12/03/2025
DYANA DAWOOD: The First Assyrian Iraqi Female Soccer Player Making History
Dyana Dawood was born on May 4, 1999, today's Mosul, in the Nineveh region of Iraq — into an Assyrian family.
In the wake of the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, as security conditions rapidly deteriorated, life in the country grew increasingly difficult. Dyana's family fled the pervasive violence and instability when she was just six years old, initially seeking refuge in Jordan before eventually emigrating to the United States in 2008.
Coming from a family with a strong soccer background, she was exposed to the sport from a young age. Dyana's father Deryawish Dawood was a soccer player and a coach, also her older brother David Dawood is the soccer coach and director of his DD8 Academy in Arizona.
Dyana's career has seen her develop through the American collegiate system before playing professionally and earning her international call-up. She played youth football, progressing through soccer academies, including time with FC1 Academy and Arsenal Soccer Club, and later high school teams.
She attended Niles West High School in Skokie, Illinois, and later Thunderbird High School in Phoenix, Arizona — where she earned accolades in high school, including 2018 High School Player of the Year and All-Conference honors.
Her soccer collegiate career started in Arizona Christian University (Appeared in nine games), then transferred to Notre Dame de Namur University in Belmont, California, where she played 33 games in two seasons, and scored 2 goals. For her senior year in 2021, she transferred to Chicago State University and played in the NCAA Division 1 level.
In August 2023, she signed with the Romanian club Politehnica Timișoara (Women’s Soccer League), becoming one of the first Assyrian women to play professionally in a European league. She played regularly — accumulating 777 minutes in autumn and scoring a goal in a league match.
As of 2025, she is playing in the United States for Desert Dreams FC/Next Level Soccer (USA) (Women’s Premier Soccer League, Arizona).
Dyana’s proudest moment came in February 2024 with her first official call-up to the Iraq women’s national football team. After receiving her Iraqi passport and clearance, she was scheduled to attend the team's training camp in Dubai, UAE, in preparation for the WAF Women's National Team Championship in Saudi Arabia later that month. However, she was injured during her club practice just before the camp and was unable to join the team.
For decades, women’s football in Iraq was overlooked, underfunded, and often discouraged. Dyana’s presence on the national team represents not just personal triumph, but a shift in culture — showing girls across Iraq and the diaspora that they belong in this sport. It also reflected a broader strategy from the Iraqi Football Federation to integrate players born or raised abroad — helping strengthen the women’s national squad.
In June 2025, Dyana was recalled to the Iraqi squad for a training camp held in Iran, which included two friendly matches against the host nation. Following the camp, the team traveled to Thailand to compete in the Women's Asian Cup qualifiers. It was there that Dyana made her international debut in a match against Timor-Leste, which ended in a 0-0 tie. In the subsequent game against Mongolia, Dyana delivered an outstanding performance, contributing significantly to Iraq's historic and decisive 5-2 victory. Unfortunately, Iraq faced losses in their next two matches against the host nation, Thailand, and India, which resulted in their disqualification from the final tournament scheduled to take place in Australia the following year.
Next for the Iraqi team was competing in the 2025 West Asian Women's Championship. That marked their third appearance in the tournament after previously participating in the 2011 (UAE) and 2024 (Saudi Arabia) editions. In those prior outings, Iraq played a total of six matches, losing all of them and failing to score a single goal.
The 2025 tournament, held in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, from November 24 to December 2, 2025, saw the Iraqi team have a dramatic turnaround in performance. With Dyana starting every game as an attacking midfielder in jersey number 15, the team began with a hard-fought 1-2 loss to the host nation, Saudi Arabia. They then secured their first-ever win in the championship by defeating the UAE 3-0, which allowed them to advance to the knockout stage. In the semi-finals, they faced a strong Jordanian team and lost 3-0. Ultimately, they secured the bronze medal by defeating the host nation, Saudi Arabia, on penalties (4-2) after regular time ended in a 2-2 draw, clinching third place in the tournament. That represented their best showing in the history of their participation in the championship.
Dyana's commitment to represent Iraq internationally illustrates a deep connection to her roots — From Mosul to Europe to the U.S., she has fought through barriers, expectations, and challenges to represent her heritage with pride. Today, she stands as a trailblazer for Iraqi and Assyrian girls everywhere — proving that talent, passion, and determination know no borders.
* Biography and photos compiled by Sargon Alkurge... December 3, 2025.
