# 2000–01 Iraqi Elite League

The 2000–01 Iraqi Elite League was the 27th season of the competition since its foundation in 1974. The name of the league was changed from Iraqi First Division League to Iraqi Elite League. Instead of relegating teams from the 1999–2000 season and promoting teams from the lower division in order to decide which teams were playing in the competition, the Iraq Football Association decided that every eligible team in the country should play qualifying games in order to decide who participated.
The qualifying rounds saw a total of 135 teams being split into regional groups, all competing for the 16 places in the league. After all the qualifiers were over in December, the league competition itself was held with each team playing 30 matches. In the end, Al-Zawraa won their third league title in a row, finishing eight points clear at the top.

## Regional qualifiers
### First round

In the first qualifying round, each province apart from Baghdad and Sulaymaniya had its own qualifying tournament with the winner advancing to the second qualifying round.
| Province | Winner | Notes |
| Al-Anbar | Al-Ramadi | |
| Al-Qadisiya | Al-Diwaniya | Other competing teams included Al-Yaqdha, Afak, Al-Daghara, Al-Shamiya, Al-Rafidain and Ghammas |
| Babil | Al-Qasim | Al-Qasim played Babil in a play-off over two legs which ended 1–1 and 0–0; Al-Qasim qualified on away goals. Other competing teams included Al-Hilla |
| Basra | Al-Minaa | Al-Minaa played Al-Basra in a two-legged play-off; both legs ended in draws and Al-Minaa won 1–0 via a golden goal in extra-time. Other competing teams included Al-Bahri, Al-Ittihad, Al-Zubair, Kahrabaa Al-Hartha, Al-Junoob, Abi Al-Khaseeb, Al-Khor, Al-Qurna, Al-Dair, Umm Qasr, Al-Midaina and Al-Rumaila |
| Dhi Qar | Al-Nasiriya | |
| Diyala | Al-Khalis | Other competing teams included Diyala (who withdrew), Jalawla, Al-Miqdadiya, Khanaqin, Balad Ruz and Al-Shaheed Arkan |
| Duhok | Duhok | Other competing teams included Zakho and Peris |
| Erbil | Erbil | |
| Karbala | Karbala | Other competing teams included Al-Hindiya, Al-Jamahir and Al-Husseiniya |
| Kirkuk | Kirkuk | Other competing teams included Al-Thawra, Al-Hawija, Al-Dibis and Daquq |
| Maysan | Maysan | Other competing teams included Al-Amara |
| Muthanna | Al-Samawa | Other competing teams included Al-Khidhir, Al-Muthanna and Al-Rumaitha |
| Najaf | Al-Najaf | |
| Nineveh | Al-Mosul | Al-Mosul played Hikna in a two-legged play-off; both legs ended in draws (one of which was 3–3) and Al-Mosul qualified on away goals. Other competing teams included Al-Qayara, Al-Intisar, Zummar, Hamam Al-Alil, Tel Afar and Bashiqa |
| Salahaddin | Samarra | Other competing teams included Salahaddin, Al-Alam, Al-Dawr Al-Ahli, Al-Shirqat and Baiji |
| Wasit | Al-Kut | Other competing teams included Wasit, Al-Mutasim, Al-Hay, Al-Aziziya, Al-Numaniya and Al-Suwaira |
| Baghdad – All 35 teams admitted directly to second qualifying round |||
| Sulaymaniya – Sulaymaniya admitted directly to second qualifying round |||

### Second round

In the second qualifying round, which started in September and ended in December, the remaining teams were split into five regional groups. The two Baghdad groups were played in a single round-robin format (teams played each other once) while the other three groups were played in a double round-robin format (teams played each other twice).

#### North Group

| Team | Result |
| Duhok | Qualified to Elite League |
| Samarra | Qualified to Elite League |
| Erbil | Qualified to Elite League |
| Kirkuk |
| Al-Mosul |
| Sulaymaniya |

#### Central Group

| Team | Result |
| Al-Najaf | Qualified to Elite League |
| Al-Ramadi | Qualified to Elite League |
| Karbala | Qualified to Elite League |
| Al-Khalis |
| Al-Qasim |

#### South Group

| Team | Result |
| Al-Kut | Qualified to Elite League |
| Al-Samawa | Qualified to Elite League |
| Al-Minaa | Qualified to Elite League |
| Maysan |
| Al-Nasiriya |
| Al-Diwaniya |

#### Baghdad Group 1

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Al-Shorta | 17 | 16 | 1 | 0 | 82 | 8 | +74 | 49 | Qualified to Elite League |
| 2 | Al-Karkh | 17 | 15 | 2 | 0 | 83 | 13 | +70 | 47 | Qualified to Elite League |
| 3 | Al-Zawraa | 17 | 14 | 1 | 2 | 80 | 7 | +73 | 43 | Qualified to Elite League |
| 4 | Al-Jaish | 17 | 12 | 2 | 3 | 42 | 16 | +26 | 38 | Qualified to Play-off round |
| 5 | Al-Sinaa | 17 | 10 | 4 | 3 | 42 | 20 | +22 | 34 | |
| 6 | Al-Kadhimiya | 17 | 9 | 5 | 3 | 40 | 14 | +26 | 32 | |
| 7 | Al-Nahdha | 17 | 8 | 4 | 5 | 32 | 27 | +5 | 28 | |
| 8 | Al-Umal | 17 | 7 | 5 | 5 | 38 | 29 | +9 | 26 | |
| 9 | Al-Siyaha | 17 | 8 | 1 | 8 | 22 | 33 | −11 | 25 | |
| 10 | Al-Amana | 17 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 39 | 32 | +7 | 24 | |
| 11 | Al-Shabab | 17 | 6 | 4 | 7 | 17 | 20 | −3 | 22 | |
| 12 | Al-Bareed | 17 | 5 | 3 | 9 | 23 | 47 | −24 | 18 | |
| 13 | Al-Khutoot | 17 | 5 | 2 | 10 | 24 | 41 | −17 | 17 | |
| 14 | Al-Hudood | 17 | 4 | 1 | 12 | 27 | 51 | −24 | 13 | |
| 15 | Al-Adhamiya | 17 | 1 | 3 | 13 | 15 | 75 | −60 | 6 | |
| 16 | Tayaran Al-Jaish | 17 | 1 | 2 | 14 | 10 | 55 | −45 | 5 | |
| 17 | Al-Shaheed Dulaf | 17 | 1 | 1 | 15 | 13 | 72 | −59 | 4 | |
| 18 | Al-Madain | 17 | 1 | 1 | 15 | 9 | 78 | −69 | 4 | |

##### Results

| Home \ Away | ADH | AMN | BRD | HUD | KDH | KKH | KHT | JSH | MDN | NDH | SHB | SHD | SHR | SIN | SIY | UML | ZWR | TYJ |
| Al-Adhamiya | | | | 3–9 | 0–4 | | 0–2 | | | | 0–3 | 2–2 | | | | | | 1–1 |
| Al-Amana | 8–0 | | 1–1 | 5–4 | | | 3–3 | | 4–1 | | 2–1 | 5–2 | | | 0–2 | 1–1 | 2–2 | |
| Al-Bareed | 2–1 | | | 4–2 | 1–1 | | | | 1–0 | | | 2–0 | | 1–3 | | | | |
| Al-Hudood | | | | | 1–1 | | | | | 0–3 | 0–1 | | | | 1–2 | | | 1–0 |
| Al-Kadhimiya | | 1–1 | | | | | 3–1 | 0–3 | | | 1–0 | | | 0–0 | | 1–0 | 0–2 | |
| Al-Karkh | 14–2 | 4–0 | 5–1 | 4–1 | 0–0 | | 5–1 | | 10–2 | 3–1 | 3–0 | 6–0 | | | 5–0 | 7–3 | 1–0 | 5–1 |
| Al-Khutoot | | | 5–0 | 1–2 | | | | | 1–0 | | 0–0 | 2–0 | 1–7 | | 0–1 | | | 3–0 |
| Al-Jaish | 5–1 | 2–1 | 6–3 | 3–1 | | 0–5 | 4–2 | | 5–0 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 6–0 | 0–1 | | 5–0 | | 0–2 | 1–0 |
| Al-Madain | 0–3 | | | 1–0 | 0–7 | | | | | 2–5 | 0–2 | | 0–7 | | 0–3 | | | |
| Al-Nahdha | 4–1 | 1–1 | 3–0 | | 1–5 | | 3–1 | | | | | | | 1–1 | | | | 4–1 |
| Al-Shabab | | | 1–1 | | | | | | | 1–0 | | | | | 1–1 | | | |
| Al-Shaheed Dulaf | | | | 1–2 | 0–5 | | | | 4–2 | 0–2 | 1–3 | | | | | | | |
| Al-Shorta | 8–0 | 2–1 | 7–1 | 10–1 | 4–1 | 0–0 | | | | 4–0 | 4–1 | 8–1 | | | | 4–0 | | 6–0 |
| Al-Sinaa | 4–0 | 3–1 | | 2–1 | | 1–6 | 4–0 | 0–0 | 7–0 | | 1–0 | 6–0 | 0–5 | | 2–0 | 0–0 | | 7–0 |
| Al-Siyaha | 2–1 | | 4–0 | | 0–5 | | | | | 0–1 | | 3–0 | 1–4 | | | 0–2 | | |
| Al-Umal | 0–0 | | 5–2 | 3–1 | | | 2–1 | 0–1 | 8–0 | 3–3 | 1–1 | 8–0 | | | | | | 2–1 |
| Al-Zawraa | 7–0 | | 3–0 | 7–0 | | | 7–0 | | 11–1 | 4–0 | 4–0 | 6–0 | 0–1 | 5–1 | 6–1 | 6–0 | | 8–0 |
| Tayaran Al-Jaish | | 2–3 | 0–3 | | 0–5 | | | | 0–0 | | 0–2 | 4–2 | | | 0–2 | | | |
* ↑ The Al-Zawraa–Al-Bareed match originally ended 0–0 but was changed to a 3–0 win for Al-Zawraa due to Al-Bareed fielding an ineligible player.

#### Baghdad Group 2

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Al-Talaba | 16 | 15 | 0 | 1 | 82 | 4 | +78 | 45 | Qualified to Elite League |
| 2 | Al-Naft | 16 | 14 | 2 | 0 | 52 | 2 | +50 | 44 | Qualified to Elite League |
| 3 | Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya | 16 | 14 | 1 | 1 | 65 | 7 | +58 | 43 | Qualified to Elite League |
| 4 | Al-Difaa Al-Jawi | 16 | 12 | 2 | 2 | 60 | 13 | +47 | 38 | Qualified to Play-off round |
| 5 | Al-Shuala | 16 | 9 | 1 | 6 | 28 | 18 | +10 | 28 | |
| 6 | Al-Majd | 16 | 7 | 3 | 6 | 36 | 23 | +13 | 24 | |
| 7 | Haifa | 16 | 7 | 3 | 6 | 21 | 24 | −3 | 24 | |
| 8 | Al-Sulaikh | 16 | 7 | 1 | 8 | 34 | 28 | +6 | 22 | |
| 9 | Al-Mahmoudiya | 16 | 6 | 4 | 6 | 13 | 25 | −12 | 22 | |
| 10 | Tamouz | 16 | 5 | 4 | 7 | 19 | 29 | −10 | 19 | |
| 11 | Abu Ghraib | 16 | 4 | 3 | 9 | 19 | 51 | −32 | 15 | |
| 12 | Al-Qaqaa | 16 | 4 | 3 | 9 | 15 | 49 | −34 | 15 | |
| 13 | Al-Tijara | 16 | 4 | 2 | 10 | 11 | 32 | −21 | 14 | |
| 14 | Al-Hurriya | 16 | 3 | 3 | 10 | 19 | 42 | −23 | 12 | |
| 15 | Batal Al-Tahreer | 16 | 3 | 1 | 12 | 15 | 52 | −37 | 10 | |
| 16 | Al-Salama | 16 | 3 | 1 | 12 | 16 | 58 | −42 | 10 | |
| 17 | Al-Saqr Al-Arabi | 16 | 1 | 2 | 13 | 13 | 61 | −48 | 5 | |

##### Results

| Home \ Away | ABU | DIF | HUR | MAH | MJD | NFT | QQA | QWJ | SLM | SQR | SHL | SLK | TLB | TJR | BTL | HFA | TMZ |
| Abu Ghraib | | 1–7 | | | 1–1 | | 1–2 | | 5–2 | 2–2 | 0–4 | | | 2–1 | 2–2 | | |
| Al-Difaa Al-Jawi | | | | | 2–1 | 1–1 | | | 11–0 | | | 2–0 | 0–2 | | 3–0 | | |
| Al-Hurriya | 3–1 | 0–5 | | | | | 1–2 | 0–3 | 2–0 | | | 2–6 | | | 4–2 | | |
| Al-Mahmoudiya | 1–0 | 3–3 | 1–0 | | | | 0–0 | | | 1–0 | 0–3 | 1–1 | | | | 0–0 | 2–1 |
| Al-Majd | | | 1–0 | 0–1 | | | 4–0 | | 5–3 | 7–2 | | | | 3–0 | | 1–1 | 1–1 |
| Al-Naft | 7–0 | | 7–0 | 4–0 | 2–0 | | 4–0 | | 4–0 | 7–0 | 1–0 | 3–1 | | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 5–0 |
| Al-Qaqaa | | 0–5 | | | | | | | 2–1 | 3–2 | 0–2 | | | | 1–2 | | |
| Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya | 6–0 | 4–2 | | 5–1 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 6–0 | | 7–1 | 7–1 | 1–0 | 6–0 | 0–1 | 5–0 | | 2–0 | |
| Al-Salama | | | | 0–1 | | | | | | 3–1 | | | 0–10 | 1–0 | | | 2–2 |
| Al-Saqr Al-Arabi | | 0–8 | 2–2 | | | | | | | | | 1–4 | | 2–1 | | 0–1 | |
| Al-Shuala | | 0–1 | 3–1 | | 2–1 | | | | 2–0 | 1–0 | | 2–0 | | 1–2 | 3–1 | | 1–2 |
| Al-Sulaikh | 2–0 | | | | 1–3 | | 5–1 | | 4–0 | | | | | 1–0 | 7–1 | | 1–2 |
| Al-Talaba | 9–0 | | 5–1 | 5–0 | 5–1 | 0–1 | 9–0 | | | 8–0 | 4–0 | 3–1 | | 5–0 | 6–0 | 6–0 | 4–0 |
| Al-Tijara | | 0–6 | 1–1 | 1–0 | | | 2–2 | | | | | | | | 2–0 | | 0–1 |
| Batal Al-Tahreer | | | | 2–1 | 1–7 | | | 0–7 | 0–2 | 2–0 | | | | | | 1–3 | 1–2 |
| Haifa | 1–2 | 1–2 | 3–2 | | | | 3–0 | | 2–1 | | 4–4 | 1–0 | | 0–1 | | | 1–0 |
| Tamouz | 1–2 | 0–2 | 0–0 | | | | 2–2 | 1–5 | | 4–0 | | | | | | | |

### Play-off round

In the play-off round, the two fourth-placed teams from the Baghdad Groups faced off in a two-legged tie to determine the seventh qualifying team from Baghdad.
2–2 on aggregate. Al-Difaa Al-Jawi won on away goals and qualified for the Elite League.

## League table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Al-Zawraa (C) | 30 | 23 | 1 | 6 | 80 | 24 | +56 | 70 | 2002–03 AFC Champions League preliminary round 3 |
| 2 | Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya | 30 | 18 | 8 | 4 | 53 | 24 | +29 | 62 | |
| 3 | Al-Shorta | 30 | 19 | 3 | 8 | 60 | 26 | +34 | 60 | |
| 4 | Al-Talaba | 30 | 17 | 9 | 4 | 43 | 22 | +21 | 60 | |
| 5 | Duhok | 30 | 16 | 7 | 7 | 44 | 24 | +20 | 55 | |
| 6 | Al-Najaf | 30 | 15 | 7 | 8 | 31 | 16 | +15 | 52 | |
| 7 | Al-Karkh | 30 | 14 | 8 | 8 | 48 | 33 | +15 | 50 | |
| 8 | Al-Difaa Al-Jawi | 30 | 13 | 9 | 8 | 33 | 29 | +4 | 48 | |
| 9 | Al-Minaa | 30 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 24 | 26 | −2 | 40 | |
| 10 | Samarra | 30 | 10 | 6 | 14 | 34 | 50 | −16 | 36 | |
| 11 | Al-Naft | 30 | 8 | 10 | 12 | 31 | 40 | −9 | 34 | |
| 12 | Erbil | 30 | 6 | 11 | 13 | 24 | 46 | −22 | 29 | |
| 13 | Al-Samawa | 30 | 6 | 8 | 16 | 26 | 37 | −11 | 26 | |
| 14 | Al-Ramadi | 30 | 6 | 4 | 20 | 31 | 67 | −36 | 22 | |
| 15 | Al-Kut (R) | 30 | 3 | 3 | 24 | 18 | 56 | −38 | 12 | Relegation to the Iraqi First Division League |
| 16 | Karbala (R) | 30 | 3 | 2 | 25 | 16 | 76 | −60 | 11 | Relegation to the Iraqi First Division League |
* ↑ Iraq were given two slots for the 2002–03 AFC Champions League, therefore 2000–01 league champions Al-Zawraa were admitted to the qualifying round and 2001–02 league champions Al-Talaba entered the group stage.

## Results

| Home \ Away | DIF | KKH | KUT | MIN | NFT | NJF | QWJ | RMA | SMA | SHR | TLB | ZWR | DHK | ERB | KRB | SMR |
| Al-Difaa Al-Jawi | | 3–1 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 3–0 | 1–0 | 1–3 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 3–0 | 1–0 |
| Al-Karkh | 2–2 | | 1–0 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 3–2 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 1–3 | 2–0 | 7–0 | 5–1 |
| Al-Kut | 1–1 | 2–1 | | 0–2 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 0–3 | 0–1 | 1–6 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–2 |
| Al-Minaa | 1–0 | 1–4 | 2–0 | | 1–0 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 2–2 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 3–0 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 0–0 |
| Al-Naft | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 3–0 | | 2–1 | 0–1 | 4–2 | 0–0 | 0–3 | 1–2 | 2–4 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 1–1 |
| Al-Najaf | 1–0 | 4–0 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 0–0 | | 0–0 | 4–1 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 |
| Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya | 1–1 | 1–1 | 3–0 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 2–1 | | 4–3 | 4–0 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 2–2 | 4–0 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 5–1 |
| Al-Ramadi | 0–1 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | | 2–1 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 0–3 | 2–2 | 1–0 | 1–2 |
| Al-Samawa | 1–0 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 9–0 | | 0–0 | 1–3 | 1–3 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2–0 |
| Al-Shorta | 2–2 | 0–1 | 5–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 3–0 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 3–0 | | 2–3 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 5–1 | 2–0 | 1–3 |
| Al-Talaba | 1–1 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 3–0 | 3–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 | | 1–0 | 0–1 | 2–2 | 0–0 | 3–0 |
| Al-Zawraa | 5–0 | 3–2 | 2–1 | 3–0 | 5–0 | 1–0 | 4–2 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 3–0 | | 4–0 | 5–2 | 8–0 | 6–2 |
| Duhok | 2–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 4–0 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 3–0 | 0–2 | 0–1 | | 2–0 | 5–1 | 2–0 |
| Erbil | 1–1 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 3–2 | 0–3 | 1–1 | 0–4 | 1–1 | | 2–0 | 0–0 |
| Karbala | 0–1 | 0–3 | 3–2 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 0–3 | 1–5 | 2–4 | 0–3 | 0–7 | 1–3 | 0–1 | 1–3 | 0–1 | | 5–1 |
| Samarra | 1–0 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 2–2 | 1–0 | 2–3 | 4–0 | 1–1 | 0–3 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 3–1 | 2–1 | |

## Season statistics
### Top scorers

| Pos | Scorer | Goals | Team |
| 1 | Hussein Abdullah | 21 | Duhok |
| 2 | Ahmed Khudhair | 19 | Al-Shorta |
| 3 | Ammar Ahmed | 14 | Al-Zawraa |

### Hat-tricks

| Player | For | Against | Result | Date |
| Ammar Ahmed | Al-Zawraa | Karbala | 8–0 | 4 January 2001 |
| Hashim Ridha | Al-Shorta | Al-Najaf | 3–0 | 9 January 2001 |
| Ahmed Khalaf | Samarra | Al-Ramadi | 4–0 | 9 January 2001 |
| Ali Mansour$^4$ | Al-Samawa | Al-Ramadi | 9–0 | 16 February 2001 |
| Mohammed Abdul-Nabi | Al-Samawa | Al-Ramadi | 9–0 | 16 February 2001 |
| Alaa Abdul-Sattar | Al-Zawraa | Al-Kut | 6–1 | 23 April 2001 |
| Hussein Abdullah | Duhok | Karbala | 5–1 | 15 May 2001 |
| Dhurgham Ali | Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya | Karbala | 5–1 | 20 May 2001 |
| Ahmed Khalaf$^4$ | Al-Karkh | Karbala | 7–0 | 28 May 2001 |
| Ahmed Khudhair | Al-Shorta | Al-Difaa Al-Jawi | 3–1 | 8 June 2001 |
| Ahmed Khudhair$^5$ | Al-Shorta | Al-Kut | 5–1 | 14 June 2001 |
| Amer Mushraf | Al-Shorta | Karbala | 7–0 | 22 June 2001 |

#### Notes

$^4$ Player scored 4 goals $^5$ Player scored 5 goals