The 2020–21 Iraqi Premier League was the 47th season of the Iraqi Premier League since its establishment in 1974. The season started on 25 October 2020 and ended on 28 July 2021, with the relegation play-off held on 30 July 2021.
Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya sealed their seventh Premier League title with three matches to spare, finishing ahead of Al-Zawraa and Al-Najaf. Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya also won the Iraq FA Cup to become the first Iraqi club since the 2001–02 season to win the double. Their manager Ayoub Odisho became the most successful coach in Premier League history with four titles.
New rules For the first time in the Iraqi Premier League, the Iraq Football Association decided to use head-to-head points as the first tiebreaker for teams level on points, followed by head-to-head goal difference, total goal difference, total number of wins and total goals scored. Also, the maximum number of substitutions in a game for each team was increased from four to five.
Teams
Twenty teams competed in the league – the top eighteen teams from the 2018–19 season and the two promoted teams from the 2018–19 Iraqi First Division League.
Clubs and locations Team Manager Location Stadium Capacity Al-Diwaniya Ahmed Khalaf Diwaniya Al-Diwaniya Stadium5,000 Al-Hudood Abbas Attiya Baghdad Al-Taji Stadium5,000 Al-Kahrabaa Ahmed Salah Baghdad Al-Taji Stadium5,000 Al-Karkh Thair Ahmed Baghdad Al-Saher Ahmed Radhi Stadium5,150 Al-Minaa Ahmed Rahim Basra Al-Fayhaa Stadium10,000 Al-Naft Basim Qasim Baghdad Al-Sinaa Stadium10,000 Al-Najaf Hatif Shamran Najaf Al-Najaf International Stadium30,000 Al-Qasim Qusay Munir Babil Al-Kifl Stadium10,000 Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya Ayoub Odisho Baghdad Al-Shaab Stadium34,200 Al-Samawa Aqeel Ghani Samawa Al-Samawa Stadium5,000 Al-Shorta Aleksandar Ilić Baghdad Al-Shaab Stadium34,200 Al-Sinaat Al-Kahrabaiya Adel Nima Baghdad Al-Taji Stadium5,000 Al-Talaba Thair Jassam Baghdad Al-Shaab Stadium34,200 Al-Zawraa Radhi Shenaishil Baghdad Al-Shaab Stadium34,200 Amanat Baghdad Essam Hamad Baghdad Amanat Baghdad Stadium5,000 Erbil Taha Qadir Erbil Franso Hariri Stadium25,000 Naft Al-Basra Emad Aoda Basra Al-Fayhaa Stadium10,000 Naft Al-Wasat Abdul-Ghani Shahad Najaf Al-Najaf International Stadium30,000 Naft Maysan Uday Ismail Amara Maysan Olympic Stadium25,000 Zakho Abdul-Wahab Abu Al-Hail Zakho Zakho International Stadium20,000 Notes
League table
Results
Relegation play-off
Samarra are promoted to the Iraqi Premier League, while Al-Sinaat Al-Kahrabaiya are relegated to the Iraqi First Division League.
Season statistics Top scorers Rank Player Club Goals1 Aymen HusseinAl-Quwa Al-Jawiya222 Manar TahaAl-Hudood153 Mohammed JaffalAl-Talaba14 Ahmed LaftaAl-Najaf Hammadi AhmedAl-Quwa Al-Jawiya
Hat-tricks
Player For Against Result Date Mousa Adnan Al-Naft Al-Samawa 3–1 (H) Aymen Hussein Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya Al-Naft 4–1 (H) Wakaa Ramadan Al-Talaba Al-Minaa 4–2 (H)
Notes (H) – Home team
Awards Award Winner Club Soccer Iraq Goal of the Season Joseph Nathaniel Al-Hudood
Match ball On 23 October 2020, Umbro announced their official partnership with Iraq Football Association to manufacture the official match ball for the Iraqi Premier League. The official match ball is named Neo Toba. The design was conceived in such a way as to reflect the colours of the Iraqi flag and the patterns represent symbols of ancient Mesopotamian civilization. The term Toba is taken from the Iraqi dialect () which means "ball" in common parlance.
See also 2020–21 Iraq FA Cup
References
External links Official website Iraq Football Association