# 2022–23 Iraqi First Division League

The 2022–23 Iraqi First Division League was the 49th season of what is now called the Iraqi Premier Division League, the second tier of the Iraqi football league system, since its establishment in 1974. The number of clubs in the league have varied throughout history for various reasons. The top two teams are promoted to the Iraq Stars League, while the bottom two teams in each group are directly relegated to the Iraqi Second Division League.
In the last round of the league, in the Group 1, Amanat Baghdad was able to topped the group after achieving 38 points, while in the Group 2, Al-Minaa topped the group after achieving 46 points. Both teams were promoted to the Stars League, and it was decided that the final match between the two teams will be held in Baghdad on May 26, 2023 to determine the league champion. The Al-Minaa administration demanded that the match be transferred to Basra due to the large number of fans of the Al-Minaa, so that the match would be more attended, and the Amanat Baghdad administration agreed to that. Later, the Football Association decided that the match would be held on 2 June in Al-Fayhaa Stadium.
In the final, Al-Minaa was able to defeat Amanat Baghdad, 2–1, and win the title. The goals of Al-Minaa were scored by Sajjad Alaa (6') and Salem Ahmed (37'), while the goal of Amanat Baghdad was scored by Karrar Ali Bari (53').
Al-Jinsiya (who withdrew from the start) and Al-Hawija from Group 1, and Al-Sulaikh and Al-Samawa from Group 2 were relegated to the Iraqi Second Division League after finishing in the bottom positions in the standings.

## Team changes

The following teams have changed division since the 2021–22 season:

## Overview
### Changes

In November 2020, The Iraq FA announced that the number of teams will decrease from 28 to 24 in total starting from 2021-2022 season. To make these changes possible, the Iraq FA announced that in 2022–23 season, a two teams are promoted to the Premier League, where the winner and runner-up of each group will play a play-off match, so that the winners will be promoted directly to the Premier League, while 6 teams in total are directly relegated to Second Division League.
On April 8, 2023, the promotion and relegation mechanism was changed, and the Football Association announced the promotion of the winning team in each group directly to the Premier League, and the relegation of the last two teams in the standings in each group to the Second Division League, as a result, two teams are promote and 4 teams are relegate.

### Developments

On December 27, 2022, the Iraq Football Association decided to stop the championship matches, starting from the ninth round, due to the holding of the Arabian Gulf Cup in Iraq, and decided that the championship would resume after the end of the Arabian Gulf Cup. Indeed, the ninth round of the championship resumed on January 18, 2023.

## Teams

A total of 24 teams are contesting the league, including 17 sides from the 2021–22 season and the 3 relegated sides from the Iraqi Premier League and the 4 promoted sides from the Iraqi Second Division League, because of the recent changes necessary to adjustment to having 24 teams possible this season. The teams were divided into two groups, and the draw was held on October 27, 2022, and it was decided that the championship will start on November 18, 2022.

### 2022–23 season

| Team | Manager | Location | Stadium | Capacity |
| Afak | Hussein Mohie | Al-Qādisiyyah | Al-Kifl Stadium | 8,000 |
| Al-Bahri | Ahmed Rahim | Basra (Al-Jubaila) | Al-Bahri Stadium | 7,000 |
| Al-Difaa Al-Madani | Adel Ajer | Baghdad (Al-Shaab) | Al-Taji Stadium | 5,000 |
| Al-Etisalat | Ahmed Hassan Abdul-Sahib | Baghdad (Al-Mansour) | Al-Taji Stadium | 5,000 |
| Al-Hawija | Ali Abboud | Kirkuk | Al-Hawija Stadium | 5,000 |
| Al-Hussein | Sahl Naeem | Baghdad (Sadr City) | Five Thousand Stadium | 5,000 |
| Al-Jinsiya (withdrew) | vacant | Baghdad (Al-Mashtal) | Al-Jinsiya Stadium | 5,000 |
| Al-Jolan | Mustafa Karim | Al-Anbar (Al-Fallujah) | Al-Fallujah Stadium | 7,000 |
| Al-Kufa | Maitham Jaber | Najaf | Najaf Stadium | 30,000 |
| Al-Minaa | Fareed Majeed | Basra (Al-Maqal) | Al-Minaa Olympic Stadium | 30,000 |
| Al-Muroor | Rashid Sultan | Baghdad (Sadr City) | Al-Walaa Stadium | 5,000 |
| Al-Nasiriya | Aqeel Mohammed | Dhi Qar | An Nasiriya Stadium | 10,000 |
| Al-Ramadi | Jumaa Jadeea | Al-Anbar (Al-Ramadi) | Al Ramadi Stadium | 15,000 |
| Al-Samawa | Ali Jawad | Muthanna | Al-Samawah Stadium | 15,000 |
| Al-Sinaat Al-Kahrabaiya | Mohammed Ali Karim | Baghdad (Al-Wazireya) | Al-Sinaa Stadium | 5,000 |
| Al-Shirqat | Farhan Hamad | Saladin (Al-Shirqat) | Al-Shirqat Stadium | 5,000 |
| Al-Sulaikh | Muthana Khalid | Baghdad (Al-Sulaikh) | Al-Sulaikh Stadium | 5,000 |
| Amanat Baghdad | Wissam Talib | Baghdad (Al-Nahdha) | Amanat Baghdad Stadium | 5,000 |
| Diyala | Sadeq Hanoon | Diyala | Diyala Stadium | 10,000 |
| Masafi Al-Junoob | Abdul Yemma Warwar | Basra (Shaibah) | Masafi Al-Junoob Stadium | 5,000 |
| Masafi Al-Wasat | Ali Majeed | Baghdad (Al-Dura) | Al-Masafi Stadium | 5,000 |
| Maysan | Mizher Rahim | Maysan | Maysan Stadium | 25,000 |
| Peshmerga Sulaymaniya | Qusay Hashim | Sulaymaniyah | Peshmerga Stadium | 10,000 |
| Samarra | Ali Wahab | Saladin (Samarra) | Samarra Stadium | 10,000 |

### Managerial changes

| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Position in the group | Incoming manager | Date of appointment |
| Al-Sinaat Al-Kahrabaiya | Safaa Adnan | Sacked | 2 November 2022 | Pre-season | Mudhafar Jabbar | 2 November 2022 |
| Al-Ramadi | Thair Jassam | Sacked | 24 November 2022 | 11th | Mohammed Hammad | 24 November 2022 |
| Al-Samawa | Aqeel Ghani | Sacked | 26 November 2022 | 10th | Haider Hussien | 26 November 2022 |
| Samarra | Nihad Ghazi | Sacked | 2 December 2022 | 9th | Zahed Qasim | 2 December 2022 |
| Al-Nasiriya | Dhiaa Abdul-Nabi | Sacked | 6 December 2022 | 12th | Mubarak Matar | 6 December 2022 |
| Masafi Al-Junoob | Nasser Talla Dahilan | Sacked | 14 December 2022 | 11th | Abdul Yemma Warwar | 14 December 2022 |
| Al-Samawa | Haider Hussien | Sacked | 15 December 2022 | 12th | Ali Jawad | 19 December 2022 |
| Al-Sulaikh | Hazem Saleh | Sacked | 19 December 2022 | 11th | Muthana Khalid | 2 January 2023 |
| Al-Jolan | Ali Wahab | Sacked | 26 December 2022 | 5th | Mustafa Karim | 4 January 2023 |
| Samarra | Zahed Qasim | Sacked | 3 January 2023 | 11th | Ali Wahab | 3 January 2023 |
| Al-Nasiriya | Mubarak Matar | End of interim spell | 12 January 2023 | 12th | Mohsin Abdul-Nabi | 12 January 2023 |
| Al-Hawija | Adel Khudhair | Sacked | 21 January 2023 | 10th | Ali Abboud | 21 January 2023 |
| Afak | Haider Abbas | Sacked | 22 January 2023 | 10th | Haider Hussein | 22 January 2023 |
| Al-Ramadi | Mohammed Hammad | Sacked | 1 February 2023 | 5th | Sadeq Hanoon | 1 February 2023 |
| Al-Sinaat Al-Kahrabaiya | Mudhafar Jabbar | Mutual consent | 11 February 2023 | 5th | Mohammed Ali Karim | 11 February 2023 |
| Al-Nasiriya | Mohsin Abdul-Nabi | Mutual consent | 4 March 2023 | 11th | Aqeel Mohammed | 8 March 2023 |
| Afak | Haider Hussein | Sacked | 13 March 2023 | 8th | Hussein Mohie | 13 March 2023 |
| Al-Ramadi | Sadeq Hanoon | Mutual consent | 16 March 2023 | 7th | Jumaa Jadeea | 17 March 2023 |
| Al-Jolan | Mustafa Karim | Mutual consent | 20 March 2023 | 1st | Hazem Saleh | 20 March 2023 |
| Al-Etisalat | Hamza Dawood | Mutual consent | 30 March 2023 | 10th | Ahmed Hassan Abdul-Sahib | 1 April 2023 |
| Al-Jolan | Hazem Saleh | Mutual consent | 1 April 2023 | 2nd | Mustafa Karim | 1 April 2023 |
| Diyala | Ali Abdullah | Sacked | 1 April 2023 | 3rd | Sadeq Hanoon | 2 April 2023 |
| Al-Minaa | Basim Qasim | Sacked | 20 May 2023 | 1st | Fareed Majeed | 20 May 2023 |

## League table
### Group 1

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Amanat Baghdad (P) | 20 | 11 | 5 | 4 | 26 | 9 | +17 | 38 | Promotion to the Iraq Stars League |
| 2 | Peshmerga Sulaymaniya | 20 | 9 | 6 | 5 | 31 | 22 | +9 | 33 | |
| 3 | Al-Ramadi | 20 | 8 | 6 | 6 | 20 | 19 | +1 | 30 | |
| 4 | Maysan | 20 | 9 | 3 | 8 | 26 | 23 | +3 | 30 | |
| 5 | Samarra | 20 | 8 | 4 | 8 | 23 | 21 | +2 | 28 | |
| 6 | Al-Sinaat Al-Kahrabaiya | 20 | 6 | 10 | 4 | 27 | 24 | +3 | 28 | |
| 7 | Al-Bahri | 20 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 22 | 20 | +2 | 27 | |
| 8 | Al-Etisalat | 20 | 7 | 4 | 9 | 18 | 23 | −5 | 25 | |
| 9 | Masafi Al-Junoob | 20 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 22 | 32 | −10 | 24 | |
| 10 | Al-Difaa Al-Madani | 20 | 5 | 8 | 7 | 20 | 22 | −2 | 23 | |
| 11 | Al-Hawija (R) | 20 | 3 | 4 | 13 | 20 | 40 | −20 | 13 | Relegation to Iraqi Second Division League |
| 12 | Al-Jinsiya (R) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Relegation to Iraqi Second Division League |
* 1 2 Al-Ramadi finished ahead of Maysan on head-to-head points: Al-Ramadi 2–0 Maysan, Maysan 1–0 Al-Ramadi.
* 1 2 Samarra finished ahead of Al-Sinaat Al-Kahrabaiya on head-to-head points: Al-Sinaat Al-Kahrabaiya 0–0 Samarra, Samarra 2–1 Al-Sinaat Al-Kahrabaiya.
* ↑ Al-Jinsiya withdrew from the tournament.

#### Results

| Home \ Away | BAH | DFM | ETI | HAW | JIN | RAM | SNK | AMB | MSJ | MAY | PES | SAM |
| Al-Bahri | — | 1–0 | 0–1 | 4–1 | — | 0–0 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 3–0 | 1–1 | 2–3 | 3–1 |
| Al-Difaa Al-Madani | 1–1 | — | 3–0 | 2–1 | — | 2–0 | 4–4 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 1–1 |
| Al-Etisalat | 0–1 | 2–1 | — | 0–1 | — | 1–0 | 2–2 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 2–1 |
| Al-Hawija | 1–1 | 2–1 | 0–1 | — | — | 2–3 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 3–2 | 1–4 | 0–0 | 1–4 |
| Al-Jinsiya | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Al-Ramadi | 1–0 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 2–1 | — | — | 2–1 | 0–0 | 2–2 | 2–0 | 3–1 | 2–1 |
| Al-Sinaat Al-Kahrabaiya | 1–0 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 2–1 | — | 0–0 | — | 2–0 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 2–2 | 0–0 |
| Amanat Baghdad | 2–0 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 3–0 | — | 1–0 | 2–1 | — | 3–0 | 3–0 | 0–0 | 2–0 |
| Masafi Al-Junoob | 0–1 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 3–2 | — | 1–1 | 2–2 | 0–3 | — | 2–2 | 2–1 | 2–0 |
| Maysan | 4–1 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 2–1 | — | 1–0 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 2–0 | — | 1–2 | 1–0 |
| Peshmerga Sulaymaniya | 1–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 5–2 | — | 3–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 2–0 | — | 1–1 |
| Samarra | 0–0 | 0–1 | 3–1 | 1–0 | — | 2–0 | 2–1 | 0–2 | 3–0 | 1–0 | 2–1 | — |
* ↑ Al-Jinsiya withdrew from the tournament.
* ↑ The Samarra–Masafi Al-Junoob match was awarded as a 3–0 win to Samarra, as Masafi Al-Junoob involved an unregistered player for the team in the game, and the actual match score was a 1-1 draw.

### Group 2

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Al-Minaa (C, P) | 22 | 13 | 7 | 2 | 38 | 15 | +23 | 46 | Promotion to the Iraq Stars League |
| 2 | Diyala | 22 | 13 | 6 | 3 | 25 | 11 | +14 | 45 | |
| 3 | Al-Jolan | 22 | 9 | 8 | 5 | 29 | 19 | +10 | 35 | |
| 4 | Masafi Al-Wasat | 22 | 9 | 7 | 6 | 17 | 15 | +2 | 34 | |
| 5 | Al-Muroor | 22 | 7 | 11 | 4 | 22 | 18 | +4 | 32 | |
| 6 | Al-Kufa | 22 | 6 | 10 | 6 | 22 | 19 | +3 | 28 | |
| 7 | Afak | 22 | 6 | 5 | 11 | 21 | 27 | −6 | 23 | |
| 8 | Al-Hussein | 22 | 5 | 8 | 9 | 16 | 20 | −4 | 23 | |
| 9 | Al-Shirqat | 22 | 5 | 8 | 9 | 21 | 29 | −8 | 23 | |
| 10 | Al-Nasiriya | 22 | 5 | 7 | 10 | 17 | 31 | −14 | 22 | |
| 11 | Al-Sulaikh (R) | 22 | 4 | 8 | 10 | 19 | 31 | −12 | 20 | Relegation to Iraqi Second Division League |
| 12 | Al-Samawa (R) | 22 | 3 | 9 | 10 | 16 | 28 | −12 | 18 | Relegation to Iraqi Second Division League |
* 1 2 3 Afak finished ahead of Al-Hussein, and Al-Hussein finished ahead of Al-Shirqat, on head-to-head points: Afak 7, Al-Hussein 5, Al-Shirqat 4.

#### Results

| Home \ Away | AFK | HUS | JOL | KUF | MIN | MUR | NAS | SMA | SRQ | SUL | DIY | MWT |
| Afak | — | 0–0 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 0–3 | 1–2 | 3–0 | 0–0 | 4–1 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 0–1 |
| Al-Hussein | 0–1 | — | 0–1 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 3–0 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 1–2 |
| Al-Jolan | 2–0 | 2–2 | — | 1–1 | 0–0 | 3–0 | 3–0 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 3–0 | 2–3 | 1–1 |
| Al-Kufa | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–2 | — | 1–1 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 3–1 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 1–0 |
| Al-Minaa | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 0–0 | — | 3–2 | 3–0 | 2–1 | 5–2 | 5–0 | 1–2 | 1–0 |
| Al-Muroor | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 1–1 | — | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 0–0 |
| Al-Nasiriya | 1–0 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 3–2 | 1–1 | 0–0 | — | 3–0 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 0–3 | 2–1 |
| Al-Samawa | 2–1 | 1–1 | 3–2 | 1–2 | 0–2 | 0–0 | 1–1 | — | 1–1 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 0–1 |
| Al-Shirqat | 4–1 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 0–2 | 1–2 | 3–0 | 2–0 | — | 1–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 |
| Al-Sulaikh | 2–3 | 3–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 1–3 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 0–0 | — | 0–1 | 0–0 |
| Diyala | 2–1 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 3–0 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 1–0 | — | 1–0 |
| Masafi Al-Wasat | 1–0 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 0–3 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 0–1 | — |
* ↑ The Afak–Al-Nasiriya match was awarded as a 3–0 win to Afak, as Al-Nasiriya fans rioted.
* ↑ The Al-Hussein–Al-Shirqat match was awarded as a 3–0 win to Al-Hussein, as Al-Shirqat involved an unregistered player for the team in the game, and the actual result of the match was a 1–2 victory for Al-Shirqat.
* ↑ The Al-Jolan–Al-Muroor match was awarded as a 3–0 win to Al-Jolan, as Al-Muroor withdraw from the game.
* ↑ The Al-Samawa–Al-Jolan match was awarded as a 0–3 win to Al-Jolan, as Al-Samawa involved an unregistered player for the team in the game, and the actual result of the match was a 3–2 victory for Al-Samawa. However, the appeals committee later overturned the ruling, reinstating the actual result.

## Final

| Al-Minaa | Amanat Baghdad |
Ali Faisal :
| RB | 30 | Karrar Jumaa | 72' 90+5' |
| CB | 42 | Abdullah Mohsin (c) | 71' | 71' |
| CB | 33 | Abbas Yas |
| LB | 36 | Hassan Odah | | 78' |
| CM | 37 | Haider Salem |
| CM | 15 | Mohammed Khudhair |
| CM | 7 | Ayad Abed Farhan | | 78' |
| RF | 12 | Karrar Jaafar | 45+4' |
| CF | 18 | Salem Ahmed |
| LF | 26 | Sajjad Alaa |
| Substitutions: ||||
| GK | 1 | Jaafar Shenaishil |
| DF | 17 | Haider Sari | | 78' |
| MF | 28 | Hamza Hadi Ahmed | | 78' |
| MF | 47 | Mohammed Salah |
| DF | 55 | Mohammed Abdul-Zahra | | 71' |
| Manager: ||||
| Fareed Majeed ||||
46' :
| RB | 4 | Milad Falah | 65' |
| CB | 44 | Mohammed Musa | 90+4' |
| CB | 14 | Yousef Al-Alousi |
| LB | 13 | Ayman Rezayej | | 65' |
| CM | 42 | Babacar Charles Faye | | 46' |
| CM | 7 | Sadia Olivier Bleu |
| CM | 9 | Karrar Ali Bari |
| RF | 10 | Jabbar Karim | | 46' |
| CF | 31 | Oladayo Alabi |
| LF | 11 | Muntadhar Rahim | | 46' |
| Substitutions: ||||
| MF | 17 | Mustafa Falah | | 46' |
| GK | 23 | Munther Najem | | 46' |
| FW | 28 | Mohammed Ahmed | | 46' |
| DF | 39 | Ahmed Nadhim | | 65' |
| MF | 77 | Nabeel Sabah | | 46' |
| Manager: ||||
| Wissam Talib ||||

## Season statistics

    As of 2 June 2023

### Top scorers

| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
| 1 | Mohammed Hassan | Maysan | 13 |
| 2 | Omar Attallah | Al-Shirqat | 12 |
| 3 | Salem Ahmed | Al-Minaa | 11 |
| 4 | Ismaël Mohamed | Al-Sinaat Al-Kahrabaiya | 8 |
| 4 | Ali Karim | Diyala | 8 |
| 6 | Dioguinho | Al-Minaa | 7 |
| 6 | Saleh Motlaq | Peshmerga Sulaymaniya | 7 |
| 6 | Aba-Thar Abdul-Sada | Masafi Al-Wasat | 7 |
| 9 | Michael Ohanu | Al-Bahri | 6 |
| 9 | Sajjad Alaa | Al-Minaa | 6 |
| 9 | Mohammed Abbas | Peshmerga Sulaymaniya | 6 |
| 9 | Donatus Edafe | Al-Jolan | 6 |

#### Hat-tricks

| Player | For | Against | Result | Date |
| Abdullah Ammar | Al-Difaa Al-Madani | Al-Etisalat | 3–0 (H) | 18 December 2022 |
| Mohammed Hassan | Maysan | Al-Hawija | 4–1 (A) | 1 May 2023 |

##### Notes

(H) – Home team (A) – Away team