2020–21 Iraqi Premier League

The 2020–21 Iraqi Premier League is the 47th season of the Iraqi Premier League since its establishment in 1974. The season started on 25 October 2020.[1]

Iraqi Premier League
Season2020–21
Top goalscorerAymen Hussein
(13 goals)
Biggest home winErbil 5–0 Al-Talaba
(7 January 2021)
Biggest away winAl-Najaf 0–3 (w/o) Naft Al-Wasat
(31 October 2020)
Al-Sinaat Al-Kahrabaiya 0–3 Al-Talaba
(31 October 2020)
Al-Samawa 0–3 Al-Shorta
(8 December 2020)
Highest scoringNaft Al-Wasat 5–1 Al-Samawa
(25 October 2020)
Al-Qasim 3–3 Naft Maysan
(27 October 2020)
Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya 5–1 Al-Samawa
(22 December 2020)
Al-Shorta 4–2 Al-Minaa
(2 January 2021)
Longest winning run4 matches
Al-Zawraa
Longest unbeaten run11 matches
Al-Shorta
Longest winless run10 matches
Al-Talaba
Al-Sinaat Al-Kahrabaiya
Longest losing run5 matches
Al-Talaba
All statistics correct as of 31 January 2021.

Al-Shorta are the defending champions, having won their fifth title in the 2018–19 season.[2] The 2019–20 campaign was abandoned due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Iraq. Al-Qasim and Zakho joined as the two promoted clubs from the 2018–19 Iraq Division One,[3] replacing Al-Bahri and Al-Hussein.[4]

Teams

Locations of the 2020–21 Iraqi Premier League teams

Twenty teams are competing in the league – the top eighteen teams from the 2018–19 season and the two promoted teams from the 2018–19 Iraq Division One.

Clubs and locations
Team Manager Captain Location Kit manufacturer Stadium Capacity
Al-Diwaniya Samir Kadhim Mustafa Nadhim Diwaniya Kappa Al-Diwaniya Stadium 5,000
Al-Hudood Mudhafar Jabbar Mahmoud Aiyal Baghdad RECO Al-Taji Stadium 5,000
Al-Kahrabaa Abbas Attiya Harith Falah Baghdad Jako Al-Taji Stadium 5,000
Al-Karkh Ahmad Abdul-Jabar Uday Shehab Baghdad Diadora Al-Saher Ahmed Radhi Stadium 5,000
Al-Minaa Abdul-Ghani Shahad Hussam Malik Basra Adidas Mohamed Musbah Al‑Waeli Stadium 10,000
Al-Naft Yahya Alwan Ahmed Abdul Majeed Baghdad Joma Al-Sinaa Stadium 10,000
Al-Najaf Haidar Aboodi Taher Hameed Najaf RECO Al-Najaf International Stadium 30,000
Al-Qasim Adel Nima Karrar Abed Yasser Al-Qasim city Diadora Al-Kifl Stadium 10,000
Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya Ayoub Odisho Hammadi Ahmed Baghdad Adidas Al-Shohada Stadium 32,000
Al-Samawa Shaker Mahmoud Haider Subhi Samawa Adidas Al-Samawa Stadium 5,000
Al-Shorta Aleksandar Ilić Mohammed Hameed Baghdad Qithara
(club's own brand)		 Al-Shaab Stadium 40,000
Al-Sinaat Al-Kahrabaiya Emad Aoda Hussein Mohammed Habib Baghdad Joma Al-Taji Stadium 5,000
Al-Talaba Hassan Ahmed Samal Saeed Baghdad Joma Al-Shaab Stadium 40,000
Al-Zawraa Radhi Shenaishil Alaa Abdul-Zahra Baghdad Adidas Al-Zawraa Stadium 15,000
Amanat Baghdad Essam Hamad Mustafa Karim Baghdad Adidas Amanat Baghdad Stadium 5,000
Erbil Rodion Gačanin Haider Qarman Erbil Umbro Franso Hariri Stadium 25,000
Naft Al-Basra[lower-alpha 1] Ammar Hussein Oday Taleb Basra Joma Mohamed Musbah Al‑Waeli Stadium 10,000
Naft Al-Wasat Jamal Ali Khaldoun Ibrahim Najaf Joma Al-Najaf International Stadium 30,000
Naft Maysan Razzaq Farhan Noor Sabri Amarah Umbro Maysan Olympic Stadium 25,000
Zakho Ahmad Salah Waleed Salem Zakho GABY FOX Zakho International Stadium 20,000
Notes
  1. On 23 October 2020, Naft Al-Junoob officially changed its name to Naft Al-Basra.

Managerial changes
Team Outgoing manager Manner of
departure		 Date of vacancy Position in table Incoming manager Date of
appointment
Al-Diwaniya Hazim Saleh Sacked 21 October 2020[5] Pre-season Saad Hafedh 21 October 2020[6]
Saad Hafedh Sacked 8 November 2020[7] 11th Qusay Munir 8 November 2020[8]
Al-Shorta Abdul-Ghani Shahad Resigned 8 November 2020[9] 5th Haitham Al-Shaboul (caretaker) 10 November 2020[10]
Haitham Al-Shaboul (caretaker) End of caretaker spell 5 December 2020 7th Aleksandar Ilić 5 December 2020[11]
Al-Samawa Ghalib Abdul Hussein Resigned 11 December 2020[12] 17th Shaker Mahmoud 14 December 2020[13]
Al-Zawraa Basim Qasim Mutual consent 31 December 2020[14] 7th Haidar Abdul-Amir (caretaker) 31 December 2020[15]
Haidar Abdul-Amir (caretaker) End of caretaker spell 3 January 2021 4th Radhi Shenaishel 3 January 2021[16]
Al-Najaf Hassan Ahmad Resigned 1 January 2021[17] 8th TBD TBD
Al-Qasim Jassim Jaber Resigned 1 January 2021[18] 20th Adel Nima 2 January 2021[19]
Al-Talaba Ahmed Khalef Resigned 3 January 2021[20] 11th TBD TBD

Foreign players

Iraqi clubs are allowed to have four foreign players at their disposal at any time.

  • Players in bold have been registered during the mid-season transfer window.
  • Players in italics have left the club during the mid-season transfer window.
Team Player 1 Player 2 Player 3 Player 4
Al-Diwaniya Isaac Padilla Cañadas Nathan Kabasele Weslei Pereira Maxi Rolón
Al-Hudood Abdoulaye Koffi Joseph Nathaniel
Al-Kahrabaa Amissah Anfoh Assan Gustave Moundi Djengue Raheem Owolabi Isiaka Jacob Youmbi
Al-Karkh Papa Koami Awounyo
Al-Minaa Rostand Junior M'baï Abdoul Madjid Moumouni Idrissa Niang
Al-Naft
Al-Najaf Wilson Akakpo Shadi Al Hamwi Didier Talla
Al-Qasim Fernando Cardoso
Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya Lema Mabidi
Al-Samawa
Al-Shorta Daniel Alejandro Hernández Christian Osaguona
Al-Sinaat Al-Kahrabaiya
Al-Talaba Hamza Ben Abda Moussa Dao Solomon Williams
Al-Zawraa Hassan Houbeib Zaher Midani
Amanat Baghdad Yousef Al-Alousi Samuel Eko Mohamad Kdouh
Erbil Daneil Cyrus Nidhal Saïed Airton Ribeiro Santos William Twala
Naft Al-Basra Adel Hamani Thaer Krouma
Naft Al-Wasat Moussa Camara Sheka Fofanah Didier Florent Koré Omar Mansouri
Naft Maysan Chisom Chikatara Ousmane Diabaté Zoe Alain Gamaliel Nasser Mohammedoh
Zakho Hélio Monteiro Batista Juan David Castañeda Bruno Lima Idrissa Traoré

League table
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
1 Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya 16 9 5 2 25 8 +17 32 Qualification for the AFC Champions League group stage
2 Al-Zawraa 16 8 7 1 20 8 +12 31 Qualification for the AFC Champions League preliminary round 2
3 Al-Shorta 16 8 7 1 20 9 +11 31
4 Naft Al-Wasat 16 8 5 3 22 13 +9 29
5 Al-Najaf 16 7 5 4 14 9 +5 26
6 Zakho 16 5 9 2 13 11 +2 24
7 Al-Naft 16 6 5 5 20 18 +2 23
8 Naft Maysan 16 5 8 3 16 15 +1 23
9 Amanat Baghdad 16 5 6 5 11 12 −1 21
10 Erbil 16 4 7 5 17 15 +2 19
11 Al-Kahrabaa 16 4 7 5 17 16 +1 19
12 Al-Diwaniya 16 3 10 3 10 12 −2 19
13 Al-Karkh 16 5 3 8 13 16 −3 18
14 Al-Minaa 16 4 5 7 14 19 −5 17
15 Naft Al-Basra 16 4 5 7 12 19 −7 17
16 Al-Samawa 16 4 4 8 10 23 −13 16
17 Al-Talaba 16 3 6 7 11 19 −8 15
18 Al-Hudood 16 2 8 6 13 19 −6 14 Qualification to the relegation play-off
19 Al-Qasim 16 2 6 8 14 20 −6 12 Relegation to the Iraq Division One
20 Al-Sinaat Al-Kahrabaiya 16 1 8 7 6 17 −11 11
Updated to match(es) played on 31 January 2021. Source: IPFL Official website
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.

Positions by round

The following table lists the positions of teams after each week of matches. In order to preserve the chronological evolution, any postponed matches are not included to the round at which they were originally scheduled but added to the full round they were played immediately afterward. If a club from the Iraqi Premier League wins the Iraq FA Cup, they will qualify for the AFC Champions League qualifying play-off alongside the league runners-up.

Team ╲ Round1234567891011121314151617181920212223242526272829303132333435363738
Al-Diwaniya4811141091012131311911121312
Al-Hudood10111212161216161617171516161618
Al-Kahrabaa16158101310141177121212101010
Al-Karkh1172581115151214141314131213
Al-Minaa12171919171412131515151718191714
Al-Naft2491146969129810867
Al-Najaf1718149111513141168107555
Al-Qasim6141718192020182020202019181919
Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya5211256832332111
Al-Samawa2091615121617171718181617151516
Al-Shorta8553772343223342
Al-Sinaat Al-Kahrabaya18202020201818191919191920202020
Al-Talaba133106534458101113141417
Al-Zawraa91247345225744423
Amanat Baghdad191915171417119810678999
Erbil36646237101113149111111
Naft Al-Basra14161816181919201816161815171815
Naft Al-Wasat1132111111111234
Naft Maysan710789138564455788
Zakho15131313158710149566676
Leader / AFC Champions League group stage
AFC Champions League qualifying play-off
Relegation play-off
Relegation to Iraq Division One
Updated to match(es) played on 22 January 2021. Source: Soccer Iraq

Season progress
Team ╲ Round1234567891011121314151617181920212223242526272829303132333435363738
Al-DiwaniyaWDLLWDDDDDWDLDDD
Al-HudoodDDDDLWLLDLDWLDDL
Al-KahrabaaLDWDDDLWWDLLDWLD
Al-KarkhDWWLLLLDWLLWLDWL
Al-MinaaDLLLWWDDDDLLLLWW
Al-NaftWDLDWDLWLLWDDWWL
Al-NajafLLWWDWDDWWDLDWW
Al-QasimDLDLLLDWLLDLWDLD
Al-Quwa Al-JawiyaWWWDLLDDWWDWWWDW
Al-SamawaLWLDWLLLDLDWLWLD
Al-ShortaDWDWLDWDDWWWDWDW
Al-Sinaat Al-KahrabayaLLLDDWDLDLDDDLLD
Al-TalabaDWLWDWDDDLDLLLLL
Al-ZawraaDDWDWDDWDDLWWWW
Amanat BaghdadLLWLWLWWDDWDLDDD
ErbilWDDWLWDLLDLDWLDD
Naft Al-BasraDLDDLLDLWWLLWLDW
Naft Al-WasatWWLWWDWDLWWWDLDD
Naft MaysanDDWDDLWWDWDLWLDD
ZakhoDDDDDWWLLWWDWDDD
Updated to match(es) played on 17 January 2021. Source: Soccerway
W = Win; D = Draw; L = Lose

Results
Home \ Away DIW HUD KAH KAR MIN NFT NJF QSM QWJ SMA SHR SNK TLB ZWR AMN ERB NFB NFW NFM ZAK
Al-Diwaniya 0–0 0–2 1–0 0–0 2–0 2–2 1–1 0–0
Al-Hudood 1–1 0–0 2–1 0–2 1–2 1–1 1–2 1–2
Al-Kahrabaa 2–2 1–0 1–1 0–1 2–2 1–1 0–1 1–0
Al-Karkh 1–0 0–2 1–2 2–1 0–2 2–0 0–1
Al-Minaa 0–0 2–2 0–1 1–0 0–0 0–1 1–0
Al-Naft 1–1 3–3 2–2 2–0 1–0 0–1 1–1 2–3
Al-Najaf 1–0 2–0 0–0 0–1 0–0 0–3[lower-alpha 1] 0–0
Al-Qasim 0–0 2–0 1–2 0–2 0–2 3–1 0–0 1–2 3–3
Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya 1–0 4–1 1–1 5–1 2–0 0–1 3–0 3–1
Al-Samawa 0–0 1–0 1–0 1–0 0–3 2–0 1–1 0–0
Al-Shorta 1–0 4–2 0–0 1–0 0–0 1–1 2–0 1–1
Al-Sinaat Al-Kahrabaiya 0–0 0–0 0–1 1–1 0–3 0–0 1–0 1–1 0–0
Al-Talaba 1–2 0–2 1–0 0–1 0–2 0–0 2–2 1–1
Al-Zawraa 3–0 2–2 1–1 1–1 1–0 1–0 0–1
Amanat Baghdad 1–1 0–1 0–1 1–1 0–2 3–0 1–1 0–0
Erbil 1–0 1–1 2–2 2–0 0–1 5–0 0–1 1–1
Naft Al-Basra 0–1 1–0 1–2 0–3 1–2 2–1 0–0 1–0
Naft Al-Wasat 1–0 0–1 5–1 0–2 1–0 2–1 0–1
Naft Maysan 0–0 3–2 2–1 0–0 1–1 0–0 1–1
Zakho 1–3 0–0 2–1 1–1 1–1 1–0 0–0 1–0 1–1
Updated to match(es) played on 31 January 2021. Source: IPFL Official website
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.
Notes:
  1. The Al-Najaf–Naft Al-Wasat match was awarded as a 3–0 win to Naft Al-Wasat, as Al-Najaf did not turn up for the game.

Season statistics
As of 30 January 2021

Top scorers
Rank Player Club Goals[21]
1 Aymen Hussein Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya 13
2 Mohannad Abdul-Raheem Al-Zawraa 9
3 Mohammed Ibrahim Al-Kahrabaa 7
Hussein Younis Al-Mina'a SC
5 Ahmed Laftah Al-Najaf 6
Ahmed Abdul Razzaq Naft Maysan FC
Jabbar Kareem Amanat Baghdad
Omar Mansouri Naft Al-Wasat
Moussa Adnan Al-Naft SC
Mohammed Dawood Yaseen Al-Naft SC
11
4 players
 5

Hat-tricks
PlayerForAgainstResultDateRef.
Mousa AdnanAl-NaftAl-Samawa3–1 (H)12 December 2020[22]
Aymen HusseinAl-Quwa Al-JawiyaAl-Naft4–1 (H)31 January 2021[23]

Clean sheets
Rank Player Club Clean
sheets
1 Sarhang Muhsin Amanat Baghdad 7
2 Mohammed Shaker Zakho 6
Mohammed Hameed Al-Shorta
4 Jalal Hassan Al-Zawraa 5
Mohammed Gassid Al-Najaf
Fahad Talib Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya
Ali Kadhim Naft Al-Wasat

Number of teams by region
Region Number Teams
Baghdad10Al-Hudood, Al-Kahrabaa, Al-Karkh, Al-Naft, Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya, Al-Shorta, Al-Sinaat Al-Kahrabaiya, Al-Talaba, Al-Zawraa and Amanat Baghdad
Basra2Al-Minaa and Naft Al-Basra
NajafAl-Najaf and Naft Al-Wasat
Northern IraqErbil and Zakho
Al-Qadisiya1Al-Diwaniya
MaysanNaft Maysan
BabilAl-Qasim
MuthannaAl-Samawa

Match ball

On 23 October 2020, Umbro announced their official partnership with Iraq Football Association to manufacture the official match ball for the Iraqi Premier League.[24][25] The official match ball is named Neo Toba.[26] The design was conceived in such a way as to reflect the colours of the Iraqi flag and the patterns represent symbols of ancient Mesopotamian civilization.[27] The term Toba is taken from the Iraqi dialect (Arabic: طوبة‎) which means "ball" in common parlance.[28]

References
  1. "Season dates". Eurosport. Retrieved 14 August 2020.
  2. "الشرطة يفوز بلقب الدوري العراقي".
  3. "صعود القاسم وزاخو".
  4. "فوز الصقور والحدود والنفط وهبوط البحري وفريق الحسين لدوري الدرجة الأولى".
  5. "إقالة صالح وتعيين حافظ مدرباً للديوانية".
  6. "رسمياً.. سعد حافظ مدرباً للديوانية".
  7. "إقالة مدرب فريق الديوانية سعد حافظ".
  8. "نادي الديوانية يسمي قصي منير مدرباً وأربيل أولى محطاته".
  9. "عبد الغني شهد يقدم استقالته من تدريب الشرطة".
  10. "قبول استقالة شهد والشبول مدرباً مؤقتاً للشرطة".
  11. "نادٍ عراقي يثير الجدل بإعادة مدربه المقال".
  12. "مدرب نادي السماوة غالب عبد الحسين يقدم استقالته بشكل نهائي".
  13. "شاكر محمود.. مدرب السماوة الجديد".
  14. "الزوراء يستغني عن باسم قاسم بالتراضي".
  15. "الزوراء يستعين بـ"حيدر عبد الامير" مدرباً مؤقتاً".
  16. "رسمياً.. راضي شنيشل مدرباً للزوراء".
  17. "حسن أحمد يكشف سبب استقالته من تدريب نادي النجف".
  18. "استقالة جديدة في الدوري العراقي الممتاز".
  19. "القاسم يتعاقد مع عادل نعمة صاحب لتدريب الفريق".
  20. "احمد خلف يعلن استقالته رسميا من تدريب الطلبة بسبب الازمة المالية".
  21. "Iraqi Premier League 2020-2021 – Scorers". Goalzz.com. Retrieved 2 December 2020.
  22. "موسى عدنان يسجل الهاتريك الأول في دورينا".
  23. "هداف الدوري العراقي يواصل خطف الأنظار بـ"هاتريك" قياسي".
  24. "Umbro announce partnership with Iraq Football Association".
  25. "Umbro Announces Partnership With Iraq Football Association As Official Kit Sponsor".
  26. "Neo Toba, official match ball of the Iraq Premier League".
  27. "Neo Toba Ball".
  28. "نيو طوبة للدوري الكروي الممتاز".
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