Yaser Kasim

His career in England started in the youth teams at Premier League side Fulham. A coach at one of the sport centres that Kasim frequented took him to Fulham and he joined the youth setup there but left after a few months and switched to North London club Tottenham Hotspur. He joined the youth setup at Spurs in 2007 and remained until his 18th birthday with the club. He departed the club in the summer of 2010, after turning down a pro contract, claiming that he did not feel the club had the player's best interest in mind. He joined Brighton & Hove Albion shortly after.

Brighton & Hove Albion

He joined Brighton & Hove Albion in October 2010, signing a short-term contract until January 2011. On 20 November, Kasim was an unused substitute during the 2–2 draw against Bristol Rovers. and during January 2011 it was revealed that he had signed a new short-term contract until 30 June. On 7 May 2011, Kasim made his debut for Brighton starting against Notts County. On 12 July 2012, Kasim joined Conference Premier side Luton Town on a six-month loan deal. 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. On 8 February 2013, Kasim joined Conference Premier side Macclesfield Town on an initial one-month loan. On 21 May 2013, Kasim was released by Brighton.

Swindon Town

The midfielder finally found regular first team football at the…

Kasim made his debut for Iraq against China on 5 March 2014. According to football writer Hassanin Mubarak no player in the history of the Iraq national football team had made his position his own after only 90 minutes, but Yaser Kasim, the Baghdad-born West Londoner, who after one match had starred the midfield in Iraq's final Asian Cup qualifier against China on his debut. Kasim had refused an earlier call-up prior to the Asian Cup qualifying game with Saudi Arabia, deciding to concentrate on playing for Swindon Town in League One, where he had become a key figure in the club's five-man midfield, which also included Australia's Massimo Luongo. He may also have refused the call-up after he was made to pay his own way to Baghdad from London in the two previous trips with the Olympic side. Yaser along with Ahmed Yasin and Osama Rashid were first selected in the national side in 2011 under Wolfgang Sidka. After several years out of the national team set-up, Kasim was called up by Iraq for the 2021 FIFA Arab Cup under new manager Dick Advocaat following his impressive start to the Iraqi Premier League season with Zakho where he scored two goals as his club sat in the top six at the time of his call-up.

2016 Olympic Games

After his projected £1m move to Swansea City fell apart at the last moment, everything fell apart. The Swansea move falling through was the start of his downfall, he went to Spain to train with the Iraqi U-23 where he was expected to be named one of…

Club

As of end of 2023–24 season

International

Scores and results list Iraq's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Kasim goal.

At age 6 Kasim left Iraq with his family to Jordan and after spending a year in Jordan where he experienced his first taste of school, the family arrived in England. His mother told of a story of when he was young, kicking a ball in their second floor flat in West London, the peppy Yaser would break everything at home and have the neighbours below complaining about her son. They told her to take him to the park to play. She remembered one amusing memory of Yaser telling her to stand in goal so he could take shots at her! Later Yaser's parents would take him to the Westway Sports Centre, paying £2 a week to play a variety of sports. They wanted him to take up tennis and he was a competent player however he pleaded to his parents to allow him to play football, his true passion. That passion for football was sown in the city of Baghdad. His father recounted when the family were living in Baghdad where his son was returning home with his filthy clothes knee deep in mud. One local shopkeeper once told Yaser's father "What kind of player is your son, he’s fighting everyone and taking on everyone!” The player explained how much both his parents had sacrificed for him and his siblings by leaving behind Baghdad under UN sanctions in the early 90s for London for a better life and mentioned that it "completes his heart", when he returned to Iraq and the national team and put on the shirt on because of what his parents had given up and thanked them for all they had done for him. One of…