Yaser Kasim

Yaser Kasim

Personal information
Full name	Yaser Safa Qasim Al-Qadefaje
Date of birth	10 May 1991
Place of birth	Karrada, Baghdad, Iraq
Playing position	Midfielder
Club information
Current team	Swindon Town
Number	8
Youth career
2007–2010	Tottenham Hotspur
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps^†	(Gls)^†
2010–2013	Brighton & Hove Albion	1	(0)
2012	→ Luton Town (loan)	11	(1)
2013	→ Macclesfield Town (loan)	5	(0)
2013–	Swindon Town	98	(5)
National team^‡
2012–2016	Iraq U23	1	(0)
2014–	Iraq	17	(3)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 17:45, 23 April 2016 (UTC). † Appearances (goals) ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 21:00, 23 April 2015 (UTC)

Yaser Safa Qasim Al-Qadefaje (Arabic: ياسر قاسم‎) , born 10 May 1991 in Baghdad, Iraq is an Iraqi footballer who plays as midfielder for Swindon Town in the English League One. Kasim has been nominated to and crowned in many English, Iraqi, Arab and Asian awards. In 2015, Kasim was chosen as Iraq's player of the year 2015.^[1]

Club career

Tottenham Hotspur

Born in Karrada, Kasim started his career playing football on the hot tarmac of Baghdad. His career in England started in the youth teams at Premier League side Tottenham Hotspur. He departed the club in the summer of 2010.^[2]

Brighton & Hove Albion

He joined Brighton & Hove Albion in October 2010, signing a short-term contract until January 2011.^[3] On 20 November, Kasim was an unused substitute during the 2–2 draw against Bristol Rovers^[4] and during January 2011 it was revealed that he had signed a new short-term contract until 30 June.^[5] On 7 May 2011, Kasim made his debut for Brighton starting against Notts County.^[6]

On 21 May 2013, Kasim was released by Brighton.^[7]

Luton loan spell

On 12 July 2012, Kasim joined Conference Premier side Luton Town on a six month loan deal.^[8] He played as a defensive midfielder through Luton's pre-season games, establishing himself as a first-team regular, and debuted for the club on 11 August in a 2–2 draw with Gateshead.^[9][10]

Macclesfield loan spell

On 8 February 2013, Kasim joined Conference Premier side Macclesfield Town on an initial one-month loan.^[11]

Swindon Town

Yaser signed a three-year deal with Swindon Town after a trial with the club. On 30 August 2014, he captained his team against Coventry City due to the ban imposed on Nathan Thompson to become the first ever Iraqi player to captain a club in the English Professional leagues.

Career statistics

Club

As of 2 May 2015.^[12]

Club	Season	League		FA Cup		League Cup		FL Trophy		Other[13]		Total
		Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Brighton & Hove Albion	2010–11	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
	2011–12	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
	2012–13	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	Total	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0
Luton Town (loan)	2012	11	1	—		—		—		—		11	1
Macclesfield Town (loan)	2013	5	0	—		—		—		—		5	0
Swindon Town	2013–14	37	2	1	0	3	0	4	0	0	0	45	2
	2014–15	35	2	1	0	2	1	0	0	0	0	38	3
	Total	72	4	2	0	5	1	4	0	0	0	83	5
Career total		89	5	3	0	5	1	4	0	0	0	101	6

International

As of match played 30 January 2015.^[14]

International statistics

National team	Year	Apps	Goals
Iraq	2014	6	1
	2015	11	2
Total		17	3

International

International goals

Scores and results list Iraq's goal tally first.

#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1.	17 November 2014	Prince Faisal bin Fahd Stadium, Riyadh	Oman	1–0	1–1	2014 Gulf Cup of Nations
2.	12 January 2015	Lang Park, Brisbane	Jordan	1–0	1–0	2015 AFC Asian Cup
3.	31 March 2015	Khalid Bin Mohammed Stadium, Sharjah	DR Congo	1–0	1–0	Friendly

Honours

International

Iraq national football team

• 2015 AFC Asian Cup fourth-place.

Individual

• Sky Bet Football League Team of the Week (08/08/14 – 10/08/14)^[15] - with Swindon Town F.C.
• Nominated 2015 AFC Asian Cup MVP.^[16]
• Selected among 8 best midfielders in the 2015 AFC Asian Cup.^[16]
• Iraq's best professional football player for the year 2015. ^{[17] [18]}

References

1. "Town's Kasim named Iraq's 2015 Player of the Year - FLIC". FLIC. Retrieved 3 February 2016.
2. "Yaser Kasim". Brighton & Hove Albion F.C. Retrieved 21 July 2012.
3. "Albion snap up Spurs youngster". The Argus. 2010-10-13. Retrieved 2011-05-08.
4. "Wood handed Albion debut". The Argus. 2010-11-20. Retrieved 2011-05-08.
5. "Whing back, young duo stay". The Argus. 2011-01-06. Retrieved 2011-05-08.
6. "Kasim gets Albion debut". The Argus. 2011-05-07. Retrieved 2011-05-08.
7. "New Deals for Development Squad players". Brighton & Hove Albion F.C. 2013-05-21. Retrieved 2013-05-21.
8. "Brighton midfielder Yaser Kasim joins Luton Town on loan". BBC Sport. 2012-07-12. Retrieved 2012-07-12.
9. "Adam and JJ to fight it out". Luton Today. 2012-08-09. Retrieved 2012-08-12.
10. "Luton 2–2 Gateshead". BBC Sport. 2012-08-11. Retrieved 2012-08-12.
11. "Kasim joins Stags on loan". Brighton & Hove Albion F.C. 2013-02-08. Retrieved 2013-02-08.
12. "Josh Cooke profile". Soccerbase. Retrieved 2 May 2015.
13. Includes other competitive competitions such as the Football League Play-Offs
14. "Yaser Kasim". National Football Teams. Retrieved 23 March 2015.
15. "Sky Bet Football League Team of the Week 08/08/14 – 10/08/14". Football League.
16. "ياسر قاسم ضمن الافصل بكاس اسيا". Retrieved 3 February 2016.
17. "Town's Kasim named Iraq's 2015 Player of the Year - FLIC". FLIC. Retrieved 3 February 2016.
18. "رسميا - ياسر قاسم افضل محترف عراقي لعام 2015!". Retrieved 3 February 2016.

External links

• Player profile on Brighton & Hove Albion official website
• Yaser Kasim career statistics at Soccerbase