2020–21 Iraqi First Division League

Iraqi First Division League
Season	2020–21
Dates	3 May 2021 – 16 July 2021
Champions	Al-Sinaa; (1st title)
Promoted	Al-Sinaa; Newroz; Samarra
Relegated	Akkad; Al-Ettifaq; Al-Jaish; Brayati
Matches played	184
Goals scored	469 (2.55 per match)
Top goalscorer	Samer Mohsin; (12 goals)
Biggest home win	Babil 5–0 Al-Ettifaq; (8 June 2021)
Biggest away win	Suq Al-Shuyukh 1–4 Masafi Al-Janoob; (2 June 2021)
Highest scoring	Diyala 4–3 Al-Ramadi; (4 March 2021); Al-Muroor 3–4 Samarra; (4 March 2021)
Longest winning run	6 matches; Al-Sinaa
Longest unbeaten run	14 matches; Al-Sinaa
Longest winless run	12 matches; Akkad; Maysan
Longest losing run	9 matches; Brayati
	← 2019–20 2021–22 → All statistics correct as of 30 July 2021.

The 2020–21 Iraqi First Division League was the 47th season of what is now called the Iraqi Premier Division League, the second tier of the Iraqi football league system, since its establishment in 1974. The number of clubs in the league have changed throughout history due to several factors, most recently in this season when the number of clubs increased from 12 to 28 in total. The top team from each group is directly promoted to the Premier League, while a third club can be promoted through play-offs, on the other hand, two clubs from each group are directly relegated to the Second Division League.^[1]

Al-Sinaa won the title and were promoted alongside runners-up Newroz.

Format

Teams from all over Iraq participated in preliminary qualifications for the final stage. Total of 16 teams qualified for the final stage and 12 teams joined from previous season.^[2]

There was no First Division League nor Premier League season completed in the prior year due to the Coronavirus Pandemic.^{[citation needed]}

Teams

Stadiums and locations

Baghdad

Baghdad teams
Al-Difaa Al-Madani
Al-Hussein
Al-Jaish
Al-Jinsiya
Al-Muroor
Al-Sinaa
Al-Sulaikh

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Locations of the 2020–21 Iraqi First Division League teams

A total of 28 teams are contesting the league, including 10 sides from the 2018-2019 season, 16 promoted teams from the preliminary qualifications for the final stage and the two relegated sides from the Premier League.^[3]

Team	Manager	Location	Stadium	Capacity
Afak	Haider Hussein	Al-Qādisiyyah (Diwaniya)	Al-Kifl Stadium	10,000
Akkad	Bassim Obaid	Dhi Qar (Al-Shatrah)	Al Shatrah Stadium	7,500
Al-Alam	Ali Jawad	Saladin	Al-Alam Stadium	10,000
Al-Bahri	Asaad Abdul Razzaq	Basra (Al-Jubaila)	Al-Bahri Stadium	7,000
Al-Difaa Al-Madani	Mahdi Kadhim	Baghdad	Al-Taji Stadium	5,000
Al-Ettifaq	Abdul Zahra Odeh	Al-Qādisiyyah (Diwaniya)	Al-Diwaniya Stadium	5,000
Al-Hussein	Kadhim Yousef	Baghdad (Sadr City)	Five Thousand Stadium	5,000
Al-Jaish	Maher Ohkla	Baghdad	Al-Jaish Stadium	6,000
Al-Jinsiya	Karim Qumbil	Baghdad	Al-Jinsiya Stadium	5,000
Al-Kufa	Adel Ali Al-Aasam	Najaf (Kufa)	Najaf Stadium	30,000
Al-Muroor	Adel Ajer	Baghdad (Sadr City)	Al-Walaa Stadium	5,000
Al-Nasiriya	Ali Wahaib	Dhi Qar (Nasiriya)	An Nasiriya Stadium	10,000
Al-Ramadi	Khamis Hammoud	Anbar (Ramadi)	Al Ramadi Stadium	15,000
Al-Shirqat	Mohammed Attiya	Saladin (Shirqat)	Shirqat Stadium	5,000
Al-Sinaa	Sadeq Hanoon	Baghdad (Sadr City)	Al-Sinaa Stadium	5,000
Al-Sulaikh	Rashid Sultan	Baghdad (Suleikh)	Al Sulaikh Stadium	5,000
Babil	Fouad Jawad	Babil	Al Kifl Stadium	10,000
Brayati	Mahmoud Majeed	Erbil	Franso Hariri Stadium	25,000
Diyala	Ali Abdullah	Diyala (Baquba)	Ba'quba Stadium	10,000
Duhok	Adel Nasser	Duhok	Duhok Stadium	20,000
Ghaz Al-Shamal	Walid Mohammed Qader	Kirkuk	Kirkuk Olympic Stadium	20,000
Karbalaa	Ali Wahab	Karbala	Karbala Sports City	30,000
Masafi Al-Janoob	Nasser Talla Dahilan	Basra (Shaibah)	Masafi Al-Janoob Stadium	5,000
Maysan	Ahmed Zuhair	Maysan	Maysan Stadium	25,000
Newroz	Wali Karim	Sulaymaniyah	Zanko Stadium	15,000
Peshmerga	Arsalan Jalal	Sulaymaniyah	Peshmerga Stadium	10,000
Samarra	Ahmed Kadhim	Saladin (Samarra)	Samarra Stadium	10,000
Suq Al-Shuyukh	Moayad Tomeh	Dhi Qar (Suq Al-Shuyukh)	Souk Al-Shuyukh Stadium	5,000

League table

Group 1

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification or relegation
1	Newroz (P)	13	9	3	1	27	11	+16	30	Promotion to the Iraqi Premier League
2	Afak	13	8	5	0	26	13	+13	29	Qualification for the Third-place play-off
3	Masafi Al-Janoob	13	7	4	2	27	17	+10	25
4	Al-Difaa Al-Madani	13	4	8	1	15	10	+5	20
5	Al-Shirqat	13	5	4	4	15	12	+3	19
6	Karbalaa	13	4	7	2	12	13	−1	19
7	Al-Alam	13	4	6	3	17	17	0	18
8	Al-Hussein	13	3	6	4	17	19	−2	15
9	Suq Al-Shuyukh	13	4	3	6	12	19	−7	15
10	Al-Kufa	13	2	6	5	15	19	−4	12
11	Ghaz Al-Shamal	13	3	3	7	13	18	−5	12
12	Al-Jinsiya	13	2	5	6	11	15	−4	11
13	Al-Jaish (R)	13	2	4	7	12	20	−8	10	Relegation to Iraqi Second Division League
14	Brayati (R)	13	2	0	11	13	29	−16	6	Relegation to Iraqi Second Division League

Updated to match(es) played on 28 July 2021. Source: IFA official website
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(P) Promoted; (R) Relegated

Results

Home \ Away	AFK	ALM	DFM	HUS	JSH	JIN	KUF	SRQ	BRA	GSH	KRB	MSJ	NEW	SUQ
Afak	—	—	1–1	4–2	—	1–1	3–1	—	4–1	3–2	—	—	2–0	—
Al-Alam	1–1	—	—	—	—	—	—	0–0	—	1–3	0–0	1–3	—	0–0
Al-Difaa Al-Madani	—	2–3	—	—	—	—	—	1–0	2–1	1–1	0–0	—	1–1	3–0
Al-Hussein	—	2–2	0–0	—	—	1–1	—	2–0	—	1–2	—	—	2–2	0–1
Al-Jaish	0–1	0–2	0–0	2–2	—	0–2	1–1	—	3–1	—	—	—	—	—
Al-Jinsiya	—	1–3	0–0	—	—	—	—	1–1	—	—	0–1	1–2	0–1	—
Al-Kufa	—	0–0	3–3	1–2	—	1–2	—	—	—	1–0	—	—	2–2	—
Al-Shirqat	2–3	—	—	—	1–0	—	1–0	—	4–1	—	3–0	1–1	—	1–1
Brayati	—	2–3	—	0–1	—	2–1	1–2	—	—	0–1	—	—	1–3	—
Ghaz Al-Shamal	—	—	—	—	2–4	1–1	—	0–1	—	—	0–0	1–3	0–1	0–1
Karbalaa	1–1	—	—	1–1	1–1	—	1–0	—	2–1	—	—	2–2	—	3–2
Masafi Al-Janoob	0–0	—	0–1	3–1	2–1	—	2–2	—	3–1	—	—	—	—	—
Newroz	—	3–1	—	—	2–0	—	—	2–0	—	—	2–0	4–2	—	4–0
Suq Al-Shuyukh	1–2	—	—	—	3–0	1–0	1–1	—	0–1	—	—	1–4	—	—

Updated to match(es) played on 3 July 2021. Source: IFA official website
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.
For upcoming matches, an "a" indicates there is an article about the rivalry between the two participants.

Group 2

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification or relegation
1	Al-Sinaa (C, P)	13	11	2	0	24	8	+16	35	Promotion to the Iraqi Premier League
2	Samaraa (O, P)	13	8	3	2	27	17	+10	27	Qualification for the Third-place play-off
3	Al-Ramadi	13	8	1	4	24	14	+10	25
4	Duhok	13	8	1	4	17	13	+4	25
5	Al-Bahri	13	6	2	5	17	12	+5	20
6	Al-Muroor	13	4	5	4	17	17	0	17
7	Al-Nasiriya	13	4	5	4	14	15	−1	17
8	Al-Sulaikh	13	3	6	4	13	14	−1	15
9	Peshmerga	13	3	6	4	14	18	−4	15
10	Diyala	13	3	5	5	21	23	−2	14
11	Babil	13	2	4	7	14	16	−2	10
12	Maysan	13	1	7	5	9	19	−10	10
13	Akkad (R)	13	1	5	7	13	22	−9	8	Relegation to Iraqi Second Division League
14	Al-Ettefaq (R)	13	1	4	8	11	27	−16	7	Relegation to Iraqi Second Division League

Updated to match(es) played on 28 July 2021. Source: IFA official website
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
(C) Champions; (O) Play-off winners; (P) Promoted; (R) Relegated

Results

Home \ Away	AKD	BAH	ETF	MUR	NAS	RAM	SIN	SUL	BAB	DIY	DUH	MAY	PES	SAM
Akkad	—	1–3	0–0	1–2	2–0	0–2	—	—	—	—	0–1	—	—	2–4
Al-Bahri	—	—	—	—	1–1	—	0–1	1–2	1–0	—	1–2	2–1	3–0^[a]	—
Al-Ettefaq	—	1–2	—	—	—	—	1–3	1–1	—	2–4	0–1	1–1	—	—
Al-Muroor	—	1–1	4–2	—	1–1	2–2	0–1	—	1–0	—	—	—	—	3–4
Al-Nasiriya	—	—	0–1	—	—	1–0	1–2	—	1–1	—	2–1	—	—	0–2
Al-Ramadi	—	1–0	2–1	—	—	—	1–2	3–1	1–0	—	4–0	—	2–0	—
Al-Sinaa	2–2	—	—	—	—	—	—	2–1	—	2–1	1–0	4–0	3–1	—
Al-Sulaikh	2–0	—	—	0–1	1–1	—	—	—	—	2–2	—	0–0	1–1	0–0
Babil	1–1	—	5–0	—	—	—	0–1	1–2	—	2–1	—	1–1	1–2	—
Diyala	2–2	0–2	—	2–1	1–2	4–3	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	1–2
Duhok	—	—	—	2–0	—	—	—	1–0	2–0	2–2	—	3–0	2–1	—
Maysan	1–1	—	—	1–1	1–3	0–1	—	—	—	0–0	—	—	0–0	3–2
Peshmerga	2–1	—	1–1	0–0	1–1	—	—	—	—	1–1	—	—	—	4–2
Samaraa	—	1–0	3–0^[b]	—	—	3–2	0–0	—	2–2	—	2–0	—	—	—

Updated to match(es) played on 4 July 2021. Source: IFA official website
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.
For upcoming matches, an "a" indicates there is an article about the rivalry between the two participants.
Notes:

^ The Al-Bahri–Peshmerga match was awarded as a 3–0 win to Al-Bahri, as Peshmerga did not turn up for the game.
^ The Samarra–Al-Ettefaq match was awarded as a 3–0 win to Samarra, as Al-Ettefaq did not turn up for the game.

Third place

11 July 2021

14:00 GMT

Afak	0 – 1	Samaraa
	Report	Adnan 38' (pen.)

Al-Saher Ahmed Radhi Stadium, Baghdad

Attendance: 0

Referee: Salem Amer

Final

16 July 2021

14:00 GMT

Newroz	0 – 1	Al-Sinaa
	Report	Keke 82'

Al-Taji Stadium, Baghdad

Attendance: 0

Referee: Ahmed Kadhim

Play-offs

30 July 2021

15:00 GMT

Al-Sinaat Al-Kahrabaiya	1 – 1	Samaraa
Mahmoud 57' (pen.)	Report	Adnan 38’ Mohammed 53'
Penalties
Shaibani Malik Noori Mohammed	2–4	Saadi Al-Dahi Abdullah Abdul-Hassan Motlaq

Al-Shaab Stadium, Baghdad

Attendance: 0

Referee: Mohanad Qasim Sarray

Season statistics

As of 16 July 2021

Top scorers

Rank	Player	Club	Goals
1	Samer Mohsin	Afak	12
2	Hussein Ibrahim	Al-Alam	10
2	Ahmed Turki	Akkad	10
4	Salih Motlaq	Samarra	9
5	Donatus Edafe	Al-Nasiriya	8
	Fadhel Wasmi	Masafi Al-Janoob
	Ahmed Sabri	Duhok
8	Cissé	Al-Ramadi	7
	Husham Ahmed	Al-Difaa Al-Madani
	Jean-Christian Keke	Al-Sinaa

References

^ mo22. "اعتماد تصنيف وآلية وموعد انطلاق دوري الدرجة الأولى". الاتحاد العراقي لكرة القدم (in Arabic). Retrieved 2021-05-04.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
^ mo22. "لجنة المسابقات تجري قرعة دوري الدرجة الأولى". الاتحاد العراقي لكرة القدم (in Arabic). Retrieved 2021-05-04.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
^ "دوري الدرجة الاولى – الاتحاد العراقي لكرة القدم" (in Arabic). Retrieved 2021-05-04.

External links

Iraq Football Association

[table_note_1_BAH_PES0.34053994405109-4] The Al-Bahri–Peshmerga match was awarded as a 3–0 win to Al-Bahri, as Peshmerga did not turn up for the game.

[table_note_1_SAM_ETF0.34053994405109-5] The Samarra–Al-Ettefaq match was awarded as a 3–0 win to Samarra, as Al-Ettefaq did not turn up for the game.

[1] 22. "اعتماد تصنيف وآلية وموعد انطلاق دوري الدرجة الأولى". الاتحاد العراقي لكرة القدم (in Arabic). Retrieved 2021-05-04.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)

[2] 22. "لجنة المسابقات تجري قرعة دوري الدرجة الأولى". الاتحاد العراقي لكرة القدم (in Arabic). Retrieved 2021-05-04.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)

[3] "دوري الدرجة الاولى – الاتحاد العراقي لكرة القدم" (in Arabic). Retrieved 2021-05-04.

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