2012–13 Iraqi Premier League

Iraqi Premier League

Season	2012–13
Matches played	200
Goals scored	518 (2.59 per match)
Top goalscorer	Amjad Radhi (15 goals)
Biggest home win	Al-Zawra 7–0 Kirkuk
Biggest away win	Al-Sinaa 0–6 Al-Minaa
Highest scoring	Al-Minaa 4-4 Karbala Al-Kahraba 3-5 Erbil
← 2011–12 2013–14 → All statistics correct as of 15-05-2013.

The 2012–13 Iraqi Premier League is the 39th season of the Iraqi Premier League since its establishment in 1974. The season began on 19 October 2012. Erbil are the defending champions, having won their 4th league title last season.

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. However unlike previous seasons, the 3rd place this season will not take part in the next UAFA Cup that because the spot is reserved for the 2012–13 Iraq FA Cup champions.

4 teams will be relegated to Iraq Division 1 and 2 teams will be promoted for next season 2013–14.

Teams

Stadia and locations

Al-Kahraba

Al-Masafi

Al-Naft

Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya

Al-Shorta

Al-Sinaa

Al-Talaba

Al-Zawraa

Baghdad

Duhok

Zakho

Erbil

Kirkuk

Sulaymaniya

Karbala

Najaf

Al-Minaa

Naft Al-Janoob

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
Duhok	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
Duhok	2	Duhok 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	Aurelien Oko Bota	Claude Gnakpa	Ahmed Al-Sadeq	Ala Al-Sasi
Al-Naft	Mohamed Shawky	Hamdi Al-Masri
Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya	Makadji Boukar	Jean-Paul Ndeki	Ben Konaté
Al-Shorta	Innocent Awoa	Jean Michel N'Lend	Minusu Buba	Paul Koulibaly
Al-Sinaa	Abdulkader Dakka
Al-Talaba	Habib Mohamed	Kinan Deeb	Mutaz Kailouni	Shaaban Al-Najjar
Al-Zawraa	Sadeq Wahab	Mohammad Alwakid	Zaher Midani
Baghdad
Duhok	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
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	23	13	9	1	39	18	+21	48	Qualification to the 2014 AFC Cup
2	Al-Zawraa	23	12	8	3	42	21	+21	44
3	Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya	23	13	5	5	42	25	+17	44
4	Duhok	20	10	7	3	38	21	+17	37
5	Erbil	19	11	4	4	37	21	+16	37
6	Zakho	22	10	7	5	32	25	+7	37
7	Baghdad	22	8	11	3	22	16	+6	35
8	Al-Minaa	22	9	6	7	41	31	+10	33
9	Naft Al-Janoob	23	7	8	8	37	35	+2	29
10	Al-Naft	22	7	7	8	26	25	+1	28
11	Karbala	23	6	8	9	30	31	−1	26
12	Al-Kahraba	23	6	6	11	23	36	−13	24
13	Al-Masafi	22	6	5	11	19	26	−7	23
14	Najaf	23	6	5	12	21	33	−12	23
15	Sulaymaniya	23	6	4	13	24	42	−18	22	Relegation to the Iraq Division 1
16	Al-Talaba	22	4	6	12	20	31	−11	18
17	Kirkuk	23	4	6	13	11	49	−38	18
18	Al-Sinaa	22	2	8	12	14	32	−18	14

Updated to games played on 15 May 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; (DQ) = Disqualified from tournament.

Positions by round

	Leader & 2014 AFC Cup
	2014 AFC Cup
	Relegation to Iraq Division 1

Team \ Round
	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31	32	33	34
Al-Shorta	5	3	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1
Al-Zawraa	7	8	8	8	9	6	5	6	5	5	5	4	4	4	4	4	3	4	3	3	2	2	2
Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya	2	6	6	10	14	14	11	8	8	8	10	6	8	10	11	12	12	5	4	4	4	3	3
Duhok	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	2	2	2	2	2	2	3	2	2	3	4	4
Erbil	11	16	17	12	6	11	13	15	16	16	14	12	11	8	5	7	5	2	6	6	5	5	5
Zakho	12	10	11	14	15	16	14	12	12	12	11	10	5	5	7	6	4	6	5	5	6	6	6
Baghdad	13	11	15	16	16	12	8	9	10	7	4	5	6	6	6	5	7	7	7	7	7	7	7
Al-Minaa	9	9	9	6	5	4	4	4	7	9	6	7	7	9	9	9	13	12	9	9	8	8	8
Naft Al-Janoob	8	5	5	4	4	5	7	5	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	6	8	8	8	9	9	9
Al-Naft	14	12	13	7	10	7	9	10	9	10	8	9	10	11	12	11	9	10	11	10	10	10	10
Karbalaa	3	4	3	3	3	3	3	3	4	4	7	8	9	7	8	8	8	9	10	11	11	11	11
Al-Kahraba	17	17	10	13	8	10	12	13	11	11	13	13	13	13	14	13	14	14	13	14	14	13	12
Al-Masafi	4	2	4	5	7	9	6	7	6	6	9	11	12	12	10	10	10	11	12	12	12	12	13
Najaf	6	7	7	11	11	13	15	17	18	13	12	14	15	15	15	17	17	15	15	16	15	15	14
Sulaymaniya	16	18	18	18	18	18	17	14	13	14	15	15	14	14	13	14	11	13	14	13	13	14	15
Al-Talaba	10	14	16	9	13	15	16	18	15	18	18	18	17	16	17	16	15	16	16	15	16	17	16
Kirkuk	18	15	14	17	12	8	10	11	14	15	16	16	16	17	18	18	18	18	18	18	17	16	17
Al-Sinaa	15	13	12	15	17	17	18	16	17	17	17	17	18	18	16	15	16	17	17	17	18	18	18	18

Last updated: 15 May 2013.
Source: Soccerway

Results

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

0–3

1–1

1–1

0–1

1–1

3–5

2–1

1–0

1–2

Al-Masafi

2–0

0–1

1–2

0–0

2–3

1–1

0–1

1–1

3–0

1–0

1–0

2–1

Al-Minaa

0–0

1–3

1–1

0–0

0–1

1–2

4–4

3–1

5–2

2–1

Al-Naft

1–2

4–2

2–1

2–2

1–2

0–0

1–0

4–1

0–2

1–1

Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya

3–1

1–3

0–0

4–0

1–0

3–3

2–1

1–0

2–0

2–0

Al-Shorta

0–0

5–0

4–1

2–2

4–1

3–0

1–1

1–1

1–0

2–1

2–0

2–0

Al-Sinaa

1–0

0–6

3–1

0–1

1–0

0–0

1–1

1–2

0–1

1–1

0–0

0–1

Al-Talaba

2–0

0–3

0–0

1–2

2–1

0–2

2–1

2–0

0–1

2–3

Al-Zawraa

2–1

1–2

1–0

2–2

1–1

0–1

2–2

7–0

3–2

1–0

4–0

Baghdad

0–0

1–0

1–0

2–1

2–1

0–0

1–1

1–2

1–0

1–1

1–1

3–2

Duhok

2–1

1–1

1–0

1–3

1–2

4–0

4–2

3–2

4–0

2–2

Erbil

2–1

0–1

1–1

0–1

3–1

1–0

6–0

0–1

4–1

4–1

Karbalaa

0–0

0–1

1–1

3–2

0–2

2–1

1–1

1–1

4–0

2–1

1–1

3–2

Kirkuk

1–1

1–1

0–0

0–3

2–1

2–1

1–1

0–0

0–4

1–0

1–2

Naft Al-Janoob

4–1

4–3

3–1

0–1

2–2

1–1

2–2

2–0

3–1

1–1

3–3

Najaf

1–3

1–1

1–0

3–1

1–1

1–0

3–1

0–0

1–1

1–0

1–0

Sulaymaniya

3–1

0–1

1–1

0–2

1–1

1–3

2–3

2–1

1–0

0–1

Zakho

1–0

2–3

1–0

3–2

0–0

2–1

0–0

0–0

1–2

1–0

4–0

2–2

1–0

Updated to games played on 15 May 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.

Clubs season-progress

W

D

L

Team \ Round
	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31	32	33	34
Al-Kahraba	L	L	W	L	W	D	L	L	W	D	D	D	L	L	D	W	L	L	D	L	L	W	D
Al-Masafi	W	W	D	L	L	D	W	D	W	L	L	L	D	L	W	L	D	W	D	P	L	L	L
Al-Minaa	D	D	D	W	W	D	W	P	L	L	W	L	D	D	L	L	L	W	W	W	W	L	W
Al-Naft	L	D	D	W	L	W	L	D	W	L	W	D	D	L	L	D	W	W	L	D	W	L	P
Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya	W	D	D	L	L	W	W	W	W	L	D	W	W	L	L	W	D	W	W	D	W	W	W
Al-Shorta	W	W	D	W	W	D	W	D	D	W	W	W	W	D	D	W	D	W	D	W	L	W	D
Al-Sinaa	L	D	D	L	L	D	L	W	L	D	L	L	L	W	D	D	L	L	L	D	D	L	P
Al-Talaba	D	L	L	W	L	L	L	L	W	L	L	L	D	W	L	D	D	L	D	W	L	P	D
Al-Zawraa	D	D	D	D	D	W	W	L	W	D	D	W	W	L	W	L	W	W	W	W	W	D	W
Baghdad	L	D	L	D	D	W	W	D	D	W	W	D	L	W	D	W	D	W	D	P	W	D	D
Duhok	W	W	W	D	W	D	W	D	L	W	D	L	D	D	W	W	D	W	W	P	L	P	P
Erbil	W	D	D	W	W	L	L	P	L	D	W	W	W	W	W	D	W	P	L	P	W	W	P
Karbalaa	W	D	W	W	D	W	L	D	L	D	L	L	D	W	L	W	D	L	L	L	D	D	L
Kirkuk	L	D	D	L	W	W	L	L	L	D	L	D	L	D	L	L	L	L	D	L	W	W	L
Naft Al-Janoob	D	W	D	W	D	L	L	W	W	W	L	W	D	L	W	L	D	L	D	D	L	D	L
Najaf	W	L	D	L	D	L	L	D	L	W	W	L	L	W	L	L	L	L	D	L	W	D	W
Sulaymaniya	L	L	L	D	L	L	W	W	D	D	L	W	D	L	W	L	W	L	L	W	L	L	L
Zakho	L	D	D	L	D	L	W	D	D	D	W	W	W	W	W	W	W	P	W	L	L	D	W

Last updated: 15 May 2013.
Source: Soccerway

• p: postponed

Postponed matches

• Erbil had postponed matches in round 1 and 2 against Zakho and Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya due to the interference with 2012 AFC Cup semifinals matches against Chonburi and a postponed match in round 3 against Al-Masafi due to the interference with 2012 AFC Cup finale match against Kuwait SC. The match against Zakho rescheduled and was played on March 18, 2013 and the match against Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya was played on March 25, 2013. While the match against Masafi was played on 29 March 2013. All matches were played between round 17 and round 18 (on season's break).
• Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya had a postponed match in round 6 against Naft Al-Janoob due to the interference with 2012–13 UAFA Cup match against Shabab Al-Dhahiriya in an away match in the Second round of the Asian Zone. The match rescheduled and was played on March 9, 2013 between round 17 and round 18 (on season's break).
• Erbil had postponed matches in round 7 and 8 against Al-Shorta and Al-Minaa, due to having 7 players serving Iraq national football team in 2012 WAFF Championship. The match against Al-Shorta was rescheduled and was played on April 19, 2013 between round 19 and round 20.
• Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya had a postponed match in round 13 and 16 against Al-Sinaa and Sulaymaniya FC due to the interference with 2012–13 UAFA Cup match against Raja Casablanca in the quarterfinals of the UAFA Cup. The match will be scheduled later. The match against Al-Sinaa rescheduled and was played on March 14, 2013 and the match against Sulaymanya was played on April 3, 2013. Both matches were played between round 17 and round 18 (on season's break).
• Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya had a postponed match in round 14 and 15 against Najaf FC and Zakho FC due to Participating in the Military World Cup Asian Zone qualifications as an Iraq Army National Football Team. The match will be scheduled later. The match against Najaf rescheduled and was played on March 19, 2013 and the match against Zakho was played on March 29, 2013. Both matches were played between round 17 and round 18 (on season's break).
• Erbil had postponed matches in round 18 against Zakho, against Al-Masafi in round 20, and aqainst Al-Naft in round 23, due to the interference with 2012 AFC Cup in the groups stage. The matches will be scheduled later.
• Dohuk had postponed matches in round 18 against Kirkuk, against Baghdad FC in round 20, against Al-Talaba in round 22, and against Al-Sinaa in round 23, due to the interference with 2012 AFC Cup in the groups stage. The match against Kirkuk was rescheduled and was played on April 19, 2013 between round 19 and round 20.

Season statistics

Top scorers

As of May 15, 2013

Rank	Player	Club	Goals
1	Amjad Radhi	Erbil	15
2	Alaa Abdul-Zahra	Duhok	10
	Mustafa Karim	Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya
	Mustafa Jawda	Al-Kahraba
5	Bassim Ali Hussein	Naft Al-Janoob	9
	Hussein Farhoud	Karbala
	Raja Rafe	Zakho
8	Hussam Malek	Naft Al-Janoob	8
	Luay Salah	Erbil
	Marwan Hussein	Al-Zawraa

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	02012-11-1818 November 2012
Nasser Talla	Al-Mina	Sulaymaniya	4	5-2	02013-01-2727 January 2013
Amjad Radhi	Erbil	Kirkuk	3	6-0	02013-01-2828 January 2013
Amjad Radhi	Erbil	Najaf	3	4-1	02013-03-011 March 2013
Hasan Hamoud	Al-Mina	Al-Sinaa	3	6-0	02013-04-1212 April 2013
Alaa Abdul-Zahra	Duhok	Kirkuk	3	4-0	02013-04-1919 April 2013
Emad Mohammed	Al-Zawra	Kirkuk	3	7-0	02013-04-2929 April 2013
Mustafa Jawda	Al-Kahraba	Erbil	3	3-5	02013-05-066 May 2013

Media coverage

Iraqi Premier League Media Coverage
Country	Television Channel	Matches
Iraq	Al-Iraqiya Sports Channel	3 Matches per round

Others

• 2012–13 Iraq FA Cup

References

• Goalzz.com
• Soccerway