The Iraq Stars League () is the highest level of the Iraqi football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the Iraqi Premier Division League. It is governed by the Iraqi Pro League Association.
The league was formed by the Iraq Football Association in 1974 as the Iraqi National Clubs First Division League, the first nationwide league of clubs in Iraq, and later became known as the Iraqi Premier League. In 2023, the competition was rebranded as the Iraq Stars League and transitioned into a fully professional competition. The current format sees 20 teams playing 38 matches each (playing each team in the league twice, home and away), totalling 380 matches in the season.
Of the 83 teams to have competed since the inception of the league in 1974, eleven have won the title. Al-Zawraa are the most successful club with 14 titles, followed by Al-Shorta (8), Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya (8) and Al-Talaba (5); these four clubs together contest the Baghdad derbies. The current league champions are Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya, who won the title in the 2025–26 season.
History Origins
Up until 1973, leagues in Iraq were organised on a regional basis, reflecting the country's administrative and geographic divisions. The Central FA League (for teams in Baghdad and its neighbouring cities), the Basra League and the Kirkuk League were all founded in 1948, while the Mosul League was founded in 1950.
The first nationwide league was introduced in the 1973–74 season under the name of Iraqi National First Division League, in which Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya were crowned champions. This competition represented the first attempt to establish a unified national league championship. However, it included both clubs and institute-representative teams (such as military or ministry sides).
Foundation and early years (1974–1983) On 18 August 1974, the Iraq Football Association (IFA) decided to restructure the domestic football pyramid by introducing a new National Clubs First Division League which was restricted to club sides only, thereby marking the transition to a fully club-based national league structure. The league held its first season in 1974–75 and was originally composed of ten clubs. The league's first ever goal was scored by Falah Hassan of Al-Tayaran (now known as Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya) in a 1–1 draw with Al-Sinaa. Al-Tayaran were crowned champions of the inaugural season, which featured the following teams: Al-Baladiyat Al-Jaish Al-Muwasalat Al-Naqil Al-RafidainAl-Samawa Al-Sinaa Al-Shorta Al-Tayaran Babil
Al-Zawraa established themselves as the league's first dominant force, winning the 1975–76 title and securing the first domestic double in Iraqi football history. The following season, 1976–77, was cut short due to scheduling difficulties, with the IFA declaring Al-Zawraa champions based on the standings at the halfway point.
A key development came in 1977–78 when Al-Minaa won the league unbeaten, becoming the first club from outside Baghdad to claim the national title, demonstrating the potential for clubs from other provinces to compete at the highest level. However, by the end of the 1970s and the beginning of the 1980s, "Baghdad's Big Four" clubs (Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya, Al-Shorta, Al-Talaba and Al-Zawraa) had begun to establish dominance over the competition. The 1980s were heavily influenced by the Iran–Iraq War, which disrupted sporting schedules. The 1980–81 season, for example, was reduced to a single round-robin format due to logistical constraints.
Politicisation of league football (1983–1990) The 1980s saw increased politicisation of football in Iraq, with state-backed institutions playing a greater role in club organisation. This coincided with the rise of Al-Rasheed, a club founded in 1983 by Uday Hussein, the son of the Iraqi president Saddam Hussein, who would later become president of the Iraq Football Association. Al-Rasheed quickly emerged as a dominant force in Iraqi football, with the club assembling many of the country's leading players, including several members of the Iraq national football team and its coach Ammo Baba.
The 1984–85 season was cancelled due to conflicts with national team commitments, with Al-Rasheed leading the table at the time of cancellation. Between 1986–87 and 1988–89, Al-Rasheed won three consecutive league titles, becoming the first club in the league's history to achieve this feat. During this period, the club also secured two Iraq FA Cup titles and enjoyed success in regional competitions, including three consecutive Arab Club Champions Cup titles from 1985 to 1987.
Al-Rasheed's dominance over the league temporarily disrupted the traditional rivalry among Baghdad's Big Four, however the club was dissolved in 1990, and its players were redistributed among other leading sides, contributing to the re-establishment of the competitive landscape and leading to a resurgence among the traditional top clubs.
"Baghdad's Big Four" dominance (1990–2003)
+ Results of the 'Big Four' from 1990 to 2002 Season 1989–90 1 3 6 4 1990–91 6 3 2 1 1991–92 1 5 4 2 1992–93 3 4 1 2 1993–94 2 5 3 1 1994–95 2 6 4 1 1995–96 8 3 6 1 1996–97 1 5 3 2 1997–98 2 1 5 3 1998–99 3 5 2 1 1999–2000 2 3 4 1 2000–01 2 3 4 1 2001–02 2 3 1 4 11 8 10 13out of 13 League champions The league entered a period of relative structural stability and stronger competition during the 1990s. "Baghdad's Big Four" clubs — Al-Zawraa, Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya, Al-Talaba and Al-Shorta who together contest the Baghdad derbies — dominated the competition almost entirely during this period. Between the 1989–90 and 2005–06 seasons, every league title was won by one of these four clubs. Their sustained dominance was underpinned by structural advantages, including greater institutional support, superior access to financial and sporting resources, and the continued concentration of elite players in Baghdad.
The 1990s were particularly successful for Al-Zawraa, who emerged as the most decorated club of the era. The club won the league and cup double in three consecutive seasons from 1993–94 to 1995–96. During this period, the competition was rebranded several times, as the Iraq Football Association experimented with a number of different competition structures and rules, including the awarding of bonus points in the 1994–95 season and the introduction of regional qualifying rounds in the 2000–01 season. Despite these administrative changes, the competitive hierarchy remained largely unchanged. Clubs from outside Baghdad occasionally mounted challenges, but were generally unable to sustain title bids over an entire season. As a result, Baghdad's Big Four maintained near-total control of domestic honours.
Aftermath of invasion and war (2003–2011) The 2003 invasion of Iraq and subsequent Iraq War marked a major turning point in the history of the league, and caused sustained disruption to Iraqi domestic football. The 2002–03 season was cancelled following the outbreak of conflict, while the 2003–04 campaign was also cancelled due to ongoing security concerns and organisational difficulties. From the 2003–04 season until the 2010–11 season, clubs were separated into regional groups rather than competing in the traditional round-robin format to facilitate easier travel and reduce the number of games for teams.
The instability in Baghdad caused by the war significantly altered the competitive landscape of the league. Many players left the capital in search of greater security and financial stability, joining clubs in the comparatively safer northern regions, particularly in the Kurdistan area. This migration of talent weakened the traditional Baghdad-based powerhouses and contributed to a temporary shift in competitive strength. Erbil became the dominant club of the late 2000s, winning three consecutive league titles from 2006–07 to 2008–09, while Duhok secured the 2009–10 championship. These successes represented the first sustained challenge to the dominance of the top Baghdad sides since the league's formative years.
The 2008–09 season was particularly notable as the only campaign in which none of Baghdad's Big Four finished in the top four positions. Instead, the leading places were occupied by Erbil, Al-Najaf, Duhok and Al-Amana, underlining the extent of the temporary shift in competitive balance.
Influx of foreign professionals (2011–2023)
The league returned to its traditional home and away round-robin format in the 2011–12 season and began to attract foreign players and coaches, particularly from Africa, South America and the Middle East. In 2012, Syrian coach Nizar Mahrous became the first foreign manager to win the league title and Cameroonian striker Jean Michel N'Lend became the first foreign player to score a hat-trick. The 2012–13 season saw Al-Shorta dethrone Erbil at the top of the table, as the traditional Baghdad-based clubs began to reassert their dominance, driven by improved security conditions, greater financial stability, and the renewed concentration of elite players in the capital.
Since the 2015–16 season, every league title has been won by either Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya, Al-Shorta or Al-Zawraa, marking a return to the league's long-standing competitive structure. The 2010s also saw a series of incremental administrative reforms aimed at modernising Iraqi domestic football, as efforts were made to improve league organisation, infrastructure, and governance standards. In the 2013–14 season, matches began being broadcast in 16:9 aspect ratio for the first time by Waar TV, and Qatari network Al-Kass Sports Channels purchased the rights to broadcast a select number of high-profile matches from the league in high-definition to a wider audience in the region. Stadium licensing rules were gradually tightened, with modern stadiums such as Basra International Stadium, Karbala International Stadium, Zakho International Stadium and Al-Najaf International Stadium becoming regular venues for league matches. Prior to the start of the 2020–21 season, the Iraq Football Association unveiled the league's first ever logo and announced a partnership with Umbro to manufacture an official match ball for the first time in the league's history.
"Stars League" era (2023–present) A major structural transformation occurred in 2023 when the Iraq Football Association (IFA) signed a three-year partnership agreement with Spain's Liga Nacional de Fútbol Profesional (LaLiga) to professionalise the Iraqi top flight. As part of this reform, the competition was rebranded as the Iraq Stars League and designed to meet the club licensing requirements set by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC).
A new governing body, the Iraqi Pro League Association, was established to operate the competition and oversee its associated youth systems. Chaired by Javier Jiménez Sacristán and Matteo Mantovani, the organisation was tasked with implementing professional standards in league management, commercial operations and infrastructure development. LaLiga also began training an Iraqi administrative team to assume full operational control of the league following the conclusion of the partnership.
The inaugural Iraq Stars League season began on 26 October 2023, marking the first fully professional campaign in the history of Iraqi domestic football. Al-Shorta won the first edition in 2023–24, securing their third consecutive league title and completing a domestic double. The club extended its dominance in 2024–25, becoming the first team in the competition's history to win four consecutive league championships.
Competition format
Competition