Iraq FA Cup
The 1980s was the worst decade in the history of Al-Zawraa as they failed to win a single league title. The decade started with the 1980–81 Iraqi National League where Al-Zawraa finished in a lowly seventh, however they did win their third Iraq FA Cup by beating Al-Talaba 1–0 in the final. They finished fifth in 1981–82 but once again won the Iraq FA Cup, beating Al-Talaba 2–1 this time. In 1982–83, Al-Zawraa finished seventh again, and they ended up fifth in 1983–84, although they managed to win the Victory Championship that season and also reached the final of the Al-Qadisiya Championship, losing to Al-Jaish after Saad Abdul-Hamid missed a penalty. The 1984–85 season was cancelled with Al-Zawraa in eighth position, and the 1985–86 season was one of the worst in Al-Zawraa's history as they finished in ninth, just one point away from the relegation playoff, although they did win their second Victory Championship. They finished in seventh in 1986–87 and fifth in 1987–88, and lost the 1987–88 Iraq FA Cup final on penalties to Al-Rasheed; they were also runners-up in the Uday Saddam Hussein Cup that season. Al-Zawraa improved in the 1988–89 season as they finished fourth in the league and won the Iraq FA Cup for the fifth time, and they also participated in, and won, the first ever ACC Club Championship (organised by the Arab Cooperation Council). They did exactly the same in the following season finishing fourth again, winning the Iraq FA Cup again and winning the ACC Club Championship again. Their cup win qualified them to the 1990 Arab Club Champions Cup but the tournament eventually got abandoned; Al-Zawraa played two games in the preliminary round of the tournament, drawing the first and winning the second.