Swindon Town youth ace Botan Ameen makes first Iraqi national starting appearance

Swindon Town Academy forward Botan Ameen has made his first International starting appearance during a recent Iraqi U19

The youngster was in the starting line-up for his national side in their group clash against Lebanon as part of the West Asian Football Federation U19 Championship.

The prolific striker didn't have his name registered on the scoresheet, but he played a part in a 2-0 victory over his country's opponents which sees them second in their group behind Jordan.

The Iraqi U19s finished on five points after three games, Jordan settled just ahead with 7 points, Albania were below them with 4 points and Lebanon was bottom with zero.

Despite this, the team exited the tournament on number of goals scored, despite a win in the final group match against Lebanon.

The Iraq Football Twitter account marked the achievement of the Swindon player, it said: "Congratulations to Swindon Town Academy forward Botan Ameen on making his first official start for the U19 Iraq national team today in a 2-0 win."

The Swindon Town Academy account followed suit, and said: "Congratulations, Botan! A fantastic achievement and well done from all of us at STFC Academy!"

Ameen was been called up to the national youth side following a strong showing in 2023/24, which saw him score regularly in both the Youth Alliance League and Merit League One, as well as scoring three goals in four games in the FA Youth Cup that saw Town U18s reach the quarter-final stage for the first time in a number of years.

Notably, Ameen was the hero on the night Town took on Manchester United as he turned home twice in the first half to help stun a dominant side that had won all 11 of their Under-18 Premier League games so far that season.

The young forward was invited to a training camp to prepare for the upcoming AFC U20 Asia Cup 2025 Qualifiers with Iraq U20s, as he looks to make his first international appearances for his country later this year.

His performances have also seen him training on numerous occasions with Town's first team.

Ameen follows in the footsteps of former Town midfielder Yaser Kasim, who won 21 caps for Iraq and made the semi-finals of the AFC Asia Cup with them in 2015, having also represented them at under-23 level.