A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | CH | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9
Organising body | Iraqi Pro League Association |
---|---|
Founded | 18 August 1974 |
Country | Iraq |
Confederation | AFC |
Number of teams | 20 (since 2014–15) |
Level on pyramid | 1 |
Relegation to | Iraqi Premier Division League |
Domestic cup(s) | Iraq FA Cup Iraqi Super Cup |
International cup(s) | AFC Champions League Elite AFC Champions League Two Arab Club Champions Cup |
Current champions | Al-Shorta (6th title) (2022–23) |
Most championships | Al-Zawraa (14 titles) |
Top goalscorer | Amjad Radhi (181) |
TV partners | Al-Iraqiya TV Al-Rabiaa Sport |
Current: 2023–24 Iraq Stars League |
The Iraq Stars League (Arabic: دوري نجوم العراق, romanized: Dawrī Nujūm Al-'Irāq), is the highest level of the Iraqi football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the Iraqi Premier Division League. It is governed by the Iraqi Pro League Association.
The league was formed by the Iraq Football Association in 1974 as the Iraqi National Clubs League, the first nationwide league of clubs in Iraq, and later became known as the Iraqi Premier League. In 2023, the competition was transformed into a professional league under the name Iraq Stars League. The current format sees 20 teams playing 38 matches each (playing each team in the league twice, home and away), totalling 380 matches in the season.
Of the 79 teams to have competed since the inception of the league in 1974, eleven have won the title. Al-Zawraa are the most successful club with 14 titles, followed by Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya (7), Al-Shorta (6) and Al-Talaba (5), who together contest the Baghdad derbies. The current champions are Al-Shorta, who won the title in 2022–23.
History
Origins
Up until 1973, leagues in Iraq were played at a regional level.[1] The Central FA League, the Basra League and the Kirkuk League were all founded in 1948,[2] while the Mosul League was founded in 1950.[3] The first nationwide league to be held in the country was in the 1973–74 season when the Iraqi National First Division was formed,[4] with Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya being crowned champions.[5] The IFA then decided to replace the competition with a new National Clubs League which would only be open to clubs and not institute-representative teams.[6]
Foundation
The league held its first season in 1974–75 and was originally composed of ten clubs.[7] The league's first ever goal was scored by Falah Hassan of Al-Tayaran (now known as Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya) in a 1–1 draw with Al-Sinaa.[8] Al-Tayaran were crowned champions of the inaugural season which featured the following teams:[9]
"Stars League" formation
On 4 June 2023, Iraq Football Association (IFA) signed a three-year partnership agreement with Liga Nacional de Fútbol Profesional (LaLiga) to transform the Iraqi Premier League into a professional league from the 2023–24 season. The competition is named the Iraq Stars League and is designed to meet the licensing criteria set down by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). A new association named the Iraqi Pro League Association, chaired by Javier Jiménez Sacristán and Matteo Mantovani, was formed to operate the competition and supervise the associated youth leagues.[10] An Iraqi management team is also being trained by LaLiga to take control of the committee once the partnership deal ends.[11] A start date of 26 October 2023 was set for the first Stars League season.[12]
"Baghdad's Big Four" dominance
Season | QWJ | SHR | TLB | ZWR |
---|---|---|---|---|
1989–90 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 4 |
1990–91 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
1991–92 | 1 | 5 | 4 | 2 |
1992–93 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 2 |
1993–94 | 2 | 5 | 3 | 1 |
1994–95 | 2 | 6 | 4 | 1 |
1995–96 | 8 | 3 | 6 | 1 |
1996–97 | 1 | 5 | 3 | 2 |
1997–98 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 3 |
1998–99 | 3 | 5 | 2 | 1 |
1999–2000 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 1 |
2000–01 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 1 |
2001–02 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 4 |
Top four | 11 | 8 | 10 | 13 |
out of 13 | ||||
League champions |
Ever since the 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 derbies.[13] From the 1989–90 season until the 2005–06 season, the league was won by one of the four Baghdad teams every time.[6] 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 due to the economic instability and security issues in the capital city.[14] This led to a shift in the dominance of the "Big Four" as Erbil won three consecutive league titles from 2007 to 2009 with Duhok winning the league in 2010.[15] 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 happened in the history of the league; the top four spots were occupied by Erbil, Al-Najaf, Duhok and Al-Amana.[16] However, Baghdad's Big Four have since returned to dominating the league, having won all titles since 2015–16.
Competition format
Competition
There are currently 20 clubs in the Iraq Stars League. During the course of a season, each club plays the others twice (a double round-robin system), once at their home stadium and once at that of their opponents, for a total of 38 games (however, matches between Baghdad's Big Four clubs are played at the neutral venue of Al-Shaab Stadium to accommodate more spectators).[17]
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 head-to-head points, then head-to-head goal difference, then total goal difference, then number of wins and then goals scored.[17] 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.[17]
The two teams at the bottom of the league table are relegated to the Iraqi Premier Division League, while the top two teams in the Premier Division League are promoted to the Stars League. The 17th and 18th-placed teams in the Stars League compete in a play-off, with the winner remaining in the Stars League and the loser entering another play-off with the 3rd-placed team from the Premier Division League for a place in the following season's Stars League. Each club must register a squad of 35 players and can use up to five players from their youth team. Each club is allowed a maximum of seven foreign outfield players in their squad. A maximum of five substitutions are available per match for each team.[18]
The winners of the league qualify for the Iraqi Super Cup, a match played against the winners of the Iraq FA Cup (if the league winners also win the Iraq FA Cup, they play the league runners-up instead).[19]
Clubs
2023–24 season
Twenty clubs are competing in the 2023–24 Iraq Stars League, including two promoted from the Premier Division League:
2023–24 Club |
2022–23 Position |
First season in the league |
Seasons in the league |
First season of current spell in the league |
Titles | Most recent title |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Al-Hudood | 13th | 2008–09 | 12 | 2022–23 | 0 | – |
Al-Kahrabaa | 5th | 2004–05 | 19 | 2014–15 | 0 | – |
Al-Karkh | 12th | 1990–91 | 28 | 2018–19 | 0 | – |
Al-Minaa | 1st (PDL) | 1975–76 | 46 | 2023–24 | 1 | 1977–78 |
Al-Naftb | 16th | 1985–86 | 39 | 1985–86 | 0 | – |
Al-Najafb | 7th | 1987–88 | 37 | 1987–88 | 0 | – |
Al-Qasimb | 17th | 2019–20 | 5 | 2019–20 | 0 | – |
Al-Quwa Al-Jawiyaa, b | 2nd | 1974–75 | 50 | 1974–75 | 7 | 2020–21 |
Al-Shortaa, b | 1st | 1974–75 | 50 | 1974–75 | 6 | 2022–23 |
Al-Talabab | 4th | 1975–76 | 49 | 1975–76 | 5 | 2001–02 |
Al-Zawraab | 3rd | 1975–76 | 49 | 1975–76 | 14 | 2017–18 |
Amanat Baghdad | 2nd (PDL) | 1977–78 | 27 | 2023–24 | 0 | – |
Duhok | 9th | 1988–89 | 21 | 2022–23 | 1 | 2009–10 |
Erbil | 6th | 1987–88 | 32 | 2018–19 | 4 | 2011–12 |
Karbala | 8th | 1992–93 | 22 | 2022–23 | 0 | – |
Naft Al-Basra | 15th | 2004–05 | 19 | 2012–13 | 0 | – |
Naft Al-Wasatb | 18th | 2014–15 | 10 | 2014–15 | 1 | 2014–15 |
Naft Maysan | 11th | 2009–10 | 13 | 2013–14 | 0 | – |
Newrozb | 10th | 2021–22 | 3 | 2021–22 | 0 | – |
Zakho | 14th | 2002–03 | 19 | 2019–20 | 0 | – |
a: Founding member of the league
b: Never been relegated from the league
Map
Seasons
Since its first season in 1974–75 up until the 2023–24 season (not counting the qualifying rounds of the 2000–01 season), 79 teams have taken part in at least a single round. The teams in bold are competing in the Iraq Stars League in the 2023–24 season. Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya and Al-Shorta are the only teams to have played in every single one of the 50 seasons.
- Notes