Yaser Safa Kasim Al-Kadefaje (; born 10 May 1991) is an Iraqi footballer who plays as a midfielder for Eastbourne Borough.
Early life
At age 6 Kasim left Iraq with his family to Jordan and after spending a year in Jordan where he experienced his first taste of school, the family arrived in England. His mother told of a story of when he was young, kicking a ball in their second floor flat in West London, the peppy Yaser would break everything at home and have the neighbours below complaining about her son. They told her to take him to the park to play. She remembered one amusing memory of Yaser telling her to stand in goal so he could take shots at her!
Later Yaser's parents would take him to the Westway Sports Centre, paying £2 pound a week to play a variety of sports. They wanted him to take up tennis and he was a competent player however he pleaded to his parents to allow him to play football, his true passion.
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.
One of the significant moments in his career and a turning point in his life came when at the age of 18 he turned down a professional contract at Tottenham Hotspurs feeling that he would not get the opportunity progress at the club having seen other players languish in their reserves. "I spent nearly a year out of football", Yaser said. "It was a very tough year but the one person that was there for me was my dad. So I really appreciated that". That year and half out of football had a profound effect on the player and made him mentally stronger and that much more eager to succeed in a sport he knew he could play at the top level.
Club career
His career in England started in the youth teams at Premier League side Fulham. A coach at one of the sport centres that Kasim frequented took him to Fulham and he joined the youth setup there but left after a few months and switched to North London club Tottenham Hotspur.
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.
Brighton & Hove Albion
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.
On 21 May 2013, Kasim was released by Brighton.
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.
On 8 February 2013, Kasim joined Conference Premier side Macclesfield Town on an initial one-month loan.