Al-Shorta was formally established as a sports club in 1978 after a clubs-only policy was introduced to Iraqi football.

[2] Al-Shorta have won two Iraqi Super Cup titles and are also the only team to win the Umm al-Ma'arik Championship three times in a row.

[15] At the end of that season, Aliyat Al-Shorta secured promotion to the top-flight, meaning there were two Police teams in the top division.

From this point, the Al-Shorta Select XI would only compete in the Republic Championship and in matches against visiting foreign teams.

[17] Formed from the best players of the individual Police teams, the Al-Shorta Select XI won the Republic Championship in both 1968 and 1969.

[17] The PGD was strongly opposed to the IFA's new clubs-only policy and thus decided to field a team of amateurs for Al-Shorta to compete in the inaugural 1974–75 season in protest.

[22] Al-Shorta won their first national league title in the 1979–80 season, finishing ahead of rivals Al-Zawraa on goal difference under the leadership of former player Douglas Aziz.

Al-Shorta were 2–1 down to Al-Sulaikh before an 84th-minute goal from Mufeed Assem and a 91st-minute penalty kick from league top scorer Mahmoud Majeed earned a dramatic 3–2 victory, which was enough to overtake Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya (who had drawn 1–1 with Al-Zawraa) and achieve their second Premier League title and first for eighteen years.

Al-Shorta finished in first place in the Premier League in 2013–14 under Brazilian coach Lorival Santos but the season was ended prematurely due to the worsening war situation in the country.

Al-Shorta set a record for the earliest Iraqi Premier League title win with seven rounds of the competition remaining, finishing a record 21 points clear at the top of the table, and became the first club to beat all other teams in a 20-team season and the first club to win all Baghdad derbies home and away in one season.

[41] Al-Shorta also reached the semi-finals of the 2023 Arab Club Champions Cup, defeating CS Sfaxien and Al-Sadd before losing 1–0 to Al-Nassr from a penalty scored by Cristiano Ronaldo.

[43] They coupled that success with their first Iraq FA Cup title, beating Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya 1–0 in the final to secure the domestic double.

[45] Al-Shorta began to wear a harp on their shirts in the 1992–93 season, after television presenter Majid Abdul-Haq coined the now-popular nickname Al-Qithara (The Harp) to refer to the club on his program Letter of the League by likening the team's attractive style of play to the tunes of a musical instrument.

[45] In 2005, Al-Shorta adopted a new emblem which was blue with a green outline, with a harp featuring in the centre of the crest along with the Iraq flag.

In August 2020, Al-Shorta launched their own clothing brand called Qitharah to manufacture kits and other apparel for the club.

It is a self-financed group that travels to both home and away matches across Iraq, providing flags and banners for fans to wave during the game.

Before kickoff, the Ultras Green Harp members often hold up a large banner which can vary depending on the opposition.

[60] The Baghdad derbies are often considered to be the most important games of a season and they are usually held at neutral venues such as Al-Shaab Stadium to accommodate a larger number of spectators.

[62] Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya are also Al-Shorta's local rivals as the two clubs' stadiums are located within a short distance of each other on Falastin Street.

[65][68][69][70] Construction work was suspended in December 2015 before resuming in November 2022, with the all-seater stadium set to be opened in April 2025.

[72] Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply.

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply.