Ali Al-Hamadi

Ali Al-Hamadi (Arabic: علي الحمادي‎; born 1 March 2002) is an Iraqi professional footballer who plays as a forward for Swansea City in the EFL Championship and the Iraq national under-23 football team.

Not to be confused with Ali Al-Hammadi.
Ali Al-Hamadi
Personal information
Full name Ali Ibrahim Karim Ali Al-Hamadi
Date of birth (2002-03-01) 1 March 2002
Place of birth Maysan, Iraq
Height 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Position(s) Forward
Club information
Current team
 Swansea City
Youth career
2015–2018 Tranmere Rovers
2018–2020 Swansea City
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2020– Swansea City 0 (0)
National team
2019– Iraq U23 2 (1)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 22 June 2020

Early life

Ali was born in Maysan, Iraq on March 1, 2002. In 2003 during the early stages of the Iraq War, at the age of 1, he and his family moved from Iraq to Toxteth, Liverpool where they would settle and he would grow up.

Al-Hamadi’s father, Ibrahim, who was studying to become a lawyer at that point, was part of a peaceful protest against the dictatorship of Saddam Hussein and he ended up being jailed, His wife was pregnant His father with help released and made his way to the UK. Like most Iraqis fleeing the war, , initially went to Jordan with his mother before they reunited with his father in Britain that first time met his father and he was one year and 4 months old .[1]

Club career

Liverpool Schoolboys

In 2015, Al-Hamadi was selected to play for Liverpool Schoolboys at the age of 13 where he quickly made an impression and caught the attention of Everton and Liverpool but ended up joining Tranmere Rovers.[1]

Tranmere Rovers

Ali joined Tranmere’s Under-14s and stayed with the club for three years, being offered a professional contract in the summer of 2018 but he instead opted for a two-year scholarship at Swansea City.

Swansea City

Al-Hamadi left Liverpool and his family to move to Wales as he joined Swansea City’s academy in the summer of 2018, joining on a two-year scholarship.[2] On 2 July 2020, Al-Hamadi signed his first professional contract with Swansea, signing a one-year contract with the club.[3]

International career

Al-Hamadi was eligible to play for both England and Iraq at international level and accepted a call-up to the Iraqi Olympic team in 2019, declaring for the country of his birth.

Iraq U-23

In late 2019, Al-Hamadi received and accepted an invitation from the Iraqi Under-23s to join them in their preparations for the 2020 AFC U-23 Championship. Ali made his debut for the Iraqi olympic team and scored his first goal to mark the occasion in October 2019.[4] He was not included in the squad for the U-23 Asian Championship due to an injury he picked up at the training camp.

Personal life

Al-Hamadi got 4 A*s, 4 As and a B in his GCSEs.[5]

Ali has two younger siblings, a brother and sister who were both born after the family moved to England.

References
  1. "From Saddam Hussein to Swansea City: Striker Ali Al-Hamadi's incredible journey". BBC Sport. 10 May 2019. Retrieved 22 June 2020.
  2. "Ali Al-Hamadi, I Must Keep Performing". Swansea City FC. 15 December 2019. Retrieved 22 June 2020.
  3. "Swansea City Reveal Retained List". Swansea City FC. 2 July 2020. Retrieved 2 July 2020.
  4. "The traumatic back story of Ali Al-Hamadi, the Swansea City starlet who has just done something special". Wales Online. 15 October 2019. Retrieved 22 June 2020.
  5. "Ali Al-Hamadi". Swansea City FC. December 2019. Retrieved 22 June 2020.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.