# 2023 Iraqi Republic Championship

The 2023 Iraqi Republic Championship was a newly-returned friendly tournament organised by the Iraq Football Association. All 18 governorates of Iraq were represented in this tournament. The tournament started in August 2023, during the off-season of the Iraqi Premier League. This was the tournament's first edition in over 30 years. Salahaddin XI beat Baghdad Karkh XI in the final on 27 September to win the tournament.

## Format

All 18 provinces of Iraq were represented in the tournament. Baghdad was represented by two teams from Karkh and Rusafa, the two sides of Baghdad city separated by the Tigris River. Each team, governed by the sub-federation in that province, formed a select team to compete and appointed both the coaching and administrative staff. The coaches then called up players, who play for the province that they are originally from.
Iraqi Republic Championship :
| Northern Region | Western Region | Baghdad Region | Middle Euphrates Region | Southern Region |
| Duhok XI Erbil XI Sulaymaniya XI Kirkuk XI | Nineveh XI Salahaddin XI Diyala XI Anbar XI | Baghdad Karkh XI Baghdad Rusafa XI | Karbala XI Babil XI Najaf XI Qadisiya XI Muthanna XI | Wasit XI Dhi Qar XI Maysan XI Basra XI |
Each team played at the following stadiums:
Stadiums :
| Team/Province | Stadium |
| Duhok XI | Duhok Stadium |
| Erbil XI | Franso Hariri Stadium |
| Sulaymaniya XI | Sulaymaniya Stadium |
| Kirkuk XI | Kirkuk Olympic Stadium |
| Nineveh XI | Al-Amwaj Al-Mosuli Stadium |
| Salahaddin XI | Tikrit University Stadium |
| Diyala XI | Baquba Stadium |
| Anbar XI | Al-Sufiya Stadium |
| Baghdad Karkh XI | Al-Zawraa Stadium |
| Baghdad Rusafa XI | Al-Shaab Stadium |
| Karbala XI | Karbala Local Administrative Stadium |
| Babil XI | Al-Kifl Stadium |
| Najaf XI | Al-Najaf Stadium |
| Qadisiya XI | Al-Diwaniya Stadium |
| Muthanna XI | Al-Samawa Stadium |
| Wasit XI | Al-Kut Olympic Stadium |
| Dhi Qar XI | Suq Al-Shuyukh Stadium/Al-Shatra Stadium |
| Maysan XI | Al-Maimouna Stadium |
| Basra XI | Al-Minaa Olympic Stadium (secondary pitch) |
Each team initially played against other teams within their own region as qualifiers for the knockout stages. The top two teams from each of the four regions qualified for the next round, joining the Karkh and Rusafa teams in the Baghdad region to make up the 10 teams in the next phase. They were divided into two groups, and the top of each group played against each other in the final of the tournament.
Tie-breakers of groups relied on goals scored rather than goal difference to encourage offensive play in order to make the football played at the tournament more appealing.

## Regional stage
### Northern Region

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Kirkuk XI | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 2 | +4 | 5 | Second stage |
| 2 | Erbil XI | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 3 | +3 | 5 | Second stage |
| 3 | Sulaymaniya XI | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 2 | +3 | 5 | |
| 4 | Duhok XI | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 11 | −10 | 0 | |

### Western Region

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Salahaddin XI | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 12 | 5 | +7 | 7 | Second stage |
| 2 | Nineveh XI | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 1 | +3 | 7 | Second stage |
| 3 | Anbar XI | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 8 | −1 | 3 | |
| 4 | Diyala XI | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 11 | −9 | 0 | |

### Middle Euphrates Region

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Karbala XI | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 4 | +4 | 9 | Second stage |
| 2 | Najaf XI | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 5 | +1 | 7 | Second stage |
| 3 | Qadisiya XI | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 8 | −2 | 4 | |
| 4 | Babil XI | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 7 | −2 | 4 | |
| 5 | Muthanna XI | 4 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 | −1 | 3 | |

### Southern Region

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Wasit XI | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 2 | +6 | 9 | Second stage |
| 2 | Maysan XI | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 4 | +2 | 6 | Second stage |
| 3 | Basra XI | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 9 | −2 | 3 | |
| 4 | Dhi Qar XI | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 8 | −6 | 0 | |

## Second stage
### Qualified Teams

Iraqi Republic Championship :
| Northern Region | Western Region | Baghdad Region | Middle Euphrates Region | Southern Region |
| Kirkuk XI Erbil XI | Salahaddin XI Nineveh XI | Baghdad Karkh XI (bye) Baghdad Rusafa XI (bye) | Karbala XI Najaf XI | Wasit XI Maysan XI |

### Group 1

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Salahaddin XI | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 4 | +5 | 9 | Final |
| 2 | Karbala XI | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 5 | +3 | 7 | |
| 3 | Baghdad Rusafa XI | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 4 | −1 | 7 | |
| 4 | Erbil XI (H) | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 7 | −2 | 4 | |
| 5 | Maysan XI | 4 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 6 | −5 | 1 | |

### Group 2

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Baghdad Karkh XI | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 5 | +2 | 6 | Final |
| 2 | Kirkuk XI (H) | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 3 | +1 | 6 | |
| 3 | Nineveh XI | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 4 | |
| 4 | Wasit XI | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 6 | −3 | 1 | |
| 5 | Najaf XI | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Withdrew |
* ↑ Najaf XI withdrew from the tournament due to a lack of available players.

## Final

* Iraqi Republic Championship 2023 winner
* Salahaddin XI