached the third round before being eliminated. In the first round, they defeated Samawa 4–0, and in the second round they eliminated Al-Sinaat Al-Kahrabaiya by beating them 4–3 on aggregate (the first leg was 1–1 and the second leg was 3–2). In the third round, they lost the first leg to Masafi Al-Wasat 2–1 and drew the second leg 2–2, being knocked out 4–3 on aggregate.
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