The 2023 Iraqi Republic Championship was a newly returned friendly tournament organised by the Iraq Football Association. All 18 governorates of Iraq were represented in this tournament. The tournament started in August 2023, during the off-season of the Iraqi Premier League. This was the tournament's first edition in over 30 years. Salahaddin XI beat Baghdad Karkh XI in the final on 27 September to win the tournament.
Format All 18 provinces of Iraq were represented in the tournament. Baghdad was represented by two teams from Karkh and Rusafa, the two sides of Baghdad city separated by the Tigris River. Each team, governed by the sub-federation in that province, formed a select team to compete and appointed both the coaching and administrative staff. The coaches then called up players, who play for the province that they are originally from. +Iraqi Republic ChampionshipNorthern RegionWestern RegionBaghdad RegionMiddle Euphrates RegionSouthern RegionDuhok XI
Erbil XI
Sulaymaniya XI
Kirkuk XINineveh XI
Salahaddin XI
Diyala XI
Anbar XIBaghdad Karkh XI
Baghdad Rusafa XIKarbala XI
Babil XI
Najaf XI
Qadisiya XI
Muthanna XIWasit XI
Dhi Qar XI
Maysan XI
Basra XI Each team played at the following stadiums: +StadiumsTeam/Province Stadium Duhok XIDuhok StadiumErbil XIFranso Hariri StadiumSulaymaniya XISulaymaniya StadiumKirkuk XIKirkuk Olympic StadiumNineveh XIAl-Amwaj Al-Mosuli StadiumSalahaddin XITikrit University StadiumDiyala XIBaquba StadiumAnbar XIAl-Sufiya StadiumBaghdad Karkh XIAl-Zawraa StadiumBaghdad Rusafa XIAl-Shaab StadiumKarbala XIKarbala Local Administrative StadiumBabil XIAl-Kifl StadiumNajaf XIAl-Najaf StadiumQadisiya XIAl-Diwaniya StadiumMuthanna XIAl-Samawa StadiumWasit XIAl-Kut Olympic StadiumDhi Qar XISuq Al-Shuyukh Stadium/Al-Shatra StadiumMaysan XIAl-Maimouna StadiumBasra XIAl-Minaa Olympic Stadium (secondary pitch)
Each team initially played against other teams within their own region as qualifiers for the knockout stages. The top two teams from each of the four regions qualified for the next round, joining the Karkh and Rusafa teams in the Baghdad region to make up the 10 teams in the next phase. They were divided into two groups, and the top of each group played against each other in the final of the tournament.
Tie-breakers of groups relied on goals scored rather than goal difference to encourage offensive play in order to make the football played at the tournament more appealing.
Regional stage Northern Region
Western Region
Middle Euphrates Region
Southern Region
Second stage Qualified Teams +Iraqi Republic ChampionshipNorthern RegionWestern RegionBaghdad RegionMiddle Euphrates RegionSouthern RegionKirkuk XI
Erbil XISalahaddin XI
Nineveh XIBaghdad Karkh XI (bye)
Baghdad Rusafa XI (bye)Karbala XI
Najaf XIWasit XI
Maysan XI
Group 1
Group 2
Final
Iraqi Republic Championship2023 winnerSalahaddin XI
References