# 2017–18 Iraqi Premier League

The 2017–18 Iraqi Premier League (Arabic: الدوري العراقي الممتاز 2017–18) was the 44th season of the Iraqi Premier League, the highest division for Iraqi association football clubs, since its establishment in 1974. The season started on 20 November 2017, and ended on 18 July 2018. Al-Zawraa won a record 14th title, finishing four points ahead of both the previous season's champions and runners-up (Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya and Al-Naft respectively) and five points ahead of Al-Shorta.

## Teams

| Team | Location | Stadium | Capacity |
| Al-Bahri | Basra | Al-Zubair Stadium | 5,000 |
| Al-Diwaniya | Diwaniya | Afak Stadium | 5,000 |
| Al-Hudood | Baghdad | Al-Taji Stadium | 5,000 |
| Al-Hussein | Baghdad | Al-Taji Stadium | 5,000 |
| Al-Kahrabaa | Baghdad | Al-Taji Stadium | 5,000 |
| Al-Minaa | Basra | Basra International Stadium | 65,227 |
| Al-Naft | Baghdad | Al-Sinaa Stadium | 10,000 |
| Al-Najaf | Najaf | Al-Najaf Stadium | 10,000 |
| Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya | Baghdad | Al-Shaab Stadium | 34,200 |
| Al-Samawa | Samawa | Al-Samawa Stadium | 5,000 |
| Al-Shorta | Baghdad | Al-Shaab Stadium | 34,200 |
| Al-Sinaat Al-Kahrabaiya | Baghdad | Al-Sinaa Stadium | 10,000 |
| Al-Talaba | Baghdad | Al-Shaab Stadium | 34,200 |
| Al-Zawraa | Baghdad | Al-Shaab Stadium | 34,200 |
| Amanat Baghdad | Baghdad | Amanat Baghdad Stadium | 5,000 |
| Karbala | Karbala | Karbala International Stadium | 30,000 |
| Naft Al-Junoob | Basra | Al-Zubair Stadium | 5,000 |
| Naft Al-Wasat | Najaf | Al-Najaf Stadium | 10,000 |
| Naft Maysan | Amara | Maysan Olympic Stadium | 15,000 |
| Zakho | Zakho | Zakho International Stadium | 20,000 |

## League table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Al-Zawraa (C) | 38 | 26 | 10 | 2 | 66 | 26 | +40 | 88 | Qualification for the AFC Champions League group stage |
| 2 | Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya | 38 | 25 | 9 | 4 | 66 | 23 | +43 | 84 | Qualification for the AFC Champions League preliminary round 2 |
| 3 | Al-Naft | 38 | 24 | 12 | 2 | 59 | 20 | +39 | 84 | |
| 4 | Al-Shorta | 38 | 24 | 11 | 3 | 69 | 24 | +45 | 83 | |
| 5 | Al-Kahrabaa | 38 | 15 | 13 | 10 | 39 | 30 | +9 | 58 | |
| 6 | Al-Najaf | 38 | 13 | 16 | 9 | 51 | 40 | +11 | 55 | |
| 7 | Amanat Baghdad | 38 | 14 | 11 | 13 | 31 | 34 | −3 | 53 | |
| 8 | Naft Maysan | 38 | 13 | 10 | 15 | 45 | 37 | +8 | 49 | |
| 9 | Naft Al-Wasat | 38 | 10 | 19 | 9 | 42 | 38 | +4 | 49 | |
| 10 | Naft Al-Junoob | 38 | 12 | 13 | 13 | 34 | 41 | −7 | 49 | |
| 11 | Al-Sinaat Al-Kahrabaiya | 38 | 12 | 11 | 15 | 46 | 46 | 0 | 47 | |
| 12 | Al-Samawa | 38 | 11 | 11 | 16 | 42 | 50 | −8 | 44 | |
| 13 | Al-Hudood | 38 | 11 | 10 | 17 | 40 | 45 | −5 | 43 | |
| 14 | Al-Talaba | 38 | 11 | 10 | 17 | 43 | 59 | −16 | 43 | |
| 15 | Al-Minaa | 38 | 8 | 17 | 13 | 34 | 47 | −13 | 41 | |
| 16 | Al-Bahri | 38 | 8 | 14 | 16 | 41 | 55 | −14 | 38 | |
| 17 | Al-Diwaniya | 38 | 7 | 10 | 21 | 32 | 58 | −26 | 31 | |
| 18 | Al-Hussein | 38 | 5 | 12 | 21 | 26 | 58 | −32 | 27 | |
| 19 | Karbala (R) | 38 | 7 | 6 | 25 | 26 | 76 | −50 | 27 | Relegation to the Iraqi First Division League |
| 20 | Zakho (R) | 38 | 5 | 13 | 20 | 27 | 52 | −25 | 25 | Relegation to the Iraqi First Division League |
* ↑ Zakho were deducted three points as punishment for failing to pay the salary of their Libyan player Salem Elmslaty on time.

## Results

| Home \ Away | BAH | DIW | HUD | HUS | KAH | MIN | NFT | NJF | QWJ | SMA | SHR | SNK | TLB | ZWR | AMN | KRB | NFJ | NFW | NFM | ZAK |
| Al-Bahri | | 2–2 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–3 | 2–0 | 1–4 | 0–2 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 3–0 |
| Al-Diwaniya | 2–1 | | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 0–4 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 3–1 | 1–3 | 0–0 | 3–0 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 1–1 |
| Al-Hudood | 0–2 | 3–1 | | 2–2 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 3–0 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 2–2 | 1–0 | 1–0 |
| Al-Hussein | 0–0 | 3–0 | 2–1 | | 0–1 | 3–0 | 0–1 | 3–3 | 0–2 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–4 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 2–4 | 0–1 | 2–2 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 2–1 |
| Al-Kahrabaa | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 0–0 | | 2–2 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 3–2 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 2–3 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 |
| Al-Minaa | 1–0 | 4–2 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 | | 0–3 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 4–1 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 1–1 |
| Al-Naft | 2–1 | 3–0 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 0–0 | | 2–1 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 2–2 | 4–1 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 3–1 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 2–1 |
| Al-Najaf | 2–0 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 3–0 | 0–0 | | 3–2 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 3–0 | 1–2 | 3–3 | 1–0 | 1–0 |
| Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya | 2–0 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 5–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 4–2 | | 2–0 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 4–1 | 3–0 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 5–1 |
| Al-Samawa | 2–0 | 3–1 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 0–3 | 0–0 | 2–2 | | 2–2 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 3–0 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 2–1 |
| Al-Shorta | 4–1 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 3–0 | 1–2 | 3–0 | 0–0 | 4–0 | 1–0 | 4–1 | | 3–1 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 3–0 | 4–0 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 1–0 |
| Al-Sinaat Al-Kahrabaiya | 0–0 | 0–0 | 5–1 | 2–1 | 0–2 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 2–2 | 2–2 | | 4–2 | 1–4 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 0–0 |
| Al-Talaba | 2–2 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 0–4 | 3–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 0–4 | 2–1 | 1–3 | 2–1 | | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 3–1 |
| Al-Zawraa | 0–0 | 3–0 | 2–0 | 4–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 2–0 | | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 3–1 |
| Amanat Baghdad | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 1–3 | 2–2 | 0–3 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 0–3 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 0–1 | | 0–1 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 2–1 |
| Karbala | 3–4 | 1–1 | 1–4 | 0–2 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 1–5 | 1–4 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 0–4 | 0–3 | 1–3 | 0–1 | | 1–1 | 2–2 | 1–0 | 1–0 |
| Naft Al-Junoob | 1–1 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 4–2 | 1–4 | 0–0 | 0–1 | | 0–0 | 0–0 | 1–0 |
| Naft Al-Wasat | 3–1 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–3 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 2–1 | 3–3 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 5–0 | 1–1 | | 1–0 | 2–0 |
| Naft Maysan | 3–1 | 1–0 | 3–2 | 5–1 | 1–0 | 3–0 | 0–1 | 3–1 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 3–0 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 3–1 | 1–2 | 2–2 | | 1–1 |
| Zakho | 3–2 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 2–2 | 1–3 | 1–3 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | |
* ↑ The Al-Hussein–Al-Minaa match was awarded as a 3–0 win to Al-Hussein after Al-Minaa, who started the game with 7 players, had their player Sajad Kamel go off injured a few minutes into the game.
* ↑ The Al-Minaa–Al-Naft match was awarded as a 3–0 win to Al-Naft after Al-Minaa, who started the game with 8 players, had two of their players go off injured in the first ten minutes.
* ↑ The Al-Samawa–Al-Naft match originally ended 1–1 but was changed to a 3–0 win for Al-Naft due to Al-Samawa fielding the ineligible player Mohammed Hassan.
* ↑ The Al-Samawa–Naft Al-Junoob match was awarded as a 3–0 win to Al-Samawa, as Naft Al-Junoob did not turn up for the game.
* ↑ The Al-Shorta–Al-Minaa match was awarded as a 3–0 win to Al-Shorta, as Al-Minaa did not turn up for the game.
* ↑ The Karbala–Al-Talaba match was awarded as a 3–0 win to Al-Talaba, as Karbala was prevented from turning up for the game due to having not paid rent on the Karbala International Stadium where they were to host the match.
* ↑ The Naft Maysan–Al-Najaf match was ended at half-time with the score at 3–1 after Al-Najaf refused to take to the field for the second half in protest at refereeing decisions.

## Season statistics
### Top scorers

| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
| 1 | Wissam Saadoun | Naft Maysan | 24 |
| 2 | Amjad Radhi | Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya | 23 |
| 3 | Alaa Abdul-Zahra | Al-Shorta | 22 |
| 4 | Alaa Abbas | Naft Al-Wasat | 21 |
| 5 | Mohammed Dawood | Al-Naft | 18 |
| 5 | Manar Taha | Al-Sinaat Al-Kahrabaiya | 18 |

### Hat-tricks

| Player | For | Against | Result | Date |
| Aboubakar Koné | Al-Kahrabaa | Al-Talaba | 4–0 | 10 December 2017 |
| Aboubakar Koné | Al-Kahrabaa | Al-Samawa | 3–2 | 15 December 2017 |
| Mohammed Dawood | Al-Naft | Al-Diwaniya | 4–0 | 28 January 2018 |
| Wissam Saadoun | Naft Maysan | Al-Talaba | 3–0 | 31 March 2018 |
| Manar Taha | Al-Sinaat Al-Kahrabaiya | Al-Talaba | 4–2 | 14 April 2018 |
| Mustafa Karim | Al-Minaa | Al-Diwaniya | 4–2 | 29 April 2018 |
| Wissam Saadoun | Naft Maysan | Al-Hussein | 5–1 | 23 June 2018 |

## Awards

| Award | Winner | Club |
| Soccer Iraq Goal of the Season | Ali Raheem | Al-Zawraa |