2021–22 Iraqi First Division League

The 2021–22 Iraqi First Division League was the 48th 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 varied throughout history for various reasons; in this season the number of clubs has been reduced from 28 teams to 24. The top two teams are directly promoted to the Iraqi Premier League, while the bottom 4 teams in each group are directly relegated to the Iraqi Second Division League. The season started on 12 October 2021 and ended 19 April 2022, while the summer transfer window began on August 1 and ended on midnight on September 19.^[1]

Iraqi First Division League

Season	2021–22
Dates	12 October 2021 – 19 April 2022
Champions	Al-Hudood (1st title)
Promoted	Al-Hudood Karbalaa Duhok
Relegated	Ghaz Al-Shamal Suq Al-Shuyukh Babil Al-Alam
← 2020–21 2022–23 →

Al-Hudood won the title by beating Karbalaa 1–0 in the final at Al-Shaab Stadium, with both teams securing promotion.

Overview

Changes

In November 2020, The Iraq FA announced that the number of teams will decrease from 28 to 24 in total starting from 2021-2022 season. To make these changes possible, the Iraq FA announced that in 2020–21 season, The top teams in each group are directly promoted to the Premier League, while 8 teams in total are directly relegated to Second Division League.^[2]

Teams

A total of 24 teams are contesting the league, including 21 sides from the 2020-2021 season and the 3 relegated sides from the Iraqi Premier League. There are no promoted teams participating in this season because of the recent changes necessary to adjustment to having 24 teams possible this season.

2021–22 season

Baghdad

Al-Alam

Al-Shirqat

Peshmerga Sulaymaniya

Ghaz Al-Shamal

Al-Bahri

Masafi Al-Junoob

Diyala

Al-Ramadi

Babylon

Karbalaa

Al-Kufa

Afak

Maysan

Al-Nasiriya

Suq Al-Shuyukh

Duhok

Al-Samawa

Baghdad teams
Al-Difaa Al-Madani
Al-Hussein
Al-Jinsiya
Al-Muroor
Al-Sulaikh
Al-Hudood
Al-Sinaat Al-Kahrabaiya

Locations of the 2021–22 Iraqi First Division League teams

Team	Manager	Location	Stadium	Capacity
Afak	Haider Hussein	Al-Qādisiyyah, Diwaniya	Al-Kifl Stadium	10,000
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-Hussein	Kadhim Yousef	Baghdad, Sadr City	Five Thousand Stadium	5,000
Al-Jinsiya	Karim Qumbil	Baghdad	Al-Jinsiya Stadium	5,000
Al-Kufa	Adel Ali Al-Aasam	Najaf, Kufa	Najaf Stadium	12,000
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	10,000
Al-Shirqat	Mohammed Attiya	Saladin, Shirqat	Shirqat Stadium	5,000
Al-Sulaikh	Rashid Sultan	Baghdad, Suleikh	Al Sulaikh Stadium	5,000
Babylon	Fouad Jawad	Babylon	Al Kifl Stadium	10,000
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-Junoob	Nasser Talla Dahilan	Basra, Shaibah	Masafi Al-Junoob Stadium	5,000
Maysan	Ahmed Zuhair	Maysan	Maysan Stadium	25,000
Peshmerga Sulaymaniya	Arsalan Jalal	Sulaymaniyah	Peshmerga Stadium	10,000
Suq Al-Shuyukh	Moayad Tomeh	Dhi Qar, Suq Al-Shuyukh	Souk Al-Shuyukh Stadium	5,000
Al-Hudood	Abbas Attiya	Baghdad	Al-Taji Stadium	5,000
Al-Sinaat Al-Kahrabaiya	Adel Nima	Baghdad	Al-Sinaa Stadium	10,000
Al-Samawa	Aqeel Ghani	Al-Samawa	Al-Samawah Stadium	5,000

League table

Group 1

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification or relegation
1	Al-Hudood (C, P)	21	11	8	2	32	12	+20	41	Promotion to the Iraqi Premier League
2	Duhok (O, P)	21	9	7	5	25	19	+6	34	Qualification for the Third place play-off
3	Al-Kufa	21	9	6	6	28	23	+5	33[a]
4	Al-Ramadi	21	7	12	2	30	20	+10	33[a]
5	Afak	21	9	4	8	33	26	+7	31
6	Maysan	21	8	6	7	32	26	+6	30
7	Al-Difaa Al-Madani	21	8	5	8	23	28	−5	29
8	Al-Sulaikh	21	6	10	5	26	23	+3	28[b]
9	Masafi Al-Junoob	21	8	4	9	33	28	+5	28[b]
10	Al-Muroor	21	7	5	9	22	28	−6	26
11	Suq Al-Shuyukh (R)	21	1	8	12	16	44	−28	11	Relegation to Iraqi Second Division League
12	Al-Alam[c] (R)	11	0	1	10	5	28	−23	1

Updated to match(es) played on 12 April 2022. Source: IFA official website
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal difference; 4) goal difference; 5) number of wins; 6) number of goals scored.
(C) Champions; (O) Play-off winners; (P) Promoted; (R) Relegated
Notes:

1. Al-Kufa finished ahead of Al-Ramadi on head-to-head points: Al-Kufa 1–0 Al-Ramadi, Al-Ramadi 1–1 Al-Kufa.
2. Al-Sulaikh finished ahead of Masafi Al-Junoob on head-to-head points: Al-Sulaikh 2–1 Masafi Al-Junoob, Masafi Al-Junoob 1–2 Al-Sulaikh.
3. Al-Alam withdrew from the league after 16 matches, with their results from the second round-robin being annulled.

Results

Home \ Away	AFK	ALM	DFM	HUD	KUF	MUR	RAM	SUL	DUH	MSJ	MAY	SUQ
Afak	—	—	0–2	1–2	1–0	1–0	0–1	3–2	2–0	1–1	3–1	7–2
Al-Alam[a]	0–2	—	0–1	—	0–2	–[b]	1–5	—	1–2	—	–[b]	–[b]
Al-Difaa Al-Madani	1–4	–[b]	—	2–2	0–2	0–1	0–0	1–1	0–1	2–1	3–2	1–1
Al-Hudood	1–1	3–0[c]	0–1	—	0–1	2–0	1–1	0–0	0–0	1–0	2–1	4–0
Al-Kufa	1–0	–[b]	2–0	0–3	—	0–0	1–0	0–0	1–1	2–2	2–1	3–1
Al-Muroor	2–1	1–2	4–1	0–1	2–1	—	3–5	2–1	1–0	2–1	2–1	1–1
Al-Ramadi	1–1	—	1–1	0–0	1–1	1–0	—	1–1	1–1	3–2	1–1	0–0
Al-Sulaikh	2–1	4–0	0–1	1–1	2–2	1–1	1–1	—	2–1	2–1	0–2	2–0
Duhok	2–0	—	4–0	0–0	2–1	1–0	1–2	1–1	—	1–1	1–0	3–1
Masafi Al-Junoob	1–0	5–1	2–0	2–3	4–3	3–0	1–0	1–2	0–2	—	0–0	1–0
Maysan	4–2	0–0	0–2	1–1	3–2	1–1	1–3	3–1	1–1	1–0	—	3–0
Suq Al-Shuyukh	1–1	2–1	0–4	0–2	0–1	1–1	2–2	0–0	1–1	2–4	1–3	—

Updated to match(es) played on 12 April 2022. Source: IFA official website
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.
Notes:

1. Al-Alam withdrew from the league after 16 matches, with their results from the second round-robin being annulled.
2. Al-Alam's results home to Maysan (1–1 draw), away to Al-Difaa Al-Madani (3–1 loss), home to Suq Al-Shuyukh (1–0 win), away to Al-Kufa (1–0 win) and home to Al-Muroor (3–0 loss) were annulled after their withdrawal from the league.
3. The Al-Hudood – Al-Alam match was awarded a 3–0 win for Al-Hudood, as Al-Alam did not turn up for the game.

Group 2

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification or relegation
1	Karbalaa (P)	22	13	8	1	33	13	+20	47	Promotion to the Iraqi Premier League
2	Al-Nasiriya	22	12	7	3	28	16	+12	43[a]	Qualification for the Third place play-off
3	Peshmerga Sulaymaniya	22	12	7	3	36	13	+23	43[a]
4	Al-Sinaat Al-Kahrabaiya	22	7	10	5	24	17	+7	31[b]
5	Diyala	22	8	7	7	24	27	−3	31[b]
6	Al-Bahri	22	6	11	5	24	24	0	29
7	Al-Samawa	22	6	9	7	18	23	−5	27
8	Al-Jinsiya	22	5	9	8	27	29	−2	24
9	Al-Hussein	22	5	7	10	21	24	−3	22
10	Al-Shirqat	22	4	9	9	23	30	−7	21
11	Ghaz Al-Shamal (R)	22	2	13	7	13	26	−13	19	Relegation to Iraqi Second Division League
12	Babil (R)	22	3	1	18	9	38	−29	10

Updated to match(es) played on 12 April 2022. Source: IFA official website
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal difference; 4) goal difference; 5) number of wins; 6) number of goals scored.
(P) Promoted; (R) Relegated
Notes:

1. Al-Nasiriya finished ahead of Peshmerga Sulaymaniya on head-to-head points: Al-Nasiriya 2–1 Peshmerga Sulaymaniya, Peshmerga Sulaymaniya 1–1 Al-Nasiriya.
2. Al-Sinaat Al-Kahrabaiya finished ahead of Diyala on head-to-head points: Diyala 0–1 Al-Sinaat Al-Kahrabaiya, Al-Sinaat Al-Kahrabaiya 1–1 Diyala.

Results

Home \ Away	BAH	JIN	HUS	NAS	SMA	SNK	SRQ	BAB	DIY	GSH	KRB	PES
Al-Bahri	—	3–1	2–1	1–1	2–2	1–1	2–2	0–1	0–0	1–1	2–0	0–0
Al-Jinsiya	2–2	—	1–1	0–1	2–3	0–0	1–1	3–0[a]	2–1	1–2	2–3	1–1
Al-Hussein	0–1	1–2	—	3–0	2–0	1–2	0–3	3–0[b]	2–2	2–0	1–1	0–1
Al-Nasiriya	2–1	1–1	1–0	—	3–0	2–1	3–0	1–0	2–0	3–0	1–1	2–1
Al-Samawa	0–0	2–1	0–0	1–2	—	0–0	1–0	3–0	0–0	0–0	2–2	2–1
Al-Sinaat Al-Kahrabaiya	1–2	1–1	1–0	0–0	0–0	—	2–0	5–1	1–1	1–1	2–2	1–2
Al-Shirqat	2–0	1–1	0–1	0–0	2–1	1–2	—	2–1	3–4	3–3	0–0	0–0
Babil	0–1	0–2	2–1	0–1	0–1	0–3	2–1	—	1–2	0–1	0–1	0–1
Diyala	1–0	0–2	1–1	2–1	1–0	0–1	1–1	3–1	—	3–1	0–0	1–2
Ghaz Al-Shamal	1–1	1–1	0–0	0–0	0–0	0–0	0–0	0–0	0–1	—	0–3	2–2
Karbalaa	3–0	1–0	1–1	3–0	1–0	1–0	2–1	1–0	2–0	3–0	—	0–0
Peshmerga Sulaymaniya	2–2	3–0	3–0	1–1	4–0	1–0	3–0[c]	2–0	4–0	1–0	1–2	—

Updated to match(es) played on 12 April 2022. Source: IFA official website
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.
Notes:

1. The Al-Jinsiya – Babil match was awarded a 3–0 win for Al-Jinsiya, as Babil did not turn up for the game.
2. The Al-Hussein – Babil match was awarded a 3–0 win for Al-Hussein, as Babil did not turn up for the game.
3. The Peshmerga Sulaymaniya – Al-Shirqat match was awarded a 3–0 win for Peshmerga Sulaymaniya, as Al-Shirqat did not turn up for the game.

Third place

5 September 2022

18:00 UTC+03:00

Duhok	2–2	Al-Nasiriya
Salman 15' Delli 22'		Talib 25', 75'
Penalties
Zakri Adnan Agid Kawfand Saeed	5–3	Sadeq Ali Mohammed Basheer

Al-Madina Stadium, Baghdad

Referee: Zaid Thamer Mohammed

Final

19 April 2022

22:00 UTC+03:00

Al-Hudood	1–0	Karbalaa
Yassin 13'

Al-Shaab Stadium, Baghdad

Play-off

10 September 2022

18:00 UTC+03:00

Amanat Baghdad	0–2	Duhok
		Agyemang 15' Delli 81'

Al-Madina Stadium, Baghdad

Referee: Ahmed Kadhim