Iraqi Premier League
The Iraqi Premier League is the highest league in the league system of Iraqi football and currently contains the top 20 Iraqi football clubs. It is controlled by the Iraq Football Association and operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the Iraq Division One in which two teams get relegated and two teams get promoted each season.
The league was formed by the IFA in 1974 as the Iraqi National League, the first nationwide league of clubs in Iraq. The current format sees 20 teams playing 38 matches each, totalling 380 matches in the season.
Of the 76 teams to have competed since the inception of the league in 1974, 11 have won the title: Al-Zawraa, Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya, Al-Shorta, Al-Talaba, Erbil, Al-Rasheed, Al-Minaa, Salahaddin, Al-Jaish, Duhok and Naft Al-Wasat. The current champions are Al-Shorta, who won the title in 2018–19.
History
Origins
The Iraq Central FA League was a regional league for teams in Baghdad and its neighbouring cities; during its 26 seasons of existence, Al-Shorta won six titles, Al-Haris Al-Maliki, Amanat Baghdad and Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya each won five titles, Al-Kuliya Al-Askariya, Al-Athori and Al-Jaish each won one title and one season was abandoned. There were also leagues held each season in Basra, Kirkuk and Mosul, until the 1973–74 season when the National League of Clubs and Institutions was formed and won by Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya.Foundation
The league held its first season in 1974–75 and was originally composed of ten clubs. The first ever Iraqi Premier League goal was scored by Falah Hassan of Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya in a 1–1 draw with Al-Sinaa. The ten inaugural members of the new league were Al-Tayaran, Al-Shorta, Al-Naqil, Al-Samawa, Al-Jaish, Babil, Al-Baladiyat, Al-Rafidain, Al-Sinaa and Al-Muwasalat, and the league was won by Al-Tayaran.Development
The format of the Iraqi Premier League has changed multiple times throughout its existence. Below are some of the notable changes to the league's format that have happened over the years:- In the 1984–85 season, three points were awarded for a win for the first time, but this was changed back to two points for the following season.
- In the 1986–87 season, each team played each other four times in a quadruple round-robin format; this is the only time that this has happened in the league's history.
- The first time that the Iraqi Premier League was not held in a round-robin format was when it was split into four regional groups in the 1988–89 season, which were followed by another group stage, semi-finals, a third place match and a final. During this season, if a match ended in a draw, it would go to extra time and then penalties if necessary. A team would earn three points if they won a game by two goals or more. They would earn two points if they won a game by just one goal, and they would gain one point for winning a penalty shootout. Al-Rasheed won the league this season by beating Al-Talaba on penalties in the final.
- The 1992–93 Iraqi National League saw each team play a huge 69 games as each team played each other three times, meaning that a total of 828 games were played in that season. Each player was only allowed to play 46 games in the season.
- In the 1994–95 season, three points were awarded to a winning team as opposed to two, but four points were awarded to a team that won a game by three goals or more in order to encourage attacking football. Every season after this has seen three points awarded for a victory.
- The 2000–01 Iraqi Elite League started with a qualifying stage to decide which 16 teams would qualify for the league competition. 135 teams in total from all around Iraq competed in the qualifiers; for the first qualifying round they were split into various groups based on geographical position and the top-finishing teams from each group qualified for second qualifying round which consisted of more geographically based groups. The top-finishing teams of those groups qualified to the league which itself was a 30-round competition.
- The league had been played in a round-robin format from 1989 until 2003, but after the US invasion of Iraq in 2003, the IFA decided to change the league system into a system consisting of group stages, drawn based on geographical position. This was to make travel easier for the clubs. The group stage system remained in place from 2003–04 up until 2010–11, and the double round-robin system returned in the 2011–12 season. It lasted for only three seasons until the group stage format returned from the 2014–15 campaign, but the double round-robin format was once again reintroduced in 2016–17.
Trophy
The trophy is a flat shield, predominantly golden in colour. In the centre of the shield is a football made from golden and mirrored pieces, with a map of Iraq in the centre of the ball. Inside the map reads the word Iraq in Arabic, with the words Premier League Shield underneath completed with the season. Surrounding the football are the words Iraq Football Association written in Arabic at the top and in English at the bottom in silver text. Surrounding that text is another ring, the top half of which contains the Flag of Iraq and the bottom half of which contains 18 golden stars, representing the 18 historical provinces of Iraq. Connecting the two halves of the outer ring on both sides is the logo of the Iraq Football Association. Since the 2018–19 season, the shield has been surrounded by a silver frame, with a black ring on the outside bearing the words Premier League Shield, as well as a base which bears the name of the winning team. The underneath of the base consists of the Iraq Football Association's logo with the words Premier League Shield and the season written next to it.
This shield was first used as the Iraqi Premier League's trophy in the 2009–10 season. Prior to that, the trophy had been frequently changed. During the 1990s, the trophy was a golden shield with a photograph of Saddam Hussein in the centre, while the trophy was a flat silver shield in the 2001–02 season, a silver trophy in the 2004–05 season and a different golden trophy in each season up to and including the 2008–09 campaign.
List of champions
Most successful clubs"Baghdad's Big Four" dominanceEver since the Iraqi Premier League began, it has been dominated by the four biggest clubs in Baghdad: Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya, Al-Shorta, Al-Talaba and Al-Zawraa, who together contest the Baghdad Derby matches.Of the four teams, Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya have earned more top-four finishes than any other side over the 43 completed seasons, meanwhile Al-Zawraa have won the league title 14 times, far more than any of the other sides. Al-Shorta have retained the league more recently than any of the other three teams having been crowned champions in both the 2012–13 and 2013–14 seasons, and Al-Talaba are the most recent team to have won the Double which they achieved in 2001–02. From the 1989–90 season until the 2005–06 season, the league was won by one of the four Baghdad teams every single time and this was the greatest period of dominance that the four clubs enjoyed. Even before and after this period, the league title was usually won by one the clubs. After the 2003 US invasion of Iraq, players started to leave the Baghdad-based clubs and join clubs in the North such as Erbil and Duhok in order to escape the danger of the capital city. This led to a shift in the structure of the "Big Four" and Erbil won the league three times in a row between 2007 and 2009 with Duhok winning the league in 2010. In the 2008–09 season, none of Baghdad's Big Four clubs finished in the top four and this is the only time that this has ever happened in the history of the league; the top four spots were occupied by Erbil, Al-Najaf, Duhok and Amanat Baghdad. Baghdad's Big Four have returned to dominating the league in recent seasons though, winning six out of the last seven league titles. Competition formatCompetitionThere are 20 clubs in the Iraqi Premier League. During the course of a season each club plays the others twice, once at their home stadium and once at that of their opponents, for a total of 38 games. Teams receive three points for a win and one point for a draw. No points are awarded for a loss. Teams are ranked by total points, then goal difference, and then goals scored. If still equal, teams are deemed to occupy the same position. If there is a tie for the championship, for relegation, or for qualification to other competitions, a play-off match at a neutral venue decides rank. The two lowest-placed teams are relegated into the Iraq Division One, and the top two teams from the Iraq Division One are promoted in their place. Each club is allowed a maximum of four foreign players in their squad. The winners of the league qualify for the Iraqi Super Cup, a match played against the winners of the Iraq FA Cup.Qualification for international competitionsAt present, the winners of the Iraqi Premier League qualify for the AFC Champions League group stage, and the league runners-up qualify for the AFC Champions League preliminary round 2 alongside the winners of the Iraq FA Cup. The winners of the Iraqi Premier League also qualify for the Arab Club Champions Cup alongside the league runners-up, while the league's third place is admitted into the Arab Club Champions Cup preliminary round.International performanceCollectively, Iraqi clubs have reached thirteen finals of major continental club competitions. Al-Shorta were the first team to do so when they reached the Asian Club Championship final in 1971, defeating holders Taj Tehran 2–0 in the semis. They were set to face Maccabi Tel Aviv in the final but refused to play the game in protest at the Israeli occupation of Palestine; they were widely considered by the Arab media as the champions of the tournament with the subsequent expulsion of Israel from the Asian Football Confederation. Eleven years later, Al-Shorta were successful in another continental tournament, winning the Arab Club Champions Cup in 1982 by defeating Al-Nejmeh 4–2 on aggregate in the final.Meanwhile, Al-Rasheed won the Arab Club Champions Cup three times in a row in 1985, 1986 and 1987. Al-Rasheed also became the second Iraqi team to reach the final of the Asian Club Championship in 1989 but they lost a two-legged final on away goals to Al-Saad of Qatar. Al-Talaba reached the final of the 1995 Asian Cup Winners' Cup but they lost it 2–1 to Bellmare Hiratsuka, and five years later, Al-Zawraa lost the final of the same competition 1–0 to Shimizu S-Pulse in 2000. Erbil reached the final of Asia's second-tier tournament, the AFC Cup, twice but lost both times. Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya finally ended the succession of defeats two years later when they edged past Indian club Bengaluru FC 1–0 in the 2016 AFC Cup Final, and they won the competition for the second consecutive season in 2017 by beating FC Istiklol by the same scoreline. They earned a record third AFC Cup title in a row with a 2–0 defeat of Altyn Asyr in 2018. SponsorshipThe Iraqi Premier League has been sponsored by two different companies: Asia Cell and Fuchs Petrolub.
ClubsSeasons in Iraqi Premier League76 teams have taken part in at least a single round of the Iraqi Premier League since its first season in 1974–75 up until the 2019–20 season. The teams in bold are competing in the Iraqi Premier League in the 2019–20 season. Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya and Al-Shorta are the only teams to have played in every single one of the 46 Iraqi Premier League seasons.Clubs for 2019–20 seasonThe following 20 clubs are competing in the Iraqi Premier League during the 2019–20 season.
a: Founding member of the Iraqi Premier League b: Never been relegated from the Iraqi Premier League RecordsLeague records;Titles
;Golden Boot award
Match records;Scorelines
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Sahib Abbas
Ali Hashim
Karim Saddam
Thamer Yousif
Karim Saddam
Mustafa Karim
Asaad Abdul-Nabi
Nizar Mahrous
Lorival Santos
Nebojša Jovović