# 2016–17 Iraqi Premier League

The 2016–17 Iraqi Premier League (Arabic: الدوري العراقي الممتاز 2016–17) was the 43rd season of the Iraqi Premier League, the highest division for Iraqi association football clubs, since its establishment in 1974. The season started on 15 September 2016, and ended on 10 August 2017.
Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya won their sixth Premier League title, finishing four points ahead of second-placed Al-Naft and losing just one game throughout the campaign. It was the club's first league title since the 2004–05 season, and their manager Basim Qasim became the first manager to win titles in two consecutive seasons with two different teams.

## Teams

Twenty teams were to compete in the league – the top eighteen teams from the previous season, as well as two teams promoted from the First Division League. However, Erbil withdrew from the league after 12 rounds, so nineteen teams completed the season.
Al-Hussein were promoted as the leaders of the final stage after drawing 1–1 against Brayati on 19 July 2016, at Al-Shaab Stadium, to appear for the first time in their history in the Iraqi Premier League. Al-Bahri were promoted, to appear for the seventh time in the Iraqi Premier League (the first since 1990–91), as the runners-up after drawing with Al-Sinaat Al-Kahrabaiya 2–2 on the same day at Al-Karkh Stadium. They replace Duhok, who withdrew from the last season, and Al-Sinaa.

### Stadia and locations

| Club | Location | Stadium | Capacity |
| Al-Bahri | Basra | Al-Zubair Stadium | 5,000 |
| Al-Hudood | Baghdad | Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya Stadium | 6,000 |
| Al-Hussein | Baghdad | Five Thousand Stadium | 5,000 |
| Al-Kahrabaa | Baghdad | Al-Kahrabaa Stadium | 2,000 |
| Al-Karkh | Baghdad | Al-Karkh Stadium | 5,150 |
| Al-Minaa | Basra | Basra International Stadium | 65,227 |
| Al-Naft | Baghdad | Al-Naft Stadium | 3,000 |
| Al-Najaf | Najaf | Al-Najaf Stadium | 12,000 |
| Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya | Baghdad | Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya Stadium | 6,000 |
| Al-Samawa | Samawa | Al-Samawa Stadium | 10,000 |
| Al-Shorta | Baghdad | Al-Shaab Stadium | 34,200 |
| Al-Talaba | Baghdad | Al-Shaab Stadium | 34,200 |
| Al-Zawraa | Baghdad | Al-Shaab Stadium | 34,200 |
| Amanat Baghdad | Baghdad | Amanat Baghdad Stadium | 5,000 |
| Erbil | Erbil | Franso Hariri Stadium | 25,000 |
| Karbala | Karbala | Karbala International Stadium | 30,000 |
| Naft Al-Junoob | Basra | Al-Zubair Stadium | 5,000 |
| Naft Al-Wasat | Najaf | Naft Al-Wasat Stadium | 5,000 |
| Naft Maysan | Amara | Al-Maimouna Stadium | 3,000 |
| Zakho | Zakho | Zakho International Stadium | 20,000 |

## League table

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya (C) | 36 | 23 | 12 | 1 | 59 | 23 | +36 | 81 | Qualification for the AFC Cup group stage and Arab Club Champions Cup first round |
| 2 | Al-Naft | 36 | 22 | 11 | 3 | 61 | 17 | +44 | 77 | Qualification for the Arab Club Champions Cup first round |
| 3 | Al-Shorta | 36 | 21 | 12 | 3 | 55 | 26 | +29 | 75 | |
| 4 | Al-Zawraa | 36 | 21 | 9 | 6 | 67 | 28 | +39 | 72 | Qualification for the AFC Cup group stage |
| 5 | Naft Al-Wasat | 36 | 19 | 11 | 6 | 45 | 26 | +19 | 68 | |
| 6 | Al-Minaa | 36 | 18 | 12 | 6 | 40 | 24 | +16 | 66 | |
| 7 | Al-Talaba | 36 | 14 | 12 | 10 | 51 | 38 | +13 | 54 | |
| 8 | Amanat Baghdad | 36 | 12 | 15 | 9 | 26 | 21 | +5 | 51 | |
| 9 | Al-Najaf | 36 | 12 | 13 | 11 | 41 | 38 | +3 | 49 | |
| 10 | Naft Al-Junoob | 36 | 8 | 15 | 13 | 36 | 42 | −6 | 39 | |
| 11 | Naft Maysan | 36 | 8 | 15 | 13 | 28 | 36 | −8 | 39 | |
| 12 | Al-Hudood | 36 | 8 | 14 | 14 | 35 | 46 | −11 | 38 | |
| 13 | Al-Kahrabaa | 36 | 8 | 14 | 14 | 24 | 36 | −12 | 38 | |
| 14 | Al-Bahri | 36 | 9 | 8 | 19 | 42 | 63 | −21 | 35 | |
| 15 | Karbala | 36 | 6 | 15 | 15 | 24 | 46 | −22 | 33 | |
| 16 | Zakho | 36 | 2 | 18 | 16 | 18 | 51 | −33 | 24 | |
| 17 | Al-Hussein | 36 | 3 | 14 | 19 | 23 | 52 | −29 | 23 | |
| 18 | Al-Samawa | 36 | 3 | 13 | 20 | 26 | 47 | −21 | 22 | |
| 19 | Al-Karkh (R) | 36 | 3 | 11 | 22 | 24 | 65 | −41 | 20 | Relegation to the Iraqi First Division League |
| 20 | Erbil (R) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Relegation to the Iraqi First Division League |
* ↑ Al-Zawraa qualified for the AFC Cup as Iraq FA Cup winners.
* ↑ Erbil withdrew from the league after 12 matches, with their results being annulled.

## Results

| Home \ Away | BAH | HUD | HUS | KAH | KAR | MIN | NFT | NJF | QWJ | SMA | SHR | TLB | ZWR | AMN | ERB | KRB | NFJ | NFW | NFM | ZAK |
| Al-Bahri | | 2–3 | 4–2 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 0–3 | 1–2 | 0–2 | 2–1 | 3–7 | 2–2 | 2–3 | 2–1 | | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 1–2 |
| Al-Hudood | 2–0 | | 0–0 | 1–2 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 2–3 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 0–3 | | 1–0 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 |
| Al-Hussein | 2–2 | 0–1 | | 0–0 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 0–1 | 1–1 | | 0–3 | 2–1 | 0–2 | 0–0 | 2–0 |
| Al-Kahrabaa | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | | 5–3 | 0–0 | 0–2 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 0–0 | | 2–2 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 0–0 |
| Al-Karkh | 1–2 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 0–1 | | 0–1 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 0–3 | 0–3 | 0–1 | – | 0–1 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 |
| Al-Minaa | 2–2 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 2–1 | 4–0 | | 1–0 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | | 1–0 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 3–1 |
| Al-Naft | 2–0 | 4–0 | 3–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 0–0 | | 1–0 | 0–1 | 3–0 | 0–0 | 2–2 | 0–0 | 1–0 | | 3–0 | 3–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 6–0 |
| Al-Najaf | 1–0 | 2–2 | 1–0 | 2–2 | 0–0 | 2–3 | 2–2 | | 1–0 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 2–3 | 0–1 | 0–0 | – | 4–1 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 0–0 |
| Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya | 2–0 | 5–2 | 3–1 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 2–0 | | 3–2 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | – | 3–1 | 3–0 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 1–0 |
| Al-Samawa | 0–0 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 4–1 | 0–0 | 1–3 | 1–2 | 1–1 | | 0–0 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 0–1 | | 2–2 | 3–1 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–0 |
| Al-Shorta | 2–1 | 3–2 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 4–0 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 3–2 | 1–3 | 4–1 | | 1–0 | 0–0 | 1–0 | | 2–0 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 4–0 |
| Al-Talaba | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 4–1 | 0–1 | 2–2 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | | 1–2 | 0–0 | – | 3–0 | 2–0 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 4–1 |
| Al-Zawraa | 3–0 | 1–0 | 6–4 | 4–0 | 4–1 | 4–1 | 0–2 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 2–2 | 0–1 | | 1–2 | – | 6–0 | 4–1 | 0–2 | 3–0 | 4–1 |
| Amanat Baghdad | 2–2 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 1–0 | | | 1–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 1–0 |
| Erbil | | – | | – | | | | | | | | | | – | | – | | – | | |
| Karbala | 1–0 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 | | | 1–2 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 1–1 |
| Naft Al-Junoob | 0–1 | 1–1 | 3–0 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 0–0 | 3–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | – | 3–1 | | 0–1 | 2–2 | 1–1 |
| Naft Al-Wasat | 2–1 | 2–1 | 3–0 | 2–1 | 4–1 | 0–0 | 2–2 | 1–3 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 0–0 | | 2–1 | 2–1 | | 2–0 | 0–0 |
| Naft Maysan | 4–2 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 1–3 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 1–1 | | 2–0 | 1–1 | 0–0 | | 1–1 |
| Zakho | 2–1 | 1–3 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–2 | 1–2 | 0–3 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 3–4 | 0–0 | 0–0 | – | 0–0 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 0–0 | |
* 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Erbil's results against Al-Karkh (2–2 draw), Al-Hudood (2–2 draw), Zakho (1–0 win), Al-Kahrabaa (0–0 draw), Al-Zawraa (1–1 draw), Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya (3–1 loss), Karbala (0–0 draw), Al-Talaba (0–0 draw), Naft Al-Junoob (1–0 loss), Amanat Baghdad (2–1 win), Naft Al-Wasat (1–1 draw) and Al-Najaf (1–0 loss) were annulled after their withdrawal from the league.
* ↑ Erbil withdrew from the league after 12 matches, with their results being annulled.
* ↑ The Zakho–Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya match was awarded as a 3–0 win to Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya after Zakho's players left the field on 80 minutes while losing 1–0 in protest at a refereeing decision.

## Season statistics
### Top scorers

| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
| 1 | Alaa Abdul-Zahra | Al-Zawraa | 23 |
| 2 | Bassim Ali | Naft Al-Junoob | 18 |
| 3 | Hammadi Ahmed | Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya | 17 |
| 4 | Marwan Hussein | Al-Shorta | 15 |
| 5 | Aymen Hussein | Al-Naft | 14 |
| 5 | Aboubakar Koné | Al-Talaba | 14 |
| 5 | Ali Saad | Al-Karkh / Al-Naft | 14 |

### Hat-tricks

| Player | For | Against | Result | Date |
| Marwan Hussein | Al-Shorta | Al-Hudood | 3–2 | 26 November 2016 |
| Aboubakar Koné | Al-Talaba | Al-Karkh | 3–0 | 20 December 2016 |
| Mohanad Ali$^4$ | Al-Kahrabaa | Al-Karkh | 5–3 | 4 January 2017 |
| Abbas Abid | Zakho | Al-Talaba | 3–4 | 11 January 2017 |
| Yassir Abdul-Mohsen | Al-Talaba | Zakho | 4–3 | 11 January 2017 |
| Bassim Ali | Naft Al-Junoob | Al-Samawa | 3–1 | 21 January 2017 |
| Alaa Abdul-Zahra | Al-Zawraa | Al-Hussein | 6–4 | 16 May 2017 |
| Ali Saad$^4$ | Al-Naft | Zakho | 6–0 | 17 May 2017 |

#### Notes

$^4$ Player scored 4 goals

## Awards

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