Aymen Luay
Iraqi footballer (born 2005)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Aymen Luay Akanees (born 23 May 2005) is an Iraqi professional footballer who plays as a forward for Iraq Stars League side Al-Minaa.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Aymen Luay Abdulhasan Akanees | ||
| Date of birth | 23 May 2005 | ||
| Place of birth | Najaf, Iraq | ||
| Height | 1.81 m (5 ft 11 in) | ||
| Position | Forward | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Al-Minaa | ||
| Number | 23 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| –2024 | Al-Najaf | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2024–2026 | Al-Najaf | 19 | (3) |
| 2025–2026 | → Al-Gharraf | 14 | (0) |
| 2026– | Al-Minaa | 0 | (0) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2024–2025 | Iraq U20 | 3 | (4) |
| 2025– | Iraq U23 | 4 | (1) |
|
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 1 June 2026 ‡ National team caps and goals as of 14 January 2026 | |||
Club career
Aymen Luay began his football journey at the Al-Najaf Academy, where he developed through the club's youth system. In 2022, he represented Al-Najaf in the Iraqi U-16 League, showcasing his potential as one of the club's promising young talents.[1] His breakthrough came in 2024, when he finished as the top scorer of the Iraqi U-19 League, scoring 20 goals and establishing himself as one of the country's most exciting young forwards.[2]
Following his impressive performances at youth level, he was promoted to Al-Najaf's first team to compete in the Iraq Stars League. On 11 August 2025, he joined Al-Gharraf on a one-season loan before returning to Al-Najaf for the 2025–26 campaign.[3] During the 2025–26 season, he scored his first goal in the Iraq Stars League on 17 April 2026, finding the net in stoppage time against Newroz to secure a dramatic 2–1 victory for Al-Najaf.[4] He added another goal on 27 April 2026 against Duhok, despite his team suffering a 2–1 defeat.[5][6] On 20 May 2026, he scored again against Al-Karkh in a 5–2 loss.[7][8] At the end of the season, Al-Najaf was relegated from the Iraq Stars League.[9] On 1 July 2026, he completed a permanent move to Al-Minaa, beginning a new chapter in his professional career.
International career
Aymen Luay received his first call-up to the Iraq national team setup in 2024, when Iraq-20 head coach Emad Mohammed named him in the 23-man squad for the 2025 AFC U-20 Asian Cup qualification in Thailand.[10] He made his debut against Brunei, scoring a hat-trick in his first appearance.[11][12] Following his impressive performances in the qualifiers, Luay was included in Iraq's 26-man squad for the 2025 AFC U-20 Asian Cup in China.[13] He scored in Iraq's opening match of the tournament against North Korea.[14][15]
Luay was also selected for the Iraq-23 squad that competed in the 2025 AGCFF U-23 Gulf Cup in Qatar,[16] During the tournament, he scored a goal against Oman.[17][18] Following that, he was included in Iraq's squad to participate in the 2026 AFC U-23 Asian Cup in Saudi Arabia.[19][20] Although Iraq did not qualify for the final tournament, Luay was one of the team's standout performers during the qualification campaign, producing impressive displays throughout the competition.[21]