Iraqi First Division League

Iraqi First Division League
Founded	1974; 50 years ago
Country	Iraq
Number of teams	20
Level on pyramid	3
Promotion to	Iraqi Premier Division League
Relegation to	Iraqi Second Division League
Domestic cup(s)	Iraq FA Cup
International cup(s)	AFC Champions League Two; (via Iraq FA Cup)
Current champions	Al-Mosul ; (2023–24)
	Current: 2023–24 Iraqi First Division League

The Iraqi First Division League is a football league that is the third tier of the Iraqi football league system. The league consists of 20 teams and was founded in 1974. The number of clubs in the league have varied throughout history for various reasons.^[1] The top two teams are promoted directly to the Iraqi Premier Division League, while the lowest-performing teams are relegated to the Iraqi Second Division League. The league is governed by the Iraq Football Association (IFA).^[2]

In the 2023–24 season, Al-Mosul won the championship title after defeating Al-Kadhimiya 6–4 on penalties after a 1–1 draw in the final match.^[3]

Competition name

Period	Name
1974–1995	National Clubs Third Division
1995–1999	Second Division League
1999–2000	Third Division League
2000–2002	Second Division League
2002–2003	Third Division League
2003–2023	Second Division League
2023–present	First Division League

Competition format (2022–23)

Schedule

The Iraqi First Division League starts with 125 clubs and ends with four qualified clubs according to three rounds.

Round	Stage	Participating teams	Qualified teams	Qualify for
1st	In-governorates qualifiers	125	53	In-territories qualifiers
2nd	In-territories qualifiers	53	12	Final qualifiers
3rd	Final qualifiers	12	4	Promotion to the Iraqi Premier Division League

First round

The competition begins with regional leagues, where the 125 clubs are divided into 16 groups depending on the location, except for the groups of Dohuk and Erbil, each group representing the governorate to which these clubs belong and is located within its borders.

Rank	Governorates	Participating teams	Winners teams	Relegated teams
1	Dohuk		1
2	Nineveh	10	4	2
3	Erbil		2
4	Kirkuk	7	3	2
5	Sulaymaniyah	3	2	1
6	Saladin	7	3	2
7	Al-Anbar	10	3	2
8	Baghdad	18	10	4
9	Diyala	7	3	1
10	Karbalaa	5	2	1
11	Babil	6	2	1
12	Wasit	10	4	2
13	Najaf	4	1	1
14	Al-Qādisiyyah	6	2	1
15	Maysan	5	2	1
16	Muthanna	6	2	1
17	Dhi Qar	7	3	1
18	Basra	10	4	2
TOTALS		125	53	25

Second round

The 53 teams coming from the first round are all divided into five groups by location, and these groups have sub-groups. The first from each group is considered a winner, the winning teams advance directly to the third round.

Rank	Groups	Governorates	Participating teams	Totals teams	Winners teams
1	Northern Group	Dohuk	1	12	3
		Nineveh	4
		Erbil	2
		Kirkuk	3
		Sulaymaniyah	2
2	Western Group	Saladin	3	9	2
		Al-Anbar	3
		Diyala	3
3	Baghdad Group	Baghdad	10	10	2
4	Central Euphrates Group	Karbalaa	2	9	2
		Babil	2
		Al-Najaf	1
		Al-Qādisiyyah	2
		Al-Muthanna	2
5	Southern Group	Wasit	4	13	3
		Maysan	2
		Dhi Qar	3
		Basra	4
TOTALS				53	12

Final round

The twelve qualified teams have been divided into two groups, and the first two teams from each group will be promoted to Iraqi Premier Division League. The winner of Group 1 meets the winner of Group 2 in a final match to determine the league champion.

References

^ "دوري الدرجة الثانية" (in Arabic). Iraq Football Association.
^ "لجنة مسابقات اتحاد الكرة العراقي تحدّد موعد انطلاق دوري الدرجة الثانية" (in Arabic). Al-Mutalee. 26 October 2021.
^ "الاتصالات بطلاً لدوري الدرجة الثانية بكرة القدم بعد انتصاره على فريق الحويجة في المباراة النهائية". ipoa.me (in Arabic). June 21, 2022.

External links

Iraq Football Association

[1] "دوري الدرجة الثانية" (in Arabic). Iraq Football Association.

[2] "لجنة مسابقات اتحاد الكرة العراقي تحدّد موعد انطلاق دوري الدرجة الثانية" (in Arabic). Al-Mutalee. 26 October 2021.

[3] "الاتصالات بطلاً لدوري الدرجة الثانية بكرة القدم بعد انتصاره على فريق الحويجة في المباراة النهائية". ipoa.me (in Arabic). June 21, 2022.

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