Iraq Stars League

The Iraq Stars League ( ar, دوري نجوم العراق) is the top 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. The Central FA League, the Basra League and the Kirkuk League were all founded in 1948, while the Mosul League was founded in 1950. The first nationwide league to be held in the country was in the 1973–74 season when the Iraqi National First Division was formed, with Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya being crowned champions. 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.

Foundation

The league held its first season in 1974–75 and was originally composed of ten clubs. 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. Al-Tayaran were crowned champions of the inaugural season which featured the following teams:

"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. An Iraqi management team is also being trained by LaLiga to take control of the committee once the partnership deal ends. A start date of 26 October 2023 was set for the first Stars League season.

"Baghdad's Big Four" dominance

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. From the 1989–90 season until the 2005–06 season, the league was won by one of the four Baghdad teams every time. 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. 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. 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. 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).

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. 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 team at the bottom of the table is relegated to the Iraqi Premier Division League, while the 18th and 19th-placed teams compete in a two-legged play-off to determine the second team to be relegated. Meanwhile, the top two teams in the Premier Division League are promoted to the 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 six foreign outfield players, of which up to five can play at any given time, and no more than two players from foreign countries ranked below 90th in the FIFA Men's World Ranking can play at any given time. A maximum of five substitutions are available per match for each team.

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).

Clubs

2023–24 season

Twenty clubs are competing in the 2023–24 Iraq Stars League, including two promoted from the Premier Division League:

^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

Champions

International competitions

Qualification for Asian competitions

The champions of the Iraq Stars League qualify for the subsequent season's AFC Champions League Elite league stage, while the winners of the Iraq FA Cup qualify for the AFC Champions League 2 group stage. If the same team wins the Stars League and the FA Cup, the Stars League runners-up qualify for the AFC Champions League 2 group stage. The number of places allocated to Iraqi clubs in AFC competitions is dependent upon the position the country holds in the AFC Club Competitions Ranking, which is calculated based upon the performance of teams in AFC competitions in the previous four years.

Collectively, Iraqi teams have reached nine finals of Asian club competitions. Before the foundation of the national league, Aliyat Al-Shorta were the first Iraqi team to participate in the Asian Champion Club Tournament in 1971 and they reached the final, but they refused to play Israeli side Maccabi Tel Aviv and took the runner-up spot. Al-Rasheed reached 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 secondary tournament, the AFC Cup, twice in 2012 and 2014 but lost both times to Al-Kuwait and Al-Qadsia respectively. Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya managed to win the AFC Cup when they beat Indian club Bengaluru FC 1–0 in the 2016 final, and they won the competition for the second consecutive season in 2017 by beating FC Istiklol by the same scoreline. They earned a joint-record third AFC Cup title with a 2–0 defeat of Altyn Asyr in 2018.

Qualification for Arab competitions

The Stars League champions also qualify for the Arab Club Champions Cup, while the Stars League runners-up are admitted into the Arab Club Champions Cup qualifying rounds. Al-Shorta won the inaugural 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 and are the competition's joint-most successful side.

Sponsorship

The league was founded as the National Clubs League and has been renamed several times, with the current Stars League name remaining in place since 2023. The competition has had title sponsorship rights sold to three companies, which were Zain Iraq in the 2009–10 season, Asiacell in the 2010–11 and 2011–12 seasons and Fuchs in the 2015–16 season.

Players

Top scorers

Bold denotes players still playing in the Iraq Stars League.

Awards

Trophy

The current Iraq Stars League trophy is a flat octagonal shield which has been in use since the 2022–23 season. The outer edge of the shield is wooden and features ancient Sumerian symbols. The golden centre of the shield is adapted from the logo of the Iraq Football Association and also includes the logos of the participating clubs. The logo of the winning team is displayed at the bottom of the shield, with "Iraqi Football League Champion" written in Arabic along with the season.

Records

League records

;Titles
*Most titles: 14, Al-Zawraa
*Most consecutive title wins: 3 – joint record:
**Al-Zawraa twice ( 1993–94, 1994–95, 1995–96 and 1998–99, 1999–2000, 2000–01)
**Al-Rasheed ( 1986–87, 1987–88, 1988–89)
**Erbil ( 2006–07, 2007–08, 2008–09)
*Biggest title-winning margin: 21 points, 2021–22; Al-Shorta (91 points) over Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya (70 points)
*Smallest title-winning margin: 0 points, 0 goal difference and 2 wins – 1980–81; Al-Talaba (8 wins) over Al-Shorta (6 wins)
*Earliest title win with the most games remaining: 7 games, Al-Shorta ( 2021–22)

;Wins
*Most consecutive wins: 11, Al-Shorta (13 March – 22 May 1998)
*Most consecutive wins from the start of a season: 9 – joint record:
**Erbil ( 2008–09)
**Al-Zawraa ( 2017–18)
*Most consecutive wins to the end of a season: 11, Al-Shorta ( 1997–98)
*Defeated all league opponents at least once in a season: joint record:
**Al-Tayaran ( 1974–75, 9 opponents)
**Al-Zawraa ( 2000–01, 15 opponents)
**Al-Shorta ( 2021–22, 19 opponents)

;Losses
*Fewest losses in a season: 0 – joint record:
**Al-Zawraa four times ( 1976–77, 11 rounds, 1978–79, 12 rounds, 2005–06, 19 rounds, 2015–16, 24 rounds)
** Al-Jamiea ( 1976–77, 11 rounds)
**Al-Minaa ( 1977–78, 13 rounds)
**Al-Shorta ( 1980–81, 11 rounds)
** Salahaddin ( 1982–83, 22 rounds)
**Al-Jaish ( 1983–84, 24 rounds)
*Longest unbeaten run: 39 games – joint record:
**Al-Zawraa (25 November 1993 – 3 October 1994)
**Al-Shorta (21 May 2018 – 23 May 2019)

;Goals
*Most consecutive matches scored in: 37, Al-Shorta (13 October 1997 – 13 November 1998)
*Most consecutive matches without conceding a goal: 14, Erbil (16 July 2009 – 20 March 2010)
*Scored in every match during a season: joint record:
**Al-Shorta twice ( 1980–81, 11 rounds, and 1997–98, 30 rounds)
**Al-Zawraa ( 1976–77, 11 rounds)
**Al-Minaa ( 1977–78, 13 rounds)
**Karbala ( 2005–06, 16 rounds up to elimination)

Match records

;Scorelines
*Highest scoring match: 11 goals – joint record:
** Al-Naqil 11–0 Al-Shorta (12 October 1974)
** Al-Ramadi 11–0 Kirkuk (15 May 1995)
**Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya 9–2 Al-Diwaniya (11 May 2023)

;Attendances
*Highest attendance, single game: 68,000, Al-Shorta ''v.'' Al-Zawraa (at Al-Shaab Stadium, 13 December 1991)

Player records

;Appearances
*Youngest player: Amjad Kalaf, 13 years and 101 days (for Al-Kut ''v.'' Al-Basra, 14 January 2005)

;Titles
*Most titles: 7 – joint record:
**Salam Hashim (three with Al-Rasheed in 1986–87, 1987–88 and 1988–89 and four with Al-Zawraa in 1990–91, 1993–94, 1994–95 and 1995–96)
**Mohamed Jassim Mahdi (seven with Al-Zawraa in 1990–91, 1993–94, 1994–95, 1995–96, 1998–99, 1999–2000, 2000–01)
*Most titles as captain: 3 – joint record:
**Hazem Jassam (three with Al-Zawraa in 1975–76, 1976–77 and 1978–79)
**Ahmed Radhi (one with Al-Rasheed in 1988–89 and two with Al-Zawraa in 1990–91 and 1998–99)
** Rafid Badr Al-Deen (three with Erbil in 2006–07, 2007–08 and 2008–09)

;Goals
*Most goals: 179, Amjad Radhi
*Most goals for one club: 149, Ali Hashim (for Al-Najaf)
*Most top scorer awards: 4, Karim Saddam ( 1988–89, 1989–90, 1990–91, 1992–93)
*Most consecutive top scorer awards: 3 – joint record:
**Rahim Hameed ( 1985–86, 1986–87, 1987–88)
**Karim Saddam ( 1988–89, 1989–90, 1990–91)
*Most goals in a season: 36, Younis Abid Ali ( 1993–94, 50 rounds)
*Most goals in a single game: 6 – joint record:
**Shakir Mohammed Sabbar (for Al-Ramadi ''v.'' Kirkuk, 15 May 1995)
** Sahib Abbas (for Al-Zawraa ''v.'' Al-Karkh (for Al-Talaba ''v.'' Al-Mosul, 9 January 1998)
*Fastest goal: 7 seconds, Alaa Abdul-Sattar (for Al-Zawraa ''v.'' Al-Kadhimiya, 25 January 2002)
*Most hat-tricks: 10 – joint record:
**Qahtan Chathir
** Sahib Abbas
*Most hat-tricks in a season: 4, Qahtan Chathir (Al-Karkh

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