# 2020–21 Iraqi First Division League

The 2020–21 Iraqi First Division League was the 47th 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 changed throughout history due to several factors, most recently in this season when the number of clubs increased from 12 to 28 in total. The top team from each group is directly promoted to the Premier League, while a third club can be promoted through play-offs, on the other hand, two clubs from each group are directly relegated to the Second Division League.
Al-Sinaa won the title and were promoted alongside runners-up Newroz.

## Format

Teams from all over Iraq participated in preliminary qualifications for the final stage. Total of 16 teams qualified for the final stage and 12 teams joined from previous season.
There was no First Division League nor Premier League season completed in the prior year due to the Coronavirus Pandemic.

## Teams
### Stadiums and locations

A total of 28 teams are contesting the league, including 10 sides from the 2018-2019 season, 16 promoted teams from the preliminary qualifications for the final stage and the two relegated sides from the Premier League.
| Team | Manager | Location | Stadium | Capacity |
| Afak | Haider Hussein | Al-Qādisiyyah (Diwaniya) | Al-Kifl Stadium | 10,000 |
| Akkad | Bassim Obaid | Dhi Qar (Al-Shatrah) | Al Shatrah Stadium | 7,500 |
| Al-Alam | Ali Jawad | Saladin | Al-Alam Stadium | 10,000 |
| Al-Bahri | Asaad Abdul Razzaq | Basra (Al-Jubaila) | Al-Bahri Stadium | 7,000 |
| Al-Difaa Al-Madani | Mahdi Kadhim | Baghdad | Al-Taji Stadium | 5,000 |
| Al-Ettifaq | Abdul Zahra Odeh | Al-Qādisiyyah (Diwaniya) | Al-Diwaniya Stadium | 5,000 |
| Al-Hussein | Kadhim Yousef | Baghdad (Sadr City) | Five Thousand Stadium | 5,000 |
| Al-Jaish | Maher Ohkla | Baghdad | Al-Jaish Stadium | 6,000 |
| Al-Jinsiya | Karim Qumbil | Baghdad | Al-Jinsiya Stadium | 5,000 |
| Al-Kufa | Adel Ali Al-Aasam | Najaf (Kufa) | Najaf Stadium | 30,000 |
| Al-Muroor | Adel Ajer | Baghdad (Sadr City) | Al-Walaa Stadium | 5,000 |
| Al-Nasiriya | Ali Wahaib | Dhi Qar (Nasiriya) | An Nasiriya Stadium | 10,000 |
| Al-Ramadi | Khamis Hammoud | Anbar (Ramadi) | Al Ramadi Stadium | 15,000 |
| Al-Shirqat | Mohammed Attiya | Saladin (Shirqat) | Shirqat Stadium | 5,000 |
| Al-Sinaa | Sadeq Hanoon | Baghdad (Sadr City) | Al-Sinaa Stadium | 5,000 |
| Al-Sulaikh | Rashid Sultan | Baghdad (Suleikh) | Al Sulaikh Stadium | 5,000 |
| Babil | Fouad Jawad | Babil | Al Kifl Stadium | 10,000 |
| Brayati | Mahmoud Majeed | Erbil | Franso Hariri Stadium | 25,000 |
| Diyala | Ali Abdullah | Diyala (Baquba) | Ba'quba Stadium | 10,000 |
| Duhok | Adel Nasser | Duhok | Duhok Stadium | 20,000 |
| Ghaz Al-Shamal | Walid Mohammed Qader | Kirkuk | Kirkuk Olympic Stadium | 20,000 |
| Karbalaa | Ali Wahab | Karbala | Karbala Sports City | 30,000 |
| Masafi Al-Janoob | Nasser Talla Dahilan | Basra (Shaibah) | Masafi Al-Janoob Stadium | 5,000 |
| Maysan | Ahmed Zuhair | Maysan | Maysan Stadium | 25,000 |
| Newroz | Wali Karim | Sulaymaniyah | Zanko Stadium | 15,000 |
| Peshmerga | Arsalan Jalal | Sulaymaniyah | Peshmerga Stadium | 10,000 |
| Samarra | Ahmed Kadhim | Saladin (Samarra) | Samarra Stadium | 10,000 |
| Suq Al-Shuyukh | Moayad Tomeh | Dhi Qar (Suq Al-Shuyukh) | Souk Al-Shuyukh Stadium | 5,000 |

## League table
### Group 1

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Newroz (P) | 13 | 9 | 3 | 1 | 27 | 11 | +16 | 30 | Promotion to the Iraqi Premier League |
| 2 | Afak | 13 | 8 | 5 | 0 | 26 | 13 | +13 | 29 | Qualification for the Third-place play-off |
| 3 | Masafi Al-Janoob | 13 | 7 | 4 | 2 | 27 | 17 | +10 | 25 | |
| 4 | Al-Difaa Al-Madani | 13 | 4 | 8 | 1 | 15 | 10 | +5 | 20 | |
| 5 | Al-Shirqat | 13 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 15 | 12 | +3 | 19 | |
| 6 | Karbalaa | 13 | 4 | 7 | 2 | 12 | 13 | −1 | 19 | |
| 7 | Al-Alam | 13 | 4 | 6 | 3 | 17 | 17 | 0 | 18 | |
| 8 | Al-Hussein | 13 | 3 | 6 | 4 | 17 | 19 | −2 | 15 | |
| 9 | Suq Al-Shuyukh | 13 | 4 | 3 | 6 | 12 | 19 | −7 | 15 | |
| 10 | Al-Kufa | 13 | 2 | 6 | 5 | 15 | 19 | −4 | 12 | |
| 11 | Ghaz Al-Shamal | 13 | 3 | 3 | 7 | 13 | 18 | −5 | 12 | |
| 12 | Al-Jinsiya | 13 | 2 | 5 | 6 | 11 | 15 | −4 | 11 | |
| 13 | Al-Jaish (R) | 13 | 2 | 4 | 7 | 12 | 20 | −8 | 10 | Relegation to Iraqi Second Division League |
| 14 | Brayati (R) | 13 | 2 | 0 | 11 | 13 | 29 | −16 | 6 | Relegation to Iraqi Second Division League |

#### Results

| Home \ Away | AFK | ALM | DFM | HUS | JSH | JIN | KUF | SRQ | BRA | GSH | KRB | MSJ | NEW | SUQ |
| Afak | — | — | 1–1 | 4–2 | — | 1–1 | 3–1 | — | 4–1 | 3–2 | — | — | 2–0 | — |
| Al-Alam | 1–1 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 0–0 | — | 1–3 | 0–0 | 1–3 | — | 0–0 |
| Al-Difaa Al-Madani | — | 2–3 | — | — | — | — | — | 1–0 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 0–0 | — | 1–1 | 3–0 |
| Al-Hussein | — | 2–2 | 0–0 | — | — | 1–1 | — | 2–0 | — | 1–2 | — | — | 2–2 | 0–1 |
| Al-Jaish | 0–1 | 0–2 | 0–0 | 2–2 | — | 0–2 | 1–1 | — | 3–1 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Al-Jinsiya | — | 1–3 | 0–0 | — | — | — | — | 1–1 | — | — | 0–1 | 1–2 | 0–1 | — |
| Al-Kufa | — | 0–0 | 3–3 | 1–2 | — | 1–2 | — | — | — | 1–0 | — | — | 2–2 | — |
| Al-Shirqat | 2–3 | — | — | — | 1–0 | — | 1–0 | — | 4–1 | — | 3–0 | 1–1 | — | 1–1 |
| Brayati | — | 2–3 | — | 0–1 | — | 2–1 | 1–2 | — | — | 0–1 | — | — | 1–3 | — |
| Ghaz Al-Shamal | — | — | — | — | 2–4 | 1–1 | — | 0–1 | — | — | 0–0 | 1–3 | 0–1 | 0–1 |
| Karbalaa | 1–1 | — | — | 1–1 | 1–1 | — | 1–0 | — | 2–1 | — | — | 2–2 | — | 3–2 |
| Masafi Al-Janoob | 0–0 | — | 0–1 | 3–1 | 2–1 | — | 2–2 | — | 3–1 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Newroz | — | 3–1 | — | — | 2–0 | — | — | 2–0 | — | — | 2–0 | 4–2 | — | 4–0 |
| Suq Al-Shuyukh | 1–2 | — | — | — | 3–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | — | 0–1 | — | — | 1–4 | — | — |

### Group 2

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Al-Sinaa (C, P) | 13 | 11 | 2 | 0 | 24 | 8 | +16 | 35 | Promotion to the Iraqi Premier League |
| 2 | Samaraa (O, P) | 13 | 8 | 3 | 2 | 27 | 17 | +10 | 27 | Qualification for the Third-place play-off |
| 3 | Al-Ramadi | 13 | 8 | 1 | 4 | 24 | 14 | +10 | 25 | |
| 4 | Duhok | 13 | 8 | 1 | 4 | 17 | 13 | +4 | 25 | |
| 5 | Al-Bahri | 13 | 6 | 2 | 5 | 17 | 12 | +5 | 20 | |
| 6 | Al-Muroor | 13 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 17 | 17 | 0 | 17 | |
| 7 | Al-Nasiriya | 13 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 14 | 15 | −1 | 17 | |
| 8 | Al-Sulaikh | 13 | 3 | 6 | 4 | 13 | 14 | −1 | 15 | |
| 9 | Peshmerga | 13 | 3 | 6 | 4 | 14 | 18 | −4 | 15 | |
| 10 | Diyala | 13 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 21 | 23 | −2 | 14 | |
| 11 | Babil | 13 | 2 | 4 | 7 | 14 | 16 | −2 | 10 | |
| 12 | Maysan | 13 | 1 | 7 | 5 | 9 | 19 | −10 | 10 | |
| 13 | Akkad (R) | 13 | 1 | 5 | 7 | 13 | 22 | −9 | 8 | Relegation to Iraqi Second Division League |
| 14 | Al-Ettefaq (R) | 13 | 1 | 4 | 8 | 11 | 27 | −16 | 7 | Relegation to Iraqi Second Division League |

#### Results

| Home \ Away | AKD | BAH | ETF | MUR | NAS | RAM | SIN | SUL | BAB | DIY | DUH | MAY | PES | SAM |
| Akkad | — | 1–3 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 2–0 | 0–2 | — | — | — | — | 0–1 | — | — | 2–4 |
| Al-Bahri | — | — | — | — | 1–1 | — | 0–1 | 1–2 | 1–0 | — | 1–2 | 2–1 | 3–0 | — |
| Al-Ettefaq | — | 1–2 | — | — | — | — | 1–3 | 1–1 | — | 2–4 | 0–1 | 1–1 | — | — |
| Al-Muroor | — | 1–1 | 4–2 | — | 1–1 | 2–2 | 0–1 | — | 1–0 | — | — | — | — | 3–4 |
| Al-Nasiriya | — | — | 0–1 | — | — | 1–0 | 1–2 | — | 1–1 | — | 2–1 | — | — | 0–2 |
| Al-Ramadi | — | 1–0 | 2–1 | — | — | — | 1–2 | 3–1 | 1–0 | — | 4–0 | — | 2–0 | — |
| Al-Sinaa | 2–2 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 2–1 | — | 2–1 | 1–0 | 4–0 | 3–1 | — |
| Al-Sulaikh | 2–0 | — | — | 0–1 | 1–1 | — | — | — | — | 2–2 | — | 0–0 | 1–1 | 0–0 |
| Babil | 1–1 | — | 5–0 | — | — | — | 0–1 | 1–2 | — | 2–1 | — | 1–1 | 1–2 | — |
| Diyala | 2–2 | 0–2 | — | 2–1 | 1–2 | 4–3 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 1–2 |
| Duhok | — | — | — | 2–0 | — | — | — | 1–0 | 2–0 | 2–2 | — | 3–0 | 2–1 | — |
| Maysan | 1–1 | — | — | 1–1 | 1–3 | 0–1 | — | — | — | 0–0 | — | — | 0–0 | 3–2 |
| Peshmerga | 2–1 | — | 1–1 | 0–0 | 1–1 | — | — | — | — | 1–1 | — | — | — | 4–2 |
| Samaraa | — | 1–0 | 3–0 | — | — | 3–2 | 0–0 | — | 2–2 | — | 2–0 | — | — | — |
* ↑ The Al-Bahri–Peshmerga match was awarded as a 3–0 win to Al-Bahri, as Peshmerga did not turn up for the game.
* ↑ The Samarra–Al-Ettefaq match was awarded as a 3–0 win to Samarra, as Al-Ettefaq did not turn up for the game.

## Season statistics

    As of 16 July 2021

### Top scorers

| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
| 1 | Samer Mohsin | Afak | 12 |
| 2 | Hussein Ibrahim | Al-Alam | 10 |
| 2 | Ahmed Turki | Akkad | 10 |
| 4 | Salih Motlaq | Samarra | 9 |
| 5 | Donatus Edafe | Al-Nasiriya | 8 |
| 5 | Fadhel Wasmi | Masafi Al-Janoob | 8 |
| 5 | Ahmed Sabri | Duhok | 8 |
| 8 | Cissé | Al-Ramadi | 7 |
| 8 | Husham Ahmed | Al-Difaa Al-Madani | 7 |
| 8 | Jean-Christian Keke | Al-Sinaa | 7 |