Ultras Green Harp

Ultras Green Harp is an ultras group consisting of Iraqi club Al Shorta SC supporters who support the club in all sports in which they participate in, primarily in football matches.
The group was formed in 2012 at the start of the 2012-13 season and grew to about 3,000 members in its first three months. That number has since risen to over 12,000 and the ultras group is now one of Asia's most recognised and respected fan groups.
Formation
The idea of starting an ultras group came from Al Shorta fans discussing the idea on Facebook and eventually coming together to create the group. They named it Ultras Green Harp as the club's nickname is the Green Harps. The number of members gradually increased with every passing game of the 2012-13 campaign until it was the biggest fans group in the Iraqi Premier League. Al Shorta won the league in the ultras group's first season in existence. The group leads the chants inside the stadium and provides flags and banners for fans to wave during the game to create an exciting atmosphere. It is a self-financed group that travels to both home and away matches in cities all over Iraq.
Logo
The group's first logo was based off of the club's official logo at the time but was different in the fact that rather than having a green harp in the centre of the logo it had a supporter. The club's name was replaced with the words Ultras Green Harp and the club's year of foundation (1932) was replaced with the ultras group's year of foundation (2012).
This logo lasted for less than a year before the group changed it to a more original white circular logo. The logo originally had Ultras Green Harp and 2012 written in green text but it has since been changed to black.
Matches
Before kickoff, the Ultras Green Harp members usually hold up a large banner to intimidate the opposition. This banner changes with every match depending on the opposition. For example, before a match with rivals Al Talaba in April 2016, fans held a banner showing a man in an Al Shorta shirt grabbing a man in an Al Talaba shirt by the neck, whilst before a match with Naft Al Wasat, fans held up a banner saying "Revenge" after Naft Al Wasat had pipped them to the title the previous season by beating them twice. They are known for setting off fireworks when Al Shorta score a goal and using flares before and during games. During the match, they typically wave flags and chant songs to inspire their team to victory, and often use instruments such as drums and air horns to create a lively atmosphere.
Controversy
After a 2-0 defeat to Naft Al Wasat in July 2015 (a match which ended Al Shorta's hopes of a third straight league title), a few Al Shorta fans ripped some seats out of the Al Shaab Stadium in anger and caused a lot of harm to one of the stands. The Ultras Green Harp group was widely blamed for this, however it was only a select few fans who did the damage. Many Ultras Green Harp members visited the stadium the following day to help repair the broken seats and fix the damaged stand.
Influence
The foundation of Ultras Green Harp inspired fans of many other clubs to do the same, creating an "ultras movement" in Iraqi football and therefore significantly improving the atmosphere at most of the big Iraqi Premier League games. Al Quwa Al Jawiya fans set up the Ultras Blue Hawks group, Al Minaa fans set up the Ultras The Sailors group and Al Talaba set up the Ultras Elegant Boys group.

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