2007–08 Iraqi Premier League

Iraqi Premier League
Season 2007-08
Champions Arbil
Promoted Al-Bareed (Baghdad)
Al-Ramadi (Baghdad)
Al-Shuala (Baghdad)
Peris (North)
Zaxo (North)
Al-Samawa (South)
Kufa (South)
Relegated Al-Adala (Baghdad)
Al-Jaish (Baghdad)
Al-Shuala (Baghdad)
Sirwan (North)
Zaxo (North)
Al-Forat (South)
Al-Shatra (South)
AFC Cup Arbil
Al-Zawraa
Arab Champions League Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya
Goals scored 678
Top goalscorer Asaad Abdul-Nabi
(Al-Kahraba), 14
Biggest home win Karbalaa 5-0 Al-Forat
Biggest away win Al-Jaish 1-8 Al-Kahraba
Al-Shuala 0-7 Al-Jawiya
Highest scoring Al-Jaish 1-8 Al-Kahraba
Al-Ramadi 2-7 Al-Jawiya
Al-Jawiya 6-3 Kirkuk

The 2007-08 Iraqi Premier League season started on 26 November 2007 and ended on 24 August 2008. The season saw Arbil crowned as champions.

For security reasons the league was divided into three groups; Baghdad, North and South, The top six clubs from the Baghdad group and the top four clubs from the North and South groups qualified for the Elite Stage. The Elite Stage consisted of three groups, from which the winners and one runner-up qualified for the Golden Stage, a knockout tournament. The Golden Stage matches were held in Al-Shaab Stadium in Baghdad.

The champions and runners-up (Al-Zawraa) qualified for the 2009 AFC Cup (Iraq is excluded from the AFC Champions League due to not fulfilling the AFC demand of having a fully professional league), while third-placed Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya qualified for the 2008-09 Arab Champions League.

Contents

Primary stage

The Primary Stage Formation

The Primary Stage Clubs

Al-Adala
Al-Bareed
Al-Jaish
Al-Kahraba
Al-Naft
Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya
Al-Shorta
Al-Shuala
Al-Sinaa
Al-Talaba
Al-Zawraa
Al-Ramadi
Duhok
Peris
Zaxo
Arbil
Mosul
Sirwan
Sulaymaniyah
Kirkuk
Samaraa
Karbalaa
Kufa
Najaf
Maysan
Al-Forat
Al-Shatra
Al-Samawa
Al-Minaa
Naft Al-Janoob

Baghdad Division - Blue

North Division - Orange

South Division - Purple

  Qualified to the Elite stage
  Relegated to the 2nd division
(C)   Current League title holder
(N)   Promoted to Iraqi Premier League in this season

Baghdad Division

Team GP W D L GF GA GD Pts
1 Al-Shorta 22 13 8 1 40 14 26 47 Qualified to the Elite stage
2 Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya 22 14 4 4 42 13 29 46 Qualified to the Elite stage
3 Al-Kahraba 22 10 8 4 30 10 20 38 Qualified to the Elite stage
4 Al-Zawraa 22 10 7 5 24 12 12 37 Qualified to the Elite stage
5 Al-Talaba 22 9 9 4 25 17 8 36 Qualified to the Elite stage
6 Al-Sinaa 22 9 8 5 24 16 8 35 Qualified to the Elite stage
7 Al-Bareed (N) 22 8 6 8 25 29 -4 30
8 Al-Naft 22 6 9 7 18 24 -6 27
9 Al-Ramadi (N) 22 5 6 11 26 42 -16 21
10 Al-Jaish 22 3 6 13 14 39 -25 15 Relegated
11 Al-Shuala (N) 22 3 4 15 14 44 -30 13 Relegated
12 Al-Adala 22 3 3 17 10 33 -22 12 Relegated

Results

ADL BRD JSH KAH NFT JAW RAM SHO SHL SIN TAL ZAW
Al-Adala 2-1 0-2 0-3 0-0 0-1 0-2 0-1 0-1 0-2 2-3 1-1
Al-Bareed 2-0 1-0 1-0 1-0 0-2 3-3 1-4 1-1 3-2 0-0 2-2
Al-Jaish 1-0 0-1 1-8 2-2 0-3 1-3 0-0 0-3 0-1 0-0 0-2
Al-Kahraba 1-1 4-2 2-0 0-1 1-0 1-0 1-1 1-0 0-1 2-0 0-0
Al-Naft 2-1 1-0 2-2 0-0 0-0 3-1 1-1 2-1 0-0 0-2 1-2
Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya 0-1 1-1 1-0 0-1 2-0 3-1 1-1 3-01 2-0 1-1 1-0
Al-Ramadi 1-0 2-1 1-2 0-4 2-2 2-7 1-1 1-2 0-2 0-1 0-0
Al-Shorta 3-1 2-0 4-1 0-0 3-0 2-0 4-2 2-1 0-0 1-2 1-0
Al-Shuala 1-2 0-1 1-1 1-0 0-1 0-7 2-3 0-3 1-3 1-3 0-5
Al-Sinaa 2-0 1-2 1-0 1-1 3-0 0-2 0-0 1-1 1-1 2-2 1-0
Al-Talaba 2-0 2-1 1-1 0-0 1-0 1-2 1-1 0-0 3-0 0-0 0-1
Al-Zawraa 1-0 0-0 2-0 0-0 0-0 1-3 2-0 1-2 1-0 1-0 2-0

1 Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya awarded 3-0 victory over Al-Shuala as a penalty for not coming to the match.

North Division

Team GP W D L GF GA GD Pts
1 Arbil (C) 14 9 4 1 21 5 16 31 Qualified to the Elite stage
2 Duhok 14 9 3 2 16 6 10 30 Qualified to the Elite stage
3 Peris (N) 14 6 4 4 20 16 4 22 Qualified to the Elite stage
4 Kirkuk 14 6 3 5 18 17 1 21 Qualified to the Elite stage
5 Sulaymaniyah 14 4 7 3 16 17 -1 19
6 Samaraa 14 3 5 6 10 16 -6 14
7 Sirwan 14 2 4 8 9 14 -5 10 Relegated
8 Zaxo (N) 14 0 4 10 5 24 -19 4 Relegated
9 Mosul - - - - - - - - Withdrew

Results

ARB DUH KRK PER SMR SIR SUL ZXO
Arbil 0-1 2-0 1-0 4-1 1-0 4-0 0-0
Duhok 1-2 0-1 2-1 0-0 2-1 2-1 1-0
Kirkuk 0-2 0-1 2-3 1-0 3-1 2-2 2-0
Peris 1-1 0-2 1-1 2-0 0-0 3-3 3-01
Samaraa 1-2 0-1 1-1 2-0 0-2 1-1 3-2
Sirwan 0-0 0-0 0-1 0-1 0-1 1-2 3-0
Sulaymaniyah 0-0 0-0 3-1 1-3 0-0 2-0 1-0
Zaxo 0-2 0-32 1-3 1-2 0-0 1-1 0-0
1, 2 Both Duhok FC and Peris FC awarded 3-0 victory over Zaxo FC as a penalty for using a banned player,
Duhok vs. Zaxo match would be ended 0-0.
Peris vs. Zaxo match would be ended 1-1.

South Division

Team GP W D L GF GA GD Pts
1 Karbalaa 16 12 2 2 27 12 15 38 Qualified to the Elite stage
2 Najaf 16 9 5 2 23 9 14 32 Qualified to the Elite stage
3 Al-Minaa 16 8 6 2 19 10 9 30 Qualified to the Elite stage
4 Naft Al-Janoob 16 5 6 5 16 14 2 21 Qualified to the Elite stage
5 Maysan 16 4 7 5 16 17 -1 19
6 Kufa (N) 16 4 5 7 13 15 -2 17
7 Al-Samawa (N) 16 3 7 6 11 18 -7 16
8 Al-Forat 16 4 2 10 17 33 -16 14 Relegated
9 Al-Shatra 16 2 2 12 12 26 -14 8 Relegated

Results

FOR MIN SAM SHT KRB KUF MAY JAN NJF
Al-Forat 1-0 3-0 2-1 2-4 1-4 1-3 0-2 1-2
Al-Minaa 2-0 2-0 1-0 2-1 2-0 2-1 3-3 0-0
Al-Samawa 2-1 0-0 1-0 0-0 1-0 1-1 1-1 1-1
Al-Shatra 2-3 1-1 2-2 0-2 1-0 0-2 0-1 1-3
Karbalaa 5-0 2-1 1-0 1-0 2-1 1-0 2-1 0-0
Kufa 0-0 0-1 1-0 3-2 1-2 2-2 1-0 0-1
Maysan 1-1 1-1 1-1 0-1 0-1 0-0 1-0 2-1
Naft Al-Janoob 2-0 0-0 2-1 3-0 1-2 0-0 0-0 0-0
Najaf FC 3-1 0-1 2-0 1-0 2-1 0-0 4-1 3-0

Elite stage

Elite Stage Formation

The Group winners (3 Teams) qualify directly to the Golden stage.
The groups' runners-up qualify to the Play-off to decide the 4th qualified team to the Golden Stage.

Elite Stage Clubs

Group A

Group B

Group C

  Qualified to the Golden stage
  Runners-up's Round-robin
(C)   Current League title holder
(N)   Promoted to the Iraqi Premier League in this season

Group A

Team GP W D L GF GA GD Pts
1 Arbil (C) 8 4 2 2 9 5 4 14 Qualified to the Golden Stage
2 Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya 8 4 1 3 10 8 2 13 Qualified to the Play-Off
3 Kirkuk 8 3 1 4 8 10 -2 10
4 Al-Minaa 8 2 3 3 6 8 -2 9
5 Al-Sinaa 8 2 3 3 5 7 -2 9

Results

MIN JAW SIN ARB KRK
Al-Minaa 1-0 1-1 0-0 1-0
Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya 1-0 1-0 2-1 6-3
Al-Sinaa 2-1 0-0 0-3 2-0
Arbil 2-2 1-0 1-0 1-0
Kirkuk 2-0 2-0 0-0 1-0

Group B

Team GP W D L GF GA GD Pts
1 Duhok 8 5 3 0 12 3 9 18 Qualified to the Golden Stage
2 Karbalaa 8 4 4 0 9 4 5 16 Qualified to the Play-Off
3 Al-Talaba 8 1 4 3 4 7 -3 7
4 Naft Al-Janoob 8 2 1 5 6 11 -5 7
5 Al-Kahraba 8 1 2 5 10 16 -6 5

Results

KAH TAL DUH KRB JAN
Al-Kahraba 0-1 0-4 1-2 3-1
Al-Talaba 2-2 0-1 0-0 0-1
Duhok 2-2 2-0 0-0 1-0
Karbalaa 2-1 1-1 0-0 2-0
Naft Al-Janoob 2-1 0-0 1-2 1-2

Group C

Team GP W D L GF GA GD Pts
1 Al-Zawraa 6 4 1 1 11 5 6 13 Qualified to the Golden Stage
2 Najaf 6 3 2 1 7 4 3 11 Qualified to the Play-Off
3 Al-Shorta 6 1 2 3 5 9 -4 5
4 Peris (N) 6 0 3 3 1 6 -5 3

Results

SHO ZAW NJF PER
Al-Shorta 1-3 0-1 2-1
Al-Zawraa 1-1 0-1 2-0
Najaf 3-1 2-3 0-0
Peris 0-0 0-2 0-0

Semifinal Qualification Playoff

The Elite Stage Groups' Runners-up.

The PlayOff Qualified teams

Playoff group

Team GP W D L GF GA GD Pts
1 Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya 2 1 0 1 3 3 0 3
2 Najaf 2 1 0 1 3 3 0 3
3 Karbalaa 2 1 0 1 1 1 0 3

Results

JAW KRB NJF
Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya 0-1
Karbalaa 0-1
Najaf 2-3

Golden stage

Golden Stage Formation

The Elite stage groups' winners (3 teams) and the winner of the Play off.

Golden Stage Qualified teams

Results

  Semi-finals Final
20 August 2008 - Al-Shaab Stadium, Baghdad
  Al-Zawraa  1  
  Duhok  0  
 
24 August 2008 - Al-Shaab Stadium, Baghdad
      Al-Zawraa  0
    Arbil  1
Third place
21 August 2008 - Al-Shaab Stadium, Baghdad 24 August 2008 - Al-Shaab Stadium, Baghdad
  Arbil  2   Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya  3
  Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya   0     Duhok  0

Semi-finals

August 20, 2008
Al-Zawraa 1 – 0 Duhok Al-Shaab Stadium, Baghdad
Abdul-Salam Abood  75' (Pen)
August 21, 2008
Arbil 2 – 0 Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya Al-Shaab Stadium, Baghdad
Luay Salah  28'
Ahmad Salah  53'

Third-fourth place play-off

August 23, 2008
Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya 3 – 0 Duhok Al-Shaab Stadium, Baghdad
Amjad Radhi  5'
Muthana Khalid  42'
Malik Zwaid  82'

Final

August 24, 2008
Al-Zawraa 0 – 1 Arbil Al-Shaab Stadium, Baghdad
Ahmad Salah  99'

Champions

Champions

Arbil FC
Second Title

Awards

Top scorers

Last updated: 24 August 2008.

  #   Player Team Goals per Stage   Total  
  Primary Stage     Elite Stage     Play-Off     Golden Stage  
1   Asaad Abdul-Nabi    Al-Kahraba   10 4 x x 14
2   Hussam Saeed    Al-Zawraa   10 2 x x 12
=   Taysir Abdul-Hussein    Al-Shorta   10 2 x x 12
4   Abdul-Salam Abood    Al-Zawraa   7 3 x 1 11
=   Yassir Abdul-Muhsen    Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya   10 1 x x 11
6   Ayad Shaalan    Al-Sinaa   10 x x x 10
=   Ahmad Ijdayia    Al-Ramadi   10 x x x 10
8   Ahmad Salah    Arbil   4 3 x 2 9
=   Ali Sabbar    Al-Sinaa   7 2 x x 9
=   Akram Hashem    Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya   8 1 x x 9
11   Luay Salah    Arbil   6 1 x 1 8
=   Ali Mohammed     Najaf   6 1 1 x 8
=   Younis Shakor    Kirkuk   5 3 x x 8
14   Nawaf Falah    Duhok   3 4 x x 7
=   Hussam Farhoud    Karbalaa   7 x x x 7
=   Ali Aoda    Al-Jaish   7 x x x 7
=   Hussam Aziz    Al-Forat   7 x x x 7
18   Ali Mansour    Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya   2 4 x x 6
=   Saeed Mohsen    Najaf   2 4 x x 6
=   Sahib Abbas    Karbalaa   3 3 x x 6
=   Jabir Shakir    Al-Kahraba   3 3 x x 6
=   Osama Shaial    Al-Minaa   3 3 x x 6
=   Ali Jabir Abdul-Hussein    Karbalaa   5 1 x x 6
=   Ahmad Hanon    Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya   5 1 x x 6
=   Alaa Aasi    Al-Minaa   5 1 x x 6
=   Halkurd Mulla Mohammed    Sulaymaniyah   6 x x x 6
As of the end of The Golden Stage

4 Substitutions

The IFA made a new rule: the clubs can use 4 substitutions instead of 3 substitutions. IFA added this section in their last meeting with the clubs' officials and all teams agreed with the new rule.

Sources & References