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A small piece of history was made in the match between Ipswich Town and Liverpool on Saturday when Ali Al-Hamadi came on in the 74th minute for Ipswich to become the first Iraqi player to appear in the competition.
Al-Hamadi’s family fled Iraq at the start of the century when it was at war and he was one year old. By coincidence, his family went to live in Liverpool, where he grew up.
He joined Tranmere Rovers’ youth system before moving to Swansea City in 2018. His senior career began with a transfer to Wycombe Wanderers in 2021, before moving to AFC Wimbledon two years later.
Al-Hamadi signed for Ipswich in January 2024 and in making his appearance as a substitute on Saturday he took the number of nations represented in the 32 years of the Premier League to 124.
All nations represented in the Premier League
| Albania | Faroe Islands | New Zealand |
| Algeria | Finland | Nigeria |
| Angola | France | North Macedonia |
| Antigua and Barbuda | Gabon | Northern Ireland |
| Argentina | Gambia | Norway |
| Armenia | Georgia | Oman |
| Australia | Germany | Pakistan |
| Austria | Ghana | Paraguay |
| Barbados | Gibraltar | Peru |
| Belarus | Greece | Philippines |
| Belgium | Grenada | Poland |
| Benin | Guadeloupe | Portugal |
| Bermuda | Guatemala | Rep of Ireland |
| Bolivia | Guinea | Romania |
| Bosnia and Herzegovina | Guinea-Bissau | Russia |
| Brazil | Guyana | Scotland |
| Bulgaria | Honduras | Senegal |
| Burkina Faso | Hungary | Serbia |
| Burundi | Iceland | Seychelles |
| Cabo Verde | Indonesia | Sierra Leone |
| Cameroon | Iran | Slovakia |
| Canada | Iraq | Slovenia |
| Central African Republic | Israel | South Africa |
| Chile | Italy | Spain |
| China | Jamaica | St Kitts and Nevis |
| Colombia | Japan | Suriname |
| Congo | Kenya | Sweden |
| Congo DR | South Korea | Switzerland |
| Costa Rica | Kosovo | Syria |
| Cote d’Ivoire | Latvia | Tanzania |
| Croatia | Liberia | Togo |
| Cuba | Lithuania | Trinidad and Tobago |
| Curacao | Mali | Tunisia |
| Cyprus | Malta | Turkey |
| Czechia | Martinique | Ukraine |
| Denmark | Mauritania | Uruguay |
| Dominican Republic | Mexico | USA |
| Ecuador | Montenegro | Venezuela |
| Egypt | Montserrat | Wales |
| England | Morocco | Zambia |
| Equatorial Guinea | Netherlands | Zimbabwe |
| Estonia |
By Premier League