Ali Al-Hamadi

Ali Ibrahim Karim Ali Al-Hamadi (Arabic: عَلِيّ إِبْرَاهِيم كَرِيم عَلِيّ الْحَمَّادِيّ; born 1 March 2002) is an Iraqi professional footballer who plays as a forward for EFL Championship club Stoke City, on loan from Premier League club Ipswich Town and the Iraq national team.

Early and personal life

Ali was born in Maysan, Iraq, on 1 March 2002. In 2003 during the early stages of the Iraq War, at the age of one, 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, and with his father's help, was released and made his way to the UK. Like most Iraqis fleeing the war, Ali initially went to Jordan with his mother before they reunited with his father in Britain. The first time he met his father he was one-year and four-months old. Al-Hamadi is a Muslim.

Club career

Early career

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. Al-Hamadi 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's academy. On 2 July 2020, Al-Hamadi signed his first professional contract with Swansea, signing a one-year contract with the club. He was offered a new contract by Swansea in the summer of 2021 but decided to turn it down after failing to break into the first-team. In September 2021, Al-Hamadi went on trial with Derby County, scoring for their under-23 side in a 3–3 Premier League Cup draw against the Norwich City under-23s.

Wycombe Wanderers

On 20 November 2021, Al-Hamadi signed an eighteen-month contract with League One side Wycombe Wanderers, following a successful trial period at the club. On 11 March 2022, Al-Hamadi joined National League side Bromley on loan until the end of the 2021–22 season. Al-Hamadi made 11 appearances for Bromley, scoring three goals. He scored his first senior goal on 24 August 2022 in a 3–1 EFL Cup defeat against Bristol City. After struggling for game time at Adams Park Al-Hamadi expressed a desire to seek a transfer.

AFC Wimbledon

On 12 January 2023, Al-Hamadi completed a permanent transfer to League Two side AFC Wimbledon on a two-and-a-half-year deal. He scored his first goal for Wimbledon on 18 February 2023 in a 2–2 draw with Hartlepool United. In March 2023, he was awarded the EFL Young Player of the Month award. On 30 September, Al-Hamadi converted a hat-trick against Tranmere Rovers, his former youth club, in a 4–1 win. He was twice-awarded the PFA League Two Fans' Player of the Month award while at Wimbledon, earning the honours in March and September, 2023.

Ipswich Town

On 29 January 2024, Al-Hamadi signed for then Championship club Ipswich Town for an undisclosed fee on a four-and-a-half-year contract. He made his Ipswich debut on 3 February, in a 3–2 defeat to Preston North End. On 14 February, he scored his first goal for the club, converting a penalty in stoppage time of a 4–0 away victory over Millwall. He was a member of the team that achieved promotion to the Premier League that season, ending a 22-year absence from the top flight. On 17 August, Al-Hamadi was brought on as a substitute during Ipswich's first match of the 2024–25 season against Liverpool, becoming the first Iraqi footballer to play in the Premier League.

On 24 January 2025 Al-Hamadi joined Stoke City on loan for the remainder of the 2024–25 season. He scored on his debut helping Stoke to a 2–1 victory at Hull City.

International career

Youth

Al-Hamadi was eligible to play for both England and Iraq at international level and accepted a call-up to the Iraq U23 team in 2019, declaring for the country of his birth.

In late 2019, Al-Hamadi received and accepted an invitation from the Iraq under-23s to join them in their preparations for the 2020 AFC U-23 Championship. Ali made his debut for and scored his first goal in October 2019. He was not included in the squad for the final tournament due to an injury he picked up at the training camp.

Senior

Ali received his first call-up to the senior national team in November 2021 as part of Iraq’s squad for their 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifiers against South Korea and Syria, with Iraq’s first choice striker Mohanad Ali out injured and Alaa Abbas still regaining fitness after his injury. Al-Hamadi was named in the starting line-up and made his debut on 11 November in a 1–1 draw against Syria before gaining his second cap in a 3–0 loss to South Korea on 16 November, playing the full match.

In December 2023, he was named in the 26-man squad for the 2023 AFC Asian Cup in Qatar.