2012–13 Iraqi Premier League
| Season | 2012–13 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Al-Shorta 4th Premier League title 9th Iraqi title |
| Relegated | Al-Kahraba (15th) Sulaymaniya (16th) Al-Sinaa (17th) Kirkuk (18th) |
| AFC Champions League qualifiers | Al-Shorta |
| AFC Cup | Erbil |
| Matches played | 306 |
| Goals scored | 772 (2.52 per match) |
| Top goalscorer |  Amjad Radhi (25 goals) |
| Biggest home win | Al-Zawraa 7–0 Kirkuk FC Erbil 8–1 Al-Minaa |
| Biggest away win | Al-Sinaa 0–6 Al-Minaa |
| Highest scoring | Erbil 8–1 Al-Minaa |
| Longest winning run | 6 games Zakho (27 January 2013 - 27 February 2013) Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya (4 May 2013 - 24 July 2013) |
| Longest unbeaten run | 20 games Al-Shorta (20 October 2012 - 27 April 2013) |
| Longest losing run | 12 games Kirkuk (14 May 2013 - 4 September 2013 (last day of season)) |
|
← 2011–12
2013–14 →
|
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The 2012–13 Iraqi Premier League was the 39th season of the Iraqi Premier League since its establishment in 1974. The season began on 19 October 2012 and finished on 4 September 2013. Al-Shorta ended up as the champions with 72 points, two points ahead of nearest rivals Arbil FC. Al-Shorta were defeated only twice in the entire season and this title was their fourth Iraqi League title in their history; it was also the first time they had won the league since 2003. Having finished above the relegation zone on goal difference just two seasons prior, Al-Shorta were nobody's pick for the title at the start of the season; the likes of Erbil, Duhok, Zakho, Al-Zawraa, Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya and Al-Talaba were touted as the favourites, so it was a surprise that Al-Shorta were the ones to lift the trophy.[1]
On the very last day of the season, three teams were all still in the enthralling race for the title. Al-Shorta needed a win against Al-Talaba to secure the league, whilst Erbil had to defeat Najaf and hope that Al-Shorta failed to win their game if they wanted to retain their title. Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya needed both Al-Shorta and Erbil to slip up and needed to defeat Al-Masafi by a big goal-margin in order for them to go home with the trophy. All three teams ended up winning their respective matches, making Al-Shorta the champions.
Contents
Format
The league's format has changed once again this season, following the switch from a two-group format to a traditional league last season. A total of 18 teams are contesting the league, two fewer than last season. As a result of this, the bottom four teams in the 2011-12 season were relegated but only two were promoted from the Iraq Division 1. These two promoted teams were Naft Al-Janoob and Sulaymaniya.
The winner and the runner-up qualify to the 2014 AFC Cup. The 3rd place this season will qualify for the 2013–14 UAFA Club Cup.
4 teams will be relegated to 2013–14 Iraq Division 1 and 2 teams will be promoted from 2012–13 Iraq Division 1 to the Iraqi Premier League next season 2013–14.[2]
SWAT Incident
on June 23, 2013 post Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya match, seven football players of Karbala FC and their coach were beaten by the anti-terror police. They used sticks and batons against the coach and his players. Five of them were in critical condition, and on June 30, Mohammed Al-Jaboury, coach of Karbala FC, died in hospital.[3]
Teams
Stadia and locations
| Team | Home city | Venue | Capacity |
|---|---|---|---|
| Selected matches | Baghdad | Al-Shaab Stadium | 50,000 |
| Al-Kahraba | Baghdad | Al Naft Stadium | 3,000 |
| Al-Masafi | Baghdad | Al-Masafi Stadium | 5,000 |
| Al-Minaa | Basra | Al Mina'a Stadium | 10,000 |
| Al-Naft | Baghdad | Al Naft Stadium | 3,000 |
| Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya | Baghdad | Al Jawiya Stadium | 10,000 |
| Al-Shorta | Baghdad | Al Shorta Stadium | 7,000 |
| Al-Sinaa | Baghdad | Al Sina'a Stadium | 10,000 |
| Al-Talaba | Baghdad | Al Karkh Stadium | 6,000 |
| Al-Zawraa | Baghdad | Al Zawraa Stadium | 20,000 |
| Baghdad | Baghdad | Baghdad Stadium | 3,000 |
| Dohuk | Duhok | Duhok Stadium | 20,000 |
| Erbil | Erbil | Franso Hariri Stadium | 40,000 |
| Karbalaa | Karbalaa | Karbala Stadium | 5,000 |
| Kirkuk | Kirkuk | Kirkuk Olympic Stadium | 30,000 |
| Naft Al-Janoob | Basra | Naft Al-Janoob Stadium | 4,000 |
| Najaf | Najaf | An Najaf Stadium | 10,000 |
| Sulaymaniya | Sulaymaniyah | Sulaymaniyah Stadium | 12,000 |
| Zakho | Zakho | Zakho Stadium | 6,000 |
Number of teams by Iraqi Governorates
| Governorate | Teams | Name of Teams |
|---|---|---|
| Center | ||
| Baghdad | 9 | Al-Kahraba, Al-Masafi, Al-Naft, Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya, Al-Shorta, Al-Sinaa, Al-Talaba, Al-Zawraa and Baghdad |
| North | ||
| Dohuk | 2 | Dohuk and Zakho |
| Erbil | 1 | Erbil |
| Kirkuk | 1 | Kirkuk |
| Sulaymaniya | 1 | Sulaymaniya |
| Middle Euphrates | ||
| Karbalaa | 1 | Karbalaa |
| Najaf | 1 | Najaf |
| South | ||
| Basra | 2 | Al-Minaa and Naft Al-Janoob |
Current foreign players
4 Foreign players allowed for each club
| Club | Player 1 | Player 2 | Player 3 | Player 4 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Al-Kahraba | ||||
| Al-Masafi | ||||
| Al-Minaa |  Claude Gnakpa |
 Ahmed Al-Sadeq |
Ala Al-Sasi |
 Hamid Mido |
| Al-Naft |  Mohamed Shawky |
Hamdi Al-Masri |
Mutaz Kailouni |
|
| Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya |  Makadji Boukar |
Jean-Paul Ndeki |
 Ben Konaté |
|
| Al-Shorta | Innocent Awoa |
 Minusu Buba (on loan) |
 Paul Koulibaly |
|
| Al-Sinaa | Mohannad Ibrahim |
|||
| Al-Talaba |  Habib Mohamed |
Shaaban Al-Najjar |
||
| Al-Zawraa | Hussein Jwayed |
 Ibrahim Bahsoun |
Zaher Midani |
Kinan Deeb |
| Baghdad | ||||
| Dohuk |  Jailton Oliveira |
Ali Diab |
Burhan Sahyouni |
 Seif Kadhim |
| Erbil |  Albaye Papa Diop |
Nadim Sabagh |
 Ivan Bukenya |
|
| Karbalaa | ||||
| Kirkuk | Arona |
Malick N’diaye |
||
| Naft Al-Janoob | Moayad Ajan |
Mohamad Daas |
Taha Dyab |
Mohamad Fares |
| Najaf | Raphael Odadah |
Raheem Owolabi |
Uche Ogbonnaya |
Adib Barakat |
| Sulaymaniya | Bakri Tarab |
Mahmoud Amnah |
Majd Homsi |
Sula Matovu |
| Zakho | Bovar Karim |
Alaa Al-Shbli |
Firas Ismail |
Raja Rafe |
League Table
Current table
| Pos |
Team |
Pld |
W |
D |
L |
GF |
GA |
GD |
Pts |
Qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Al-Shorta (C) | 34 | 20 | 12 | 2 | 62 | 29 | +33 | 72 | 2014 AFC Champions League Qualifying play-off |
| 2 | Erbil | 34 | 21 | 7 | 6 | 68 | 34 | +34 | 70 | 2014 AFC Cup |
| 3 | Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya | 34 | 21 | 6 | 7 | 60 | 33 | +27 | 69 | |
| 4 | Al-Zawraa | 34 | 18 | 11 | 5 | 61 | 29 | +32 | 65 | |
| 5 | Dohuk | 34 | 16 | 10 | 8 | 54 | 35 | +19 | 58 | |
| 6 | Baghdad | 34 | 13 | 14 | 7 | 36 | 28 | +8 | 53 | |
| 7 | Zakho | 34 | 14 | 10 | 10 | 48 | 41 | +7 | 52 | |
| 8 | Al-Minaa | 34 | 15 | 7 | 12 | 54 | 48 | +6 | 52 | |
| 9 | Al-Naft | 34 | 13 | 7 | 14 | 43 | 43 | 0 | 46 | |
| 10 | Naft Al-Janoob | 33 | 9 | 12 | 12 | 47 | 49 | −2 | 391 | |
| 11 | Najaf | 34 | 10 | 8 | 16 | 34 | 43 | −9 | 38 | |
| 12 | Karbala | 34 | 9 | 10 | 15 | 40 | 49 | −9 | 37 | |
| 13 | Al-Masafi | 34 | 10 | 7 | 17 | 27 | 39 | −12 | 37 | |
| 14 | Al-Talaba | 34 | 9 | 8 | 17 | 35 | 47 | −12 | 35 | |
| 15 | Al-Kahraba (R) | 33 | 9 | 7 | 17 | 30 | 49 | −19 | 341 | Relegation to Iraq Division 1 |
| 16 | Sulaymaniya (R) | 34 | 9 | 7 | 18 | 37 | 60 | −23 | 34 | |
| 17 | Al-Sinaa (R) | 34 | 4 | 13 | 17 | 23 | 46 | −23 | 25 | |
| 18 | Kirkuk (R) | 34 | 4 | 6 | 24 | 17 | 74 | −57 | 18 |
Updated to games played on 4 September 2013.
Source: Soccerway
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored
(C) = Champion; (R) = Relegated; (P) = Promoted; (E) = Eliminated; (O) = Play-off winner; (A) = Advances to a further round.
Only applicable when the season is not finished:
(Q) = Qualified to the phase of tournament indicated; (TQ) = Qualified to tournament, but not yet to the particular phase indicated; (RQ) = Qualified to the relegation tournament indicated; (DQ) = Disqualified from tournament.
1Al-Kahraba and Naft Al-Janoob refused to play each other after the death of Karbala's coach in round 25. On July 27, before round 30, the Iraqi FA decided not to deduct either team any points.
Results table
| Home ╲ Away | KAH | MAS | MIN | NFT | JAW | SHO | SIN | TAL | ZAW | BGD | DUH | ERB | KRB | KRK | JAN | NJF | SUL | ZAK |
| Al-Kahraba | 1–0 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 0–3 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 3–5 | 2–1 | 2–0 | Note2 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–2 | |
| Masafi Al-Wasat | 2–0 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 2–3 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 3–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 2–1 | |
| Al-Minaa | 1–0 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 1–3 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 2–3 | 4–4 | 3–0 | 0–2 | 3–1 | 5–2 | 2–1 | |
| Al-Naft | 1–2 | 4–2 | 2–1 | 2–2 | 1–2 | 3–1 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 2–4 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 3–2 | 2–1 | 4–1 | 0–2 | 1–1 | |
| Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya | 3–1 | 2–0 | 1–3 | 0–0 | 4–0 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 3–3 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 3–0 | 1–0 | 3–0 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 1–0 | |
| Al-Shorta | 0–0 | 5–0 | 4–1 | 2–2 | 4–1 | 3–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 4–3 | 1–1 | 3–2 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 4–0 | 2–0 | |
| Al-Sinaa | 1–1 | 1–0 | 0–6 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–1 | |
| Al-Talaba | 2–0 | 0–1 | 0–3 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 0–3 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 0–2 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 3–0 | 2–3 | |
| Al-Zawraa | 1–0 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 4–0 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 3–0 | 1–0 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 2–2 | 7–0 | 3–2 | 1–0 | 4–0 | 4–1 | |
| Baghdad | 0–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–3 | 3–2 | 1–1 | |
| Duhok | 1–0 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–3 | 2–0 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 4–0 | 4–2 | 3–2 | 4–0 | 2–2 | |
| Erbil | 2–1 | 2–1 | 8–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 3–0 | 6–0 | 0–1 | 4–1 | 4–1 | 2–1 | |
| Karbalaa | 0–1 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 2–4 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 3–2 | 0–2 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 4–0 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 3–2 | |
| Kirkuk | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 0–3 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 0–4 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 0–1 | |
| Naft Al-Janoob | 4–1 | 1–1 | 4–3 | 3–1 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 0–3 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 2–0 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 3–3 | |
| Najaf | 1–3 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 4–2 | 1–1 | |
| Sulaymaniya | 3–1 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 2–3 | 2–1 | 6–2 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 0–1 | |
| Zakho | 5–2 | 1–0 | 2–3 | 1–0 | 3–2 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 4–0 | 2–2 | 1–0 | 1–1 |
Updated to games played on 4 September 2013.
Source: Soccerway
1 ^ The home team is listed in the left-hand column.
Colours: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.
For coming matches, an a indicates there is an article about the match.
2Al-Kahraba and Naft Al-Janoob refused to play each other after the death of Karbala's coach in round 25. On July 27, before round 30, the Iraqi FA decided not to deduct either team any points.
Season statistics
Top scorers
- As of September 4, 2013
| Rank | Player | Club | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Amjad Radhi |
Erbil | 25 |
| 2 | Alaa Abdul-Zahra |
Dohuk | 20 |
| 3 | Mustafa Karim |
Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya | 18 |
| 4 | Luay Salah |
Erbil | 15 |
| 5 | Haidar Sabah |
Al-Zawraa | 11 |
| Mustafa Jawda |
Al-Kahraba |
Hattricks
| Player name | Scored for | Scored against | Goals | Result | Date of match |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jean Michel N'Lend |
Al-Shorta | Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya | 3 | 4-1 | 18 November 2012 |
| Nasser Talla |
Al-Mina | Sulaymaniya | 4 | 5-2 | 27 January 2013 |
| Amjad Radhi |
Erbil | Kirkuk | 3 | 6-0 | 28 January 2013 |
| Amjad Radhi |
Erbil | Najaf | 3 | 4-1 | 1 March 2013 |
| Hasan Hamoud |
Al-Mina | Al-Sinaa | 3 | 6-0 | 12 April 2013 |
| Alaa Abdul-Zahra |
Dohuk | Kirkuk | 3 | 4-0 | 19 April 2013 |
| Emad Mohammed |
Al-Zawra | Kirkuk | 3 | 7-0 | 29 April 2013 |
| Mustafa Jawda |
Al-Kahraba | Erbil | 3 | 3-5 | 6 May 2013 |
Media coverage
| Iraqi Premier League Media Coverage | ||
|---|---|---|
| Country | Television Channel | Matches |
| Iraq |
Al-Iraqiya Sports Channel | 3 Matches per round |
