Karrar Jaafar

Karrar Jaafar
Personal information
Full name Karrar Jaafar Gatea[1]
Date of birth (2006-07-29) 29 July 2006[2]
Place of birth Basra, Iraq
Height 1.65 m (5 ft 5 in)
Positions
Team information
Current team
 Al-Minaa
Number 10
Youth career
–2022 Al-Minaa
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2022– Al-Minaa 81 (15)
International career‡
2022–2023 Iraq U17 8 (1)
2023–2025 Iraq U20 9 (3)
2025– Iraq U23 1 (0)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 14 September 2025
‡ National team caps and goals as of 7 September 2025

Karrar Jaafar Gatea (Arabic: كَرَّار جَعْفَر كَاطِع; born 29 July 2006) is an Iraqi professional footballer who plays as a left winger for Iraq Stars League side Al-Minaa.[3]

Club career

Jaafar started playing football at the Al-Minaa Academy, and won with Al-Minaa U19 team, the Iraqi Youth Premier League in 2022.[4] In September 2022, he was promoted to play with the club's first team, and they won the Iraqi Premier Division League and gained promotion to the Iraq Stars League.[5][6] He scored five goals, scoring against Al-Jolan, Al-Hussein, Afak, Al-Samawa[7] and Al-Shirqat.[8]

In August 2023, his contract with Al-Minaa was renewed[9] and he played in the starting lineup regularly in the Iraqi Stars League, He was Al-Minaa's top scorer that season, scoring 8 goals, scoring against Al-Najaf,[10] Al-Hudood,[11] Al-Zawraa,[12] Karbala,[13] Zakho,[14] Erbil,[15] Naft Maysan,[16] and Dohuk.[17] His rocket goal against Al-Najaf goalkeeper Sarhang Muhsin was considered a strange phenomenon in the league, as it was the goal of the youngest player in the league (16 years old) against the oldest goalkeeper in the league (37 years old).[18] In August 2024, his contract with Al-Minaa was renewed for an additional season.[19] He did not play much in the 2024–25 season, as the club allowed him to participate in the AFC U-20 Asian Cup in China after initially refusing to allow him.[20][21] However, after the championship ended, he returned to participate in several matches, and on March 7, 2025, he scored the winning goal against Erbil in the away match.[22] On 2 July 2025, he came on as a substitute and scored a goal against Diyala, as Al-Minaa won 3–0.[23]

International career

Jaafar was first picked to represent Iraq in 2022, when the under-17 coach Ahmed Kadhim selected him to be a part of his 23-man squad to play in 2022 Arab Cup U-17.[24] In his first match, he scored the best goal in the tournament against Morocco.[25][26] He was also part of the squad for the 2023 AFC U-17 Asian Cup qualification.[27]

He was also selected by the coach Emad Mohammed to be part of the 26-man Iraq U20 squad to play in the 2024 WAFF U-19 Championship.[28] He was also named in the 2025 AFC U-20 Asian Cup qualification in Thailand[29] and played the first match against Brunei and scored two goals, provided two assists and caused a penalty in this match.[30] He also scored the winner against Thailand in the final round match, helping his team qualify for the 2025 AFC U-20 Asian Cup in China.[31]

He was also part of under-23 squad for the 2026 AFC U-23 Asian Cup qualification in Cambodia,[32]

Honours

Al-Minaa

References

  1. ↑ "الإعلان عن قائمة منتخب الشباب المشارك في بطولة غرب آسيا". ina.iq (in Arabic). Retrieved 22 June 2024.
  2. ↑ Karrar Jaafar at Footballcritic
  3. ↑ "كرار جعفر.. موهبة الميناء التهديفيَّة". alsabaah.iq (in Arabic). 7 October 2025.
  4. ↑ "الميناء بطلا للدوري العراقي للشباب". alsumaria.tv (in Arabic). 10 June 2022.
  5. ↑ "الميناء يتوج بطلا لدوري الدرجة الاولى بكرة القدم". ninanews.com (in Arabic). 2 June 2023.
  6. ↑ "الميناء يحرز لقب دوري الدرجة الاولى للموسم 2022/ 2023". al-mirbad.com (in Arabic). 2 June 2023.
  7. ↑ "الميناء يتغلب على السماوة ويتصدر مجموعته". ninanews.com (in Arabic). 1 April 2024.
  8. ↑ "دوري التأهيل.. الميناء يقسو على الشرقاط ويستعيد الصدارة". shafaq.com (in Arabic). 10 April 2024.
  9. ↑ لاعبون يجددون للعب مع فريق الميناء للموسم المقبل (in Arabic). almarsa-news.com. 11 September 2023.
  10. ↑ ب 9 لاعبين.. الميناء يهزم النجف في ملعب الفيحاء (in Arabic). kooora.com. 6 December 2023.
  11. ↑ على أرضه ووسط جمهوره.. الميناء يتعادل مع الحدود بشق الأنفس في الوقت بدل الضائع (in Arabic). 964media.com. 16 February 2024.
  12. ↑ الزوراء يسحق الميناء بثلاثية في دوري نجوم العراق (in Arabic). mawazin.net. 9 March 2024.
  13. ↑ بالصور: الميناء وكربلاء يرتضيان بالتعادل (in Arabic). kooora.com. 21 April 2024.
  14. ↑ زاخو يهزم الميناء بثلاثية (in Arabic). kooora.com. 30 April 2024.
  15. ↑ بالصور: الميناء يغرق أربيل بثنائية (in Arabic). kooora.com. 5 May 2024.
  16. ↑ الميناء يقسو على نفط ميسان بثلاثية (in Arabic). kooora.com. 27 June 2024.
  17. ↑ بالصور: 8 أهداف في تعادل جنوني بين دهوك والميناء (in Arabic). kooora.com. 1 July 2024.
  18. ↑ كرار جعفر يسجل حادثة فريدة في الملاعب العراقية (in Arabic). alkhaleej.ae. 8 December 2023.
  19. ↑ "الميناء العراقي يتمسك بلاعبه الشاب كرار جعفر". alkhaleej.ae (in Arabic). 6 August 2024.
  20. ↑ رفض ناديا الكهرباء والميناء تفريغ لاعبين للسفر مع منتخب الشباب إلى معسكر تايلاند (in Arabic). nrttv.com. 19 January 2025.
  21. ↑ بالصور: العراق يكتفي بالتعادل مع كوريا الشمالية في كأس آسيا للشباب (in Arabic). kooora.com. 13 February 2025.
  22. ↑ جعفر يمنح الميناء فوزا ثمينا على أربيل (in Arabic). kooora.com. 7 March 2025.
  23. ↑ جعفر الميناء يفوز على ديالى بثلاثية نظيفة (in Arabic). ninanews.com. 2 July 2025.
  24. ↑ "إعلان القائمة النهائية لمنتخب الناشئين العراقي لبطولة كأس العرب". shafaq.com (in Arabic). 19 August 2022.
  25. ↑ "Iraq beat Morocco, Comoros beat Mauritania, Egypt beat Saudi Arabia, and a goalless draw between Syria and Lebanon at the conclusion of the first round of the groups of the U-17 Arab Cup 2022". uafa-ac.com. 25 August 2022.
  26. ↑ "أشبال العراق يتطلعون للتقدم في كأس العرب من بوابة جزر القمر". kooora.com (in Arabic). 26 August 2022.
  27. ↑ "منتخب ناشئي العراق يغادر إلى مسقط للمشاركة في التصفيات الآسيوية". shafaq.com (in Arabic). 29 September 2022.
  28. ↑ "قائمة منتخب شباب العراق للمشاركة في بطولة الديار العربية غرب آسيا". shafaq.com (in Arabic). 22 June 2024.
  29. ↑ "الإعلان عن قائمة منتخب الشباب العراقي للقاء بروناي بالزي الأبيض". shafaq.com (in Arabic). 24 September 2024.
  30. ↑ "العراق يمطر بروناي بـ 15 هدفاً بلا جواب". shafaq.com (in Arabic). 25 September 2024.
  31. ↑ "شباب العراق يُسقطوُن تايلاند ويتأهلون رسمياً إلى كأس آسيا 2025 في الصين". mercatotime.com (in Arabic). 29 September 2024.
  32. ↑ "عماد محمد يعلن قائمة الأولمبي المشارك بمعسكر ماليزيا استعدادا لتصفيات كأس آسيا 2023". al-aalem.com (in Arabic). 20 August 2025.
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