Yaser Kasim

In January 2020, Kasim signed for Iraqi Premier League club Erbil.

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.

In the summer of 2019, Kasim signed a one year contract with Swedish club Örebro SK, playing in the Allsvenskan. He was released after the 2019 season.

Kasim refused to playing several times for national teams in 2015 & 2016 and 2017. In September 2016, he attended after pressure from former coach Radhi Shenaishil and claimed an injury. he had left before than a month ago the Olympic team training camp before Rio 2016. In 2017, Kasim Ignore invitations from the new coach Basim Qasim, before announcing his retirement. then retreat from retirement after months. After returning from his decision to retire, he played a friendly match against Saudi Arabia national team on 28 February 2018.

In the summer of 2017 after he opted to leave Swindon Town, Kasim signed a two-year deal with Northampton Town of League One. He left the club in January 2019.

In his second season with Swindon, Yaser played 41 games, scoring three goals in all competitions. His first goal came against Crewe Alexandra in League One, his second came against Chesterfield in the same competition, while the last was against former club Brighton & Hove Albion in the league up. Swindon finished 4th in League One, which meant they qualified to the Championship play-offs. They reached the final but lost to Preston North End, narrowly missing out on promotion. Kasim missed some matches during January due to being called up for Iraq in the 2015 AFC Asian Cup, in which Iraq finished 4th.

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.

On 8 February 2013, Kasim joined Conference Premier side Macclesfield Town on an initial one-month loan.

The midfielder finally found regular first team football at the County Ground after an unproductive spell at Brighton & Hove Albion and loans stints at Macclesfield Town and Luton Town. Yaser signed a three-year deal with Swindon Town after a trial with the club. Despite being at the club for a few months, he was subject to a deadline day bid from an unknown championship side on deadline day that was rejected. In his first season with the club, Kasim played 45 times for the club, forming a midfield partnership with Australian Massimo Luongo. Manager Mark Cooper made him an instrumental part of the team, the team also reached the final of the Southern section of the JPT but lost on penalties to Peterborough United. Yaser converted his penalty. Yaser scored his first goal for the club on 21 December 2013. Scoring a goal in the 77th minute vs Coventry City. He scored his second goal in a 2-1 win over Peterborough United. In October 2013, Kasim signed a contract extension keeping him at the club till 2016. He received a one match suspension for an accumulation of yellow cards, he missed a league fixture vs Port Vale. The 2013/14 season ended with Swindon missing out on a place in the promotion play-offs as they finished 8th overall.

In his fourth season with Swindon, the club was relegated to EFL League Two. In his fourth and final season with Swindon Kasim had his Twitter account hacked, while his national coach questioned his desire to play for Iraq, and he spent a large percentage of the season on the medical table compounded by persistent groin and hip injuries – with his club ending the season relegated to the fourth tier of English football!

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.

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.

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.

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.

Yaser Safa Kasim Al-Qadefaje (Arabic: ياسر قاسم ‎; born 10 May 1991) is an Iraqi professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Erbil and the Iraqi national team.

In his third season in the club, Yaser was an established member of the squad and became the unofficial third captain for the club. He played 29 games, scoring once. A league goal vs Chesterfield in a 1-0 win. Swindon finished in a disappointing 15th position.