# 2022–23 Iraqi Premier League

The 2022–23 Iraqi Premier League was the 49th season of the Iraqi Premier League, the highest tier football league in Iraq, since its establishment in 1974 and the last season under the name Iraqi Premier League. The season started on 9 October 2022 and ended on 21 July 2023.
Al-Hudood, Karbala and Duhok joined as the promoted clubs from the 2021–22 Iraqi First Division League, replacing Amanat Baghdad, Al-Minaa and Samarra who were relegated.
Al-Shorta were crowned Iraqi Premier League champions for the second time in a row, securing the title with a 3–0 win away to Naft Maysan in the penultimate round of the season.

## Teams
### Clubs and locations

| Team | Manager | Location | Stadium | Capacity |
| Al-Diwaniya | Haider Hussien Shamran | Al-Qadisiyya | Al-Kut Olympic Stadium | 20,000 |
| Al-Hudood | Adel Nima | Baghdad | Al-Shaab Stadium | 34,200 |
| Al-Kahrabaa | Luay Salah | Baghdad | Al-Zawraa Stadium | 15,443 |
| Al-Karkh | Ahmed Abdul-Jabar | Baghdad | Al-Saher Ahmed Radhi Stadium | 5,150 |
| Al-Naft | Basim Qasim | Baghdad | Al-Madina Stadium | 32,000 |
| Al-Najaf | Saad Hafedh | Najaf | Al-Najaf International Stadium | 30,000 |
| Al-Qasim | Chasib Sultan | Babil | Karbala International Stadium | 30,000 |
| Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya | Moamen Soliman | Baghdad | Al-Shaab Stadium | 34,200 |
| Al-Shorta | Ahmed Salah | Baghdad | Al-Shaab Stadium | 34,200 |
| Al-Sinaa | Qusay Munir | Baghdad | Al-Sinaa Stadium | 10,000 |
| Al-Talaba | Ahmed Khalaf | Baghdad | Al-Madina Stadium | 32,000 |
| Al-Zawraa | Haidar Abdul-Amir | Baghdad | Al-Zawraa Stadium | 15,443 |
| Duhok | Soliman Ramadan | Duhok | Duhok Stadium | 22,800 |
| Erbil | Abbas Obeid | Erbil | Franso Hariri Stadium | 25,000 |
| Karbala | Haidar Aboodi | Karbala | Karbala International Stadium | 30,000 |
| Naft Al-Basra | Abdul-Wahab Abu Al-Hail | Basra | Al-Fayhaa Stadium | 10,000 |
| Naft Al-Wasat | Majed Najim | Najaf | Al-Najaf International Stadium | 30,000 |
| Naft Maysan | Uday Ismail | Maysan | Maysan Olympic Stadium | 25,000 |
| Newroz | Wali Karim | Sulaymaniya | Sulaymaniya Stadium | 15,000 |
| Zakho | Nizar Mahrous | Duhok | Zakho International Stadium | 20,000 |

### Managerial changes

| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Position in the table | Incoming manager | Date of appointment |
| Al-Diwaniya | Qusay Munir | Mutual consent | 26 August 2022 | Pre-season | Samer Saeed | 29 August 2022 |
| Erbil | Nizar Mahrous | Mutual consent | 16 October 2022 | 16th | Ghazi Fahad | 22 October 2022 |
| Zakho | Hamza Hadi | Mutual consent | 25 October 2022 | 14th | Haidar Abdul-Amir | 30 October 2022 |
| Al-Naft | Hassan Ahmed | Mutual consent | 1 November 2022 | 18th | Hakeem Shaker | 1 November 2022 |
| Al-Talaba | Thair Ahmed | Mutual consent | 4 November 2022 | 7th | Yamen Zelfani | 20 November 2022 |
| Al-Diwaniya | Samer Saeed | Mutual consent | 30 November 2022 | 20th | Haitham Al-Shboul | 1 December 2022 |
| Al-Sinaa | Sadeq Hanoon | Sacked | 30 November 2022 | 19th | Tahsin Fadhel (interim) | 1 December 2022 |
| Al-Sinaa | Tahsin Fadhel | End of interim spell | 27 December 2022 | 19th | Khalid Mohammed Sabbar | 27 December 2022 |
| Naft Al-Wasat | Abdul-Ghani Shahad | Sacked | 18 January 2023 | 12th | Samer Saeed | 18 January 2023 |
| Al-Diwaniya | Haitham Al-Shboul | Mutual consent | 27 January 2023 | 20th | Chasib Sultan | 28 January 2023 |
| Al-Najaf | Ahmed Khalaf | Sacked | 3 February 2023 | 7th | Abdul-Ghani Shahad | 4 February 2023 |
| Erbil | Ghazi Fahad | Mutual consent | 6 February 2023 | 17th | Abdul-Qader Hussein (interim) | 6 February 2023 |
| Al-Naft | Hakeem Shaker | Mutual consent | 7 February 2023 | 18th | Mohammed Jassim (interim) | 7 February 2023 |
| Al-Qasim | Ali Abdul-Jabbar | Mutual consent | 13 February 2023 | 18th | Hassan Hadi (interim) | 16 February 2023 |
| Al-Naft | Mohammed Jassim | End of interim spell | 1 March 2023 | 18th | Mohamed Youssef | 1 March 2023 |
| Karbala | Abbas Attiya | Mutual consent | 4 March 2023 | 14th | Haidar Aboodi | 4 March 2023 |
| Al-Diwaniya | Chasib Sultan | Mutual consent | 6 March 2023 | 20th | Saeed Mohsen | 6 March 2023 |
| Erbil | Abdul-Qader Hussein | End of interim spell | 10 March 2023 | 16th | Abbas Obeid | 10 March 2023 |
| Al-Diwaniya | Saeed Mohsen | Mutual consent | 12 March 2023 | 20th | Ahmed Ali Takhtakh (interim) | 12 March 2023 |
| Al-Qasim | Hassan Hadi | End of interim spell | 13 March 2023 | 18th | Ali Abdul-Jabbar (Although he is suspended) | 13 March 2023 |
| Al-Shorta | Moamen Soliman | Sacked | 17 March 2023 | 1st | Ahmed Salah | 17 March 2023 |
| Al-Najaf | Abdul-Ghani Shahad | Mutual consent | 31 March 2023 | 9th | Saad Hafedh | 6 April 2023 |
| Al-Diwaniya | Ahmed Ali Takhtakh | End of interim spell | 3 April 2023 | 20th | Haider Abu-Ajjah | 3 April 2023 |
| Al-Talaba | Yamen Zelfani | Mutual consent | 10 April 2023 | 5th | Ahmed Khalaf | 11 April 2023 |
| Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya | Qahtan Chathir | Sacked | 10 April 2023 | 2nd | Hammadi Ahmed (interim) | 15 April 2023 |
| Al-Sinaa | Khalid Mohammed Sabbar | Mutual consent | 12 April 2023 | 19th | Qusay Munir | 13 April 2023 |
| Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya | Hammadi Ahmed | End of interim spell | 17 April 2023 | 2nd | Moamen Soliman | 17 April 2023 |
| Naft Al-Wasat | Samer Saeed | Mutual consent | 17 April 2023 | 16th | Majed Najem | 18 April 2023 |
| Al-Qasim | Ali Abdul-Jabbar | Mutual consent | 27 April 2023 | 17th | Chasib Sultan | 27 April 2023 |
| Zakho | Haidar Abdul-Amir | Mutual consent | 1 May 2023 | 16th | Nizar Mahrous | 2 May 2023 |
| Al-Naft | Mohamed Youssef | Mutual consent | 8 May 2023 | 18th | Mohammed Jassim (interim) | 8 May 2023 |
| Al-Zawraa | Ayoub Odisho | Mutual consent | 11 May 2023 | 3rd | Haidar Abdul-Amir | 11 May 2023 |
| Al-Diwaniya | Haider Abu-Ajjah | Mutual consent | 14 May 2023 | 20th | Haider Hussien Shamran | 14 May 2023 |
| Al-Naft | Mohammed Jassim | End of interim spell | 30 May 2023 | 18th | Basim Qasim | 30 May 2023 |

## League table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Al-Shorta (C) | 38 | 25 | 7 | 6 | 63 | 24 | +39 | 82 | |
| 2 | Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya | 38 | 23 | 9 | 6 | 62 | 26 | +36 | 78 | Qualification for the AFC Champions League group stage |
| 3 | Al-Zawraa | 38 | 18 | 14 | 6 | 50 | 32 | +18 | 68 | Qualification for the AFC Cup group stage |
| 4 | Al-Talaba | 38 | 19 | 9 | 10 | 52 | 39 | +13 | 66 | |
| 5 | Al-Kahrabaa | 38 | 17 | 11 | 10 | 51 | 38 | +13 | 62 | Qualification for the AFC Cup group stage |
| 6 | Erbil | 38 | 16 | 10 | 12 | 44 | 39 | +5 | 58 | |
| 7 | Al-Najaf | 38 | 15 | 11 | 12 | 46 | 41 | +5 | 56 | |
| 8 | Karbala | 38 | 15 | 11 | 12 | 39 | 34 | +5 | 56 | |
| 9 | Duhok | 38 | 12 | 16 | 10 | 37 | 39 | −2 | 52 | |
| 10 | Newroz | 38 | 14 | 9 | 15 | 45 | 43 | +2 | 51 | |
| 11 | Naft Maysan | 38 | 13 | 12 | 13 | 42 | 54 | −12 | 51 | |
| 12 | Al-Karkh | 38 | 13 | 12 | 13 | 40 | 36 | +4 | 51 | |
| 13 | Al-Hudood | 38 | 10 | 19 | 9 | 40 | 37 | +3 | 49 | |
| 14 | Zakho | 38 | 10 | 14 | 14 | 40 | 40 | 0 | 44 | |
| 15 | Naft Al-Basra | 38 | 9 | 15 | 14 | 32 | 41 | −9 | 42 | |
| 16 | Al-Naft | 38 | 9 | 13 | 16 | 39 | 50 | −11 | 40 | |
| 17 | Al-Qasim | 38 | 9 | 12 | 17 | 31 | 43 | −12 | 39 | |
| 18 | Naft Al-Wasat | 38 | 5 | 21 | 12 | 26 | 34 | −8 | 36 | |
| 19 | Al-Sinaa (R) | 38 | 7 | 7 | 24 | 26 | 54 | −28 | 28 | Relegation to the Iraqi First Division League |
| 20 | Al-Diwaniya (R) | 38 | 2 | 6 | 30 | 25 | 86 | −61 | 12 | Relegation to the Iraqi First Division League |
* ↑ Al-Shorta were not granted an AFC license, therefore their AFC Champions League spot was passed to the league runners-up and Iraq FA Cup winners Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya.
* 1 2 As Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya (league runners-up and Iraq FA Cup winners) entered the AFC Champions League, the two AFC Cup spots were passed down to Iraq's only other licensed clubs, Al-Zawraa and Al-Kahrabaa.
* 1 2 Al-Najaf finished ahead of Karbala on head-to-head points: Al-Najaf 3–2 Karbala, Karbala 0–3 Al-Najaf.
* 1 2 3 Newroz and Naft Maysan finished ahead of Al-Karkh on head-to-head points: Newroz 7, Naft Maysan 7, Al-Karkh 2. Newroz finished ahead of Naft Maysan on goal difference: Newroz +2, Naft Maysan –12.

## Results

| Home \ Away | DIW | HUD | KAH | KKH | NFT | NJF | QSM | QWJ | SHR | SIN | TLB | ZWR | DHK | ERB | KRB | NFB | NFW | NFM | NRZ | ZAK |
| Al-Diwaniya | | 1–3 | 0–2 | 0–3 | 2–2 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 0–3 | 0–3 | 2–1 | 2–2 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 1–3 | 0–4 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 1–3 | 1–5 |
| Al-Hudood | 1–0 | | 1–1 | 1–1 | 4–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–2 | 2–2 | 1–2 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–4 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 3–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 |
| Al-Kahrabaa | 5–0 | 1–0 | | 2–1 | 0–1 | 3–1 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 0–0 | 3–0 | 1–3 | 0–1 | 2–2 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 1–0 |
| Al-Karkh | 1–1 | 1–2 | 3–1 | | 0–1 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 2–3 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 2–2 | 0–0 | 3–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 1–0 |
| Al-Naft | 1–1 | 1–2 | 0–3 | 3–2 | | 0–0 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 4–0 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 3–3 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 |
| Al-Najaf | 0–0 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 2–3 | 1–2 | | 0–0 | 0–2 | 0–5 | 2–0 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 2–3 | 3–2 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 5–2 | 2–1 | 3–1 |
| Al-Qasim | 3–0 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 0–1 | | 1–2 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 0–3 | 0–0 | 3–1 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 0–0 |
| Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya | 9–2 | 0–0 | 2–3 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 3–4 | | 1–0 | 4–0 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 2–1 |
| Al-Shorta | 1–0 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 0–0 | | 4–0 | 2–2 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 3–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 |
| Al-Sinaa | 3–2 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 3–0 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 0–2 | 0–1 | | 0–1 | 0–2 | 1–3 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 3–2 | 0–1 | 0–0 |
| Al-Talaba | 2–1 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 1–2 | 0–3 | 2–1 | | 1–0 | 2–0 | 3–1 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 0–1 |
| Al-Zawraa | 1–0 | 2–2 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 0–1 | | 1–1 | 3–1 | 1–0 | 2–2 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 3–1 | 2–1 |
| Duhok | 2–0 | 0–2 | 2–2 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 2–4 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 1–1 | | 0–0 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 3–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 |
| Erbil | 3–2 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 3–0 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 0–4 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 1–0 | | 1–0 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 3–1 | 0–0 | 2–1 |
| Karbala | 3–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 0–3 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 2–1 | | 0–0 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–0 |
| Naft Al-Basra | 1–1 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 0–3 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 0–1 | | 1–0 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 3–2 |
| Naft Al-Wasat | 2–0 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 0–0 | | 0–0 | 0–2 | 0–1 |
| Naft Maysan | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2–2 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 0–4 | 0–3 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 1–3 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–0 | | 2–1 | 2–2 |
| Newroz | 3–1 | 3–1 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 0–3 | 0–1 | 2–2 | 3–0 | 1–1 | 2–4 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 2–1 | | 2–1 |
| Zakho | 2–1 | 2–2 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 3–0 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 0–2 | |
* ↑ The Al-Qasim–Duhok match originally ended in a 0–0 draw but was changed to a 3–0 win for Duhok as Al-Qasim failed to ensure an ambulance was present within the first 15 minutes of the match, which violated league rules.
* ↑ The Erbil–Al-Qasim match was awarded as a 3–0 win to Erbil, as Al-Qasim did not turn up for the game.
* ↑ The Karbala–Al-Najaf match originally ended in a 2–1 win for Karbala but was changed to a 3–0 win for Al-Najaf due to Karbala fielding the ineligible player Ahmed Mohammed Hussein, who had been suspended for receiving three yellow cards in previous matches.
* ↑ The Zakho–Naft Al-Basra match originally ended in a 2–2 draw but was changed to a 3–0 win for Zakho due to Naft Al-Basra fielding three ineligible players (Ahmed Zamel, Hussein Ammar and Haider Abdul-Rahim), who had all been suspended for receiving three yellow cards in previous matches.

## Season statistics
### Top scorers

| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
| 1 | Mohannad Abdul-Raheem | Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya | 18 |
| 2 | Mouhamed Soueid | Al-Hudood | 17 |
| 3 | Denny Antwi | Al-Naft | 16 |
| 4 | Muhaimen Salim | Al-Kahrabaa | 15 |
| 5 | Cláudio Maradona | Newroz | 12 |
| 5 | Alaa Abdul-Zahra | Al-Shorta | 12 |

#### Hat-tricks

| Player | For | Against | Result | Date |
| Nasser Al-Gahwashi | Naft Al-Wasat | Al-Naft | 3–3 (A) | 29 November 2022 |
| Husham Ahmed | Al-Sinaa | Erbil | 4–0 (A) | 6 February 2023 |
| Aso Rostam | Al-Shorta | Naft Maysan | 3–0 (H) | 23 February 2023 |
| Denny Antwi | Al-Naft | Al-Karkh | 3–2 (H) | 30 May 2023 |
| Muhaimen Salim$^4$ | Al-Kahrabaa | Al-Diwaniya | 5–0 (H) | 15 July 2023 |

##### Notes

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

## Awards

| Award | Winner | Club |
| Soccer Iraq Goal of the Season | Ameer Sabah | Al-Shorta |