2023–24 Iraq Stars League

Iraq Stars League
Season2023–24
Dates26 October 2023 – 14 July 2024
ChampionsAl-Shorta
(7th title)
RelegatedAmanat Baghdad
Naft Al-Wasat
AFC Champions League EliteAl-Shorta
AFC Champions League TwoAl-Quwa Al-Jawiya
AGCFF Gulf Club Champions LeagueDuhok
Matches played380
Goals scored872 (2.29 per match)
Top goalscorerAymen Hussein
(27 goals)
Highest scoringKarbala 3–5 Erbil
(19 February 2024)
Al-Shorta 4–4 Newroz
(4 May 2024)
Duhok 4–4 Al-Minaa
(1 July 2024)
Newroz 4–4 Erbil
(14 July 2024)
Longest winning run8 matches
Al-Zawraa
Longest unbeaten run23 matches
Al-Shorta
Longest winless run31 matches
Naft Al-Wasat
Longest losing run5 matches
Al-Qasim
Naft Al-Wasat
← 2022–23
(Iraqi Premier League)

The 2023–24 Iraq Stars League was the 50th season of the highest tier football league in Iraq since its establishment in 1974, and the first season since launching as a professional league under the name Iraq Stars League. The season started on 26 October 2023 and ended on 14 July 2024, with the post-season play-offs held from 19–24 July 2024.[1]

Al-Shorta won the league title for the third season in a row, sealing the title in the penultimate round of the season by defeating Duhok 1–0. Al-Shorta also won the Iraq FA Cup title to secure the double.[2]

Overview

20 teams competed in the 2023–24 Iraq Stars League: 18 teams from the 2022–23 Iraqi Premier League, as well as Al-Minaa and Amanat Baghdad who were promoted from the 2022–23 Iraqi First Division League and both returned to the top tier after a one-year absence.[3][4]

Teams

class=notpageimage|
Locations of the 2023–24 Iraq Stars League teams

Clubs and locations

Team Manager Location Stadium Capacity
Al-Hudood Iraq Adel Nima Baghdad Al-Saher Ahmed Radhi Stadium 5,150
Al-Kahrabaa Iraq Luay Salah Baghdad Al-Zawraa Stadium 15,443
Al-Karkh Egypt Haitham Shaaban Baghdad Al-Saher Ahmed Radhi Stadium 5,150
Al-Minaa Iraq Hassan Ahmed Basra Al-Minaa Olympic Stadium 30,000
Al-Naft Iraq Basim Qasim Baghdad Al-Madina Stadium 32,000
Al-Najaf Iraq Abdul-Ghani Shahad Najaf Al-Najaf International Stadium 30,000
Al-Qasim Syria Ayman Hakeem Babil Karbala International Stadium 30,000
Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya Iraq Razzaq Farhan Baghdad Al-Shaab Stadium 35,700
Al-Shorta Egypt Moamen Soliman Baghdad Al-Shaab Stadium 35,700
Al-Talaba Iraq Qahtan Chathir Baghdad Al-Shaab Stadium 35,700
Al-Zawraa Iraq Essam Hamad Baghdad Al-Zawraa Stadium 15,443
Amanat Baghdad Iraq Abbas Obeid Baghdad Al-Madina Stadium 32,000
Duhok Iraq Ahmed Khalaf Duhok Duhok Stadium 22,800
Erbil Iraq Samir Babo Erbil Franso Hariri Stadium 25,000
Karbala Iraq Chasib Sultan Karbala Karbala International Stadium 30,000
Naft Al-Basra Jordan Haitham Al-Shaboul Basra Al-Minaa Olympic Stadium 30,000
Naft Al-Wasat Iraq Emad Aoda Najaf Al-Najaf International Stadium 30,000
Naft Maysan Iraq Ali Abdul-Jabbar Maysan Maysan Olympic Stadium 25,000
Newroz Syria Nizar Mahrous Sulaymaniya Sulaymaniya Stadium 15,000
Zakho Qatar Talal Al-Bloushi Duhok Zakho International Stadium 20,000

League table

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
1 Al-Shorta (C) 38 26 9 3 76 36 +40 87 Qualification for the AFC Champions League Elite league stage
2 Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya 38 24 10 4 68 32 +36 82 Qualification for the AFC Champions League Two group stage[a]
3 Al-Zawraa 38 21 12 5 54 23 +31 75 Qualification for the regional competition play-offs
4 Al-Najaf 38 19 10 9 45 28 +17 67[b]
5 Zakho 38 17 16 5 37 20 +17 67[b]
6 Duhok 38 14 16 8 41 33 +8 58 Qualification for the AGCFF Gulf Club Champions League group stage via the regional competition play-offs
7 Newroz 38 15 11 12 61 49 +12 56
8 Al-Talaba 38 13 14 11 40 38 +2 53
9 Al-Hudood 38 13 11 14 38 47 −9 50
10 Naft Maysan 38 10 17 11 41 40 +1 47
11 Al-Naft 38 10 16 12 37 44 −7 46
12 Al-Minaa 38 10 12 16 38 59 −21 42
13 Al-Kahrabaa 38 8 17 13 47 51 −4 41[c]
14 Erbil 38 9 14 15 46 50 −4 41[c]
15 Al-Karkh 38 7 18 13 36 45 −9 39
16 Karbala 38 8 13 17 39 60 −21 37
17 Al-Qasim 38 8 14 16 42 53 −11 35[d] Qualification for the relegation play-out round
18 Naft Al-Basra 38 8 10 20 29 46 −17 34
19 Amanat Baghdad (R) 38 6 13 19 33 53 −20 31 Relegation to the Iraqi Premier Division League
20 Naft Al-Wasat (R) 38 1 13 24 24 65 −41 16
Source: IPFL
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal difference; 4) goal difference; 5) number of goals scored; 6) number of wins.
(C) Champions; (R) Relegated
Notes:
  1. ^ Since the winners of the 2023–24 Iraq FA Cup, Al-Shorta, qualified for the AFC Champions League Elite based on league position, the AFC Champions League Two spot was passed to the league runners-up Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya.
  2. ^ a b Al-Najaf finished ahead of Zakho on head-to-head points: Zakho 1–1 Al-Najaf, Al-Najaf 2–1 Zakho.
  3. ^ a b Al-Kahrabaa finished ahead of Erbil on head-to-head goal difference: Erbil 1–0 Al-Kahrabaa, Al-Kahrabaa 3–1 Erbil.
  4. ^ Al-Qasim were deducted three points for withdrawing from their match with Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya.[5]

Results

Home \ Away HUD KAH KKH MIN NFT NJF QSM QWJ SHR TLB ZWR AMN DHK ERB KRB NFB NFW NFM NEW ZAK
Al-Hudood 0–0 3–2 2–1 1–2 0–3 3–3 0–3 0–4 1–2 0–1 2–1 0–1 1–0 0–2 2–1 2–0 1–2 2–1 0–0
Al-Kahrabaa 1–1 2–2 2–2 2–2 1–2 1–2 2–2 2–2 0–3 1–1 1–0 1–1 3–1 0–1 3–1 3–0 1–0 1–1 1–3
Al-Karkh 0–1 3–3 4–1 0–0 0–3 1–1 0–1 1–4 1–1 0–3 0–0 1–0 0–0 1–2 1–0 0–0 0–0 2–1 0–1
Al-Minaa 1–1 1–3 1–3 0–0 2–1 1–0 0–0 0–3[a] 0–0 1–3 0–2 2–0 0–3 1–1 1–1 4–2 3–0 1–4 0–2
Al-Naft 0–2 3–2 2–2 1–1 2–1 3–2 1–4 1–1 2–1 0–2 0–1 0–0 0–1 1–1 0–0 1–0 0–2 0–1 0–0
Al-Najaf 1–0 1–0 3–2 2–0 1–0 1–0 0–1 2–2 2–0 0–0 1–1 1–0 1–1 0–2 0–0 2–0 0–0 1–0 2–1
Al-Qasim 1–0 3–3 0–0 0–0 2–3 1–2 1–1 2–3 2–2 1–3 2–0 1–3 2–1 0–1 3–0[b] 2–2 0–3 0–1 0–0
Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya 3–2 2–0 1–0 4–2 2–0 1–0 3–0[c] 2–2 1–1 0–1 1–1 1–0 2–1 2–1 0–0 3–2 1–1 2–1 2–1
Al-Shorta 2–0 2–1 2–1 2–0 0–1 2–0 2–0 1–1 3–2 2–2 2–1 1–0 2–1 2–1 1–0 3–0 3–0 4–4 2–0
Al-Talaba 0–1 2–0 1–0 0–1 0–0 2–1 1–1 1–2 2–1 0–1 3–2 0–2 1–0 0–0 2–3 1–2 0–4 1–0 1–1
Al-Zawraa 2–0 1–0 1–1 1–0 1–1 0–0 1–0 0–0 0–2 1–1 0–0 3–0 3–0 5–2 3–0 2–0 3–1 0–2 1–1
Amanat Baghdad 0–0 1–1 1–1 0–1 2–2 1–2 0–1 0–2 1–2 0–2 1–2 2–2 1–3 3–1 1–1 1–1 1–1 0–2 0–0
Duhok 0–0 1–1 0–0 4–4 0–0 1–0 1–0 2–1 2–0 1–3 1–1 2–0 2–1 2–1 2–0 2–2 2–2 1–0 0–0
Erbil 0–0 1–0 0–0 1–2 1–1 1–1 0–1 1–4 2–4 0–0 0–1 4–1 1–1 4–1 0–0 1–0 2–0 1–1 0–2
Karbala 1–1 0–0 2–1 1–2 0–2 0–0 1–1 0–3 1–2 0–0 1–0 1–2 1–1 3–5 2–2 2–2 0–0 2–4 0–1
Naft Al-Basra 1–2 2–0 1–2 0–1 1–0 0–1 0–2 2–3 0–1 1–1 0–2 3–0 2–0 1–1 0–1 1–0 0–2 0–1 0–2
Naft Al-Wasat 1–2 0–2 1–2 0–0 0–4 1–2 1–1 0–1 0–1 0–0 0–1 0–2 0–0 1–1 2–2 0–2 0–2 0–4 1–2
Naft Maysan 1–1 0–0 1–1 3–0 0–0 2–1 2–2 0–4 2–3 0–1 1–1 0–1 0–3 1–1 3–0 1–2 0–0 2–2 2–0
Newroz 2–3 1–1 1–1 0–0 3–1 0–3 2–1 4–2 1–1 1–2 1–0 3–2 0–1 4–4 3–0 1–1 4–3 0–0 0–2
Zakho 1–1 0–2 0–0 3–1 3–0 1–1 1–1 1–0 0–0 0–0 1–0 1–0 0–0 2–1 2–1 1–0 0–0 0–0 1–0
Source: IPFL
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.
For upcoming matches, an "a" indicates there is an article about the rivalry between the two participants.
Notes:
  1. ^ The Al-Minaa–Al-Shorta match was awarded as a 3–0 win to Al-Shorta, as Al-Minaa started the game with only seven players and had their player Mohammed Khudhair go off injured in the eighth minute while Al-Shorta were leading 1–0.[6]
  2. ^ The Al-Qasim–Naft Al-Basra match originally ended 0–0 but was changed to a 3–0 win for Al-Qasim due to Naft Al-Basra involving the player Qasim Mohammed, who had not been included in the squad list submitted for the match.[7]
  3. ^ The Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya–Al-Qasim match was awarded as a 3–0 win to Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya, after Al-Qasim withdrew from the game in protest at the referee awarding a penalty to Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya in the 32nd minute while the score was 0–0.[8]

Regional competition play-offs

The four teams that finished 3rd to 6th competed in a play-off tournament to decide Iraq's participant in the 2024–25 AGCFF Gulf Club Champions League. If a match ended in a draw after 90 minutes, there would be no extra time played and the game would go straight to a penalty shootout.[9]

Play-off semi-finals

Al-Zawraa0–3
(Walkover)		Duhok
Al-Najaf0–0Zakho
Penalties
 4–3

Play-off final

Duhok1–0Al-Najaf
Younis 37'

Duhok qualified for the 2024–25 AGCFF Gulf Club Champions League.

Relegation play-offs

Play-out round

The 17th and 18th-placed teams competed in a play-off, with the winner remaining in the Stars League and the loser advancing to the relegation play-off.

If the scores were level after 90 minutes, 30 minutes of extra time would be played. If the scores were still level after extra time, the 18th-placed team would advance to the relegation play-off due to their inferior league position.[9]

Al-Qasim1–2Naft Al-Basra
Gyan 10' Salih 59'
Raad 90'

Relegation play-off

The loser of the play-out round competed in a play-off with the 3rd-placed team from the Premier Division League for a place in next season's Stars League. If the match ended in a draw after 90 minutes, there would be no extra time played and the game would go straight to a penalty shootout.[9]

Al-Qasim2–1Peshmerga Sulaymaniya
Mhaisen 80'
Abdul-Karim 90+6'		 Jamal 72'

Al-Qasim remained in the Iraq Stars League, while Peshmerga Sulaymaniya remained in the Iraqi Premier Division League.

Season statistics

Top scorers

Rank Player Team Goals
1 Iraq Aymen Hussein Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya 27
2 Syria Mahmoud Al-Mawas Al-Shorta 20
3 Syria Alaa Al Dali Naft Maysan 18
Iraq Ibrahim Ghazi Al-Hudood
5 Iraq Mohanad Ali Al-Shorta 16
Nigeria Ibrahim Tomiwa Newroz
Iraq Mohammed Qasim Nassif Erbil

Hat-tricks

Main article: List of Iraq Stars League hat-tricks
Player For Against Result Date
Syria Alaa Al Dali Naft Maysan Al-Talaba 4–0 (A)[10] 4 November 2023
Syria Alaa Al Dali Naft Maysan Al-Minaa 3–0 (H)[11] 1 December 2023
Iraq Aymen Hussein Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya Al-Minaa 4–2 (H)[12] 10 February 2024
Nigeria Okiki Afolabi Al-Naft Naft Al-Wasat 4–0 (A)[13] 17 February 2024
Iraq Mohammed Qasim Nassif Erbil Karbala 5–3 (A)[14] 19 February 2024
Iraq Aymen Hussein Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya Al-Naft 4–1 (A)[15] 4 March 2024
Iraq Marwan Hussein Newroz Al-Minaa 4–1 (A)[16] 25 April 2024
Nigeria Ibrahim Tomiwa Newroz Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya 4–2 (H)[17] 31 May 2024
Liberia William Jebor4 Al-Minaa Naft Al-Wasat 4–2 (H)[18] 18 June 2024
Notes

4 Player scored 4 goals
(H) – Home team
(A) – Away team

Awards

Award Winner Club
Player of the Season[19] Syria Mahmoud Al-Mawas Al-Shorta
Goal of the Season[20][21] Iraq Bassam Shakir Al-Shorta

References

  1. ^ "Dirjal: Iraq's qualification for the 2026 World Cup begins with the establishment of a professional league". Sports Asharq (in Arabic). 8 July 2023. Retrieved 9 July 2023.
  2. ^ "لأول مرة في تاريخه.. الشرطة يتوج بطلاً لكأس العراق لكرة القدم" (in Arabic). Shafaq. 10 July 2024.
  3. ^ "Dirjal reveals undisclosed details about the Iraqi Pro League" (in Arabic). Winwin. Retrieved 9 July 2023.
  4. ^ "Iraq signs 2 contracts with Spanish La Liga to develop Iraqi football". Xinhua. Retrieved 9 July 2023.
  5. ^ "القاسم يرد رسميا على قرارات لجنة الانضباط". kooora.com (in Arabic). 24 February 2024.
  6. ^ "إنهاء مباراة الشرطة والميناء بعد 11 دقيقة فقط!". kooora.com (in Arabic). 3 November 2023.
  7. ^ "خطأ إداري يكلف نفط البصرة الخسارة أمام القاسم". kooora.com (in Arabic). 28 November 2023.
  8. ^ "أزمة التحكيم تتفاقم.. انسحاب القاسم من مواجهة القوة الجوية". kooora.com (in Arabic). 23 February 2024.
  9. ^ a b c ""الإهمال" يضع أندية العراق في مأزق" (in Arabic). winwin.com. 13 July 2024.
  10. ^ "هاتريك الدالي يقود نفط ميسان لانتصار تاريخي على الطلبة" (in Arabic). Kooora. 4 November 2023.
  11. ^ "هاتريك الدالي يقود نفط ميسان لتجاوز الميناء" (in Arabic). Kooora. 1 December 2023.
  12. ^ ""هاتريك لأيمن حسين".. الجوية يكرم وفادة الميناء برباعية في دوري نجوم العراق" (in Arabic). Shafaq. 10 February 2024.
  13. ^ "النفط يقسو على نفط الوسط برباعية نظيفة" (in Arabic). Almaalomah. 17 February 2024.
  14. ^ ""القلعة الصفراء" يخطف 3 نقاط من "العميد" في دوري نجوم العراق" (in Arabic). Shafaq. 19 February 2024.
  15. ^ "القوة الجوية يقسو على النفط ويعزز صدارته للدوري العراقي" (in Arabic). Kooora. 4 March 2024.
  16. ^ "بالصور.. نوروز يعطل الميناء في الدوري العراقي" (in Arabic). Kooora. 25 April 2024.
  17. ^ "بالصور.. نوروز يعطل الميناء في الدوري العراقي" (in Arabic). Kooora. 25 April 2024.
  18. ^ "سوبر جيبور ينصر الميناء على نفط الوسط" (in Arabic). Kooora. 18 June 2024.
  19. ^ "محمود المواس يتربع على عرش اللاعبين كأفضل لاعب في دوري نجوم العراق" (in Arabic). Al-Shorta SC. 14 July 2024.
  20. ^ "أجملُ عشرة أهدافٍ على لائحةِ التَصويتِ الجماهيريّ.. اختر واحداً ليكون the best الموسم الماضي" (in Arabic). Iraq Stars League. 31 August 2024.
  21. ^ "أجملُ عشرة أهدافٍ على لائحةِ التَصويتِ الجماهيريّ.. اختر واحداً ليكون the best الموسم الماضي" (in Arabic). Iraq Stars League. 31 August 2024.