# 2020–21 Iraqi Premier League

The 2020–21 Iraqi Premier League was the 47th season of the Iraqi Premier League since its establishment in 1974. The season started on 25 October 2020 and ended on 28 July 2021, with the relegation play-off held on 30 July 2021.
Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya sealed their seventh Premier League title with three matches to spare, finishing ahead of Al-Zawraa and Al-Najaf. Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya also won the Iraq FA Cup to become the first Iraqi club since the 2001–02 season to win the double. Their manager Ayoub Odisho became the most successful coach in Premier League history with four titles.

## New rules

For the first time in the Iraqi Premier League, the Iraq Football Association decided to use head-to-head points as the first tiebreaker for teams level on points, followed by head-to-head goal difference, total goal difference, total number of wins and total goals scored. Also, the maximum number of substitutions in a game for each team was increased from four to five.

## Teams

Twenty teams competed in the league – the top eighteen teams from the 2018–19 season and the two promoted teams from the 2018–19 Iraqi First Division League.

### Clubs and locations

| Team | Manager | Location | Stadium | Capacity |
| Al-Diwaniya | Ahmed Khalaf | Diwaniya | Al-Diwaniya Stadium | 5,000 |
| Al-Hudood | Abbas Attiya | Baghdad | Al-Taji Stadium | 5,000 |
| Al-Kahrabaa | Ahmed Salah | Baghdad | Al-Taji Stadium | 5,000 |
| Al-Karkh | Thair Ahmed | Baghdad | Al-Saher Ahmed Radhi Stadium | 5,150 |
| Al-Minaa | Ahmed Rahim | Basra | Al-Fayhaa Stadium | 10,000 |
| Al-Naft | Basim Qasim | Baghdad | Al-Sinaa Stadium | 10,000 |
| Al-Najaf | Hatif Shamran | Najaf | Al-Najaf International Stadium | 30,000 |
| Al-Qasim | Qusay Munir | Babil | Al-Kifl Stadium | 10,000 |
| Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya | Ayoub Odisho | Baghdad | Al-Shaab Stadium | 34,200 |
| Al-Samawa | Aqeel Ghani | Samawa | Al-Samawa Stadium | 5,000 |
| Al-Shorta | Aleksandar Ilić | Baghdad | Al-Shaab Stadium | 34,200 |
| Al-Sinaat Al-Kahrabaiya | Adel Nima | Baghdad | Al-Taji Stadium | 5,000 |
| Al-Talaba | Thair Jassam | Baghdad | Al-Shaab Stadium | 34,200 |
| Al-Zawraa | Radhi Shenaishil | Baghdad | Al-Shaab Stadium | 34,200 |
| Amanat Baghdad | Essam Hamad | Baghdad | Amanat Baghdad Stadium | 5,000 |
| Erbil | Taha Qadir | Erbil | Franso Hariri Stadium | 25,000 |
| Naft Al-Basra | Emad Aoda | Basra | Al-Fayhaa Stadium | 10,000 |
| Naft Al-Wasat | Abdul-Ghani Shahad | Najaf | Al-Najaf International Stadium | 30,000 |
| Naft Maysan | Uday Ismail | Amara | Maysan Olympic Stadium | 25,000 |
| Zakho | Abdul-Wahab Abu Al-Hail | Zakho | Zakho International Stadium | 20,000 |

#### Notes

* ↑ On 23 October 2020, Naft Al-Junoob officially changed its name to Naft Al-Basra.

## League table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya (C) | 38 | 25 | 8 | 5 | 68 | 29 | +39 | 83 | Qualification for the AFC Champions League group stage |
| 2 | Al-Zawraa | 38 | 20 | 15 | 3 | 46 | 19 | +27 | 75 | Qualification for the AFC Champions League play-off round |
| 3 | Al-Najaf | 38 | 21 | 11 | 6 | 46 | 26 | +20 | 74 | |
| 4 | Al-Shorta | 38 | 20 | 12 | 6 | 60 | 27 | +33 | 72 | |
| 5 | Naft Al-Wasat | 38 | 16 | 15 | 7 | 46 | 31 | +15 | 63 | |
| 6 | Al-Naft | 38 | 12 | 17 | 9 | 36 | 34 | +2 | 53 | |
| 7 | Amanat Baghdad | 38 | 13 | 11 | 14 | 30 | 32 | −2 | 50 | |
| 8 | Al-Minaa | 38 | 12 | 13 | 13 | 45 | 44 | +1 | 49 | |
| 9 | Zakho | 38 | 10 | 16 | 12 | 35 | 40 | −5 | 46 | |
| 10 | Al-Karkh | 38 | 11 | 12 | 15 | 35 | 40 | −5 | 45 | |
| 11 | Naft Al-Basra | 38 | 10 | 14 | 14 | 35 | 45 | −10 | 44 | |
| 12 | Erbil | 38 | 10 | 14 | 14 | 39 | 41 | −2 | 44 | |
| 13 | Naft Maysan | 38 | 9 | 16 | 13 | 38 | 48 | −10 | 43 | |
| 14 | Al-Kahrabaa | 38 | 8 | 17 | 13 | 36 | 39 | −3 | 41 | |
| 15 | Al-Qasim | 38 | 9 | 14 | 15 | 39 | 50 | −11 | 41 | |
| 16 | Al-Diwaniya | 38 | 7 | 20 | 11 | 22 | 36 | −14 | 41 | |
| 17 | Al-Talaba | 38 | 8 | 15 | 15 | 36 | 47 | −11 | 39 | |
| 18 | Al-Sinaat Al-Kahrabaiya (R) | 38 | 7 | 16 | 15 | 27 | 39 | −12 | 37 | Qualification for the relegation play-off |
| 19 | Al-Hudood (R) | 38 | 4 | 19 | 15 | 32 | 48 | −16 | 31 | Relegation to the Iraqi First Division League |
| 20 | Al-Samawa (R) | 38 | 5 | 11 | 22 | 22 | 58 | −36 | 26 | Relegation to the Iraqi First Division League |
* ↑ Since the winners of the 2020–21 Iraq FA Cup, Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya, also qualified for the AFC Champions League based on league position, the second AFC Champions League play-off round spot was passed to the third-placed team. However, Al-Najaf failed to obtain an AFC license. The fourth-placed team, Al-Shorta, declined to participate in place of Al-Najaf, therefore Iraq's second AFC Champions League play-off round spot was annulled.
* 1 2 Naft Al-Basra finished ahead of Erbil on head-to-head points: Erbil 0–1 Naft Al-Basra, Naft Al-Basra 1–0 Erbil.
* 1 2 3 Al-Kahrabaa finished ahead of Al-Qasim and Al-Diwaniya on head-to-head points: Al-Kahrabaa 8, Al-Qasim 3, Al-Diwaniya 3. Al-Qasim finished ahead of Al-Diwaniya on goal difference: Al-Qasim –11, Al-Diwaniya –14.

## 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 | | 1–1 | 0–0 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 0–0 |
| Al-Hudood | 1–1 | | 1–1 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 2–2 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 1–2 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 2–2 | 1–2 |
| Al-Kahrabaa | 3–0 | 2–2 | | 1–0 | 2–2 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 0–3 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 1–2 |
| Al-Karkh | 2–1 | 0–1 | 1–0 | | 2–1 | 0–2 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 0–2 | 0–0 | 0–3 | 1–0 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 4–2 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 |
| Al-Minaa | 2–0 | 0–0 | 1–3 | 2–2 | | 0–1 | 0–2 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 3–1 | 2–3 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 3–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 3–1 |
| Al-Naft | 1–1 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | | 1–0 | 0–0 | 1–4 | 3–3 | 2–2 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 2–3 | 1–0 |
| Al-Najaf | 2–0 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 1–0 | 2–0 | | 1–0 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 0–3 | 0–0 | 1–1 |
| Al-Qasim | 0–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 0–2 | 1–1 | | 1–2 | 3–2 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 2–3 | 0–2 | 3–1 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 3–3 | 2–1 |
| Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya | 0–0 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 3–2 | 2–1 | 4–1 | 3–4 | 1–1 | | 5–1 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 3–0 | 3–2 | 3–2 | 3–1 | 4–1 |
| Al-Samawa | 2–3 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 0–2 | | 0–3 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 0–2 |
| Al-Shorta | 5–0 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 4–2 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 7–0 | | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 2–1 |
| Al-Sinaat Al-Kahrabaiya | 1–1 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 3–2 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 1–1 | | 0–3 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 1–0 |
| Al-Talaba | 1–0 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 1–2 | 4–2 | 0–0 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 1–2 | | 0–2 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 |
| Al-Zawraa | 3–0 | 3–0 | 2–2 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 0–0 | | 1–0 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–1 |
| Amanat Baghdad | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 | | 0–2 | 3–0 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 |
| Erbil | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 2–2 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 5–1 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 5–0 | 1–3 | 2–2 | | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 |
| Naft Al-Basra | 0–1 | 3–2 | 2–2 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 0–3 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | | 2–3 | 2–1 | 1–0 |
| Naft Al-Wasat | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 2–3 | 0–1 | 5–1 | 1–0 | 3–2 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 4–1 | 1–0 | 2–1 | | 0–1 | 1–1 |
| Naft Maysan | 0–0 | 3–2 | 2–4 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 0–4 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 2–3 | 1–1 | 0–1 | | 1–1 |
| Zakho | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–3 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 1–2 | |
* ↑ 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.

## Relegation play-off

Samarra are promoted to the Iraqi Premier League, while Al-Sinaat Al-Kahrabaiya are relegated to the Iraqi First Division League.

## Season statistics
### Top scorers

| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
| 1 | Aymen Hussein | Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya | 22 |
| 2 | Manar Taha | Al-Hudood | 15 |
| 3 | Mohammed Jaffal | Al-Talaba | 14 |
| 3 | Ahmed Lafta | Al-Najaf | 14 |
| 3 | Hammadi Ahmed | Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya | 14 |

### Hat-tricks

| Player | For | Against | Result | Date |
| Mousa Adnan | Al-Naft | Al-Samawa | 3–1 (H) | 12 December 2020 |
| Aymen Hussein | Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya | Al-Naft | 4–1 (H) | 31 January 2021 |
| Wakaa Ramadan | Al-Talaba | Al-Minaa | 4–2 (H) | 4 July 2021 |

#### Notes

(H) – Home team

## Awards

| Award | Winner | Club |
| Soccer Iraq Goal of the Season | Joseph Nathaniel | Al-Hudood |

## 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. The official match ball is named Neo Toba. 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. The term Toba is taken from the Iraqi dialect (Arabic: طوبة) which means "ball" in common parlance.