2002–03 Iraqi First Division League
Season | 2002–03 |
---|---|
Champions | N/A (season cancelled) |
2003 Arab Unified Club Championship | Al-Shorta |
2004 AFC Champions League | Al-Shorta Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya |
2003–04 Arab Champions League | Al-Zawraa Al-Talaba |
← 2001–02 (Iraqi Elite League) 2003–04 (Iraqi Premier League) → |
The 2002–03 Iraqi First Division League was the 29th season of the top-tier Iraqi national football league since its establishment in 1974. Organised by the Iraq Football Association (IFA), the league's name was changed to Iraqi First Division League, and it started on 6 September 2002.
27 rounds of the league were played before the 2003 invasion of Iraq began on 20 March 2003.[1] Despite the outbreak of the Iraq War, matches continued with free entry for spectators, and games from rounds 28 and 29 were played in the midst of the conflict.[2][3] The last matches were played on 28 March before the league stopped and Saddam Hussein's government was overthrown, leading to the formation of a new IFA committee.[4]
The IFA revealed on 6 May that it was considering holding a play-off between the top four Baghdad clubs to decide who would qualify for the 2003 Arab Unified Club Championship.[5] However, the IFA then announced on 30 May that Al-Shorta had been chosen to participate as they were leading the league table at the end of round 27 before the outbreak of war.[6][7] The IFA later announced that the 2002–03 league competition had been cancelled and that the league table at the end of round 27 would also be used to determine the clubs that qualified for the Baghdad Championship and the AFC Champions League.[8][9]
League table used to determine qualifications
[edit]Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Al-Shorta | 27 | 20 | 5 | 2 | 61 | 23 | +38 | 65 | 2004 AFC Champions League and 2003 Arab Unified Club Championship |
2 | Al-Najaf | 26 | 19 | 5 | 2 | 44 | 12 | +32 | 62 | |
3 | Al-Zawraa | 27 | 17 | 8 | 2 | 59 | 16 | +43 | 59 | 2003–04 Arab Champions League |
4 | Al-Talaba | 24 | 19 | 2 | 3 | 56 | 15 | +41 | 59 | |
5 | Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya | 27 | 17 | 4 | 6 | 49 | 30 | +19 | 55 | 2004 AFC Champions League[a] |
6 | Al-Minaa | 27 | 14 | 3 | 10 | 30 | 23 | +7 | 45 | |
7 | Al-Mosul | 27 | 11 | 5 | 11 | 33 | 42 | −9 | 38 | |
8 | Erbil | 27 | 10 | 7 | 10 | 44 | 33 | +11 | 37 | |
9 | Al-Karkh | 27 | 9 | 10 | 8 | 29 | 21 | +8 | 37 | |
10 | Zakho | 27 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 36 | 27 | +9 | 36 | |
11 | Duhok | 27 | 9 | 7 | 11 | 30 | 40 | −10 | 34 | |
12 | Al-Difaa Al-Jawi | 27 | 7 | 8 | 12 | 27 | 37 | −10 | 29 | |
13 | Samarra | 26 | 7 | 7 | 12 | 26 | 38 | −12 | 28 | |
14 | Al-Nasiriya | 27 | 7 | 6 | 14 | 27 | 55 | −28 | 27 | |
15 | Al-Jaish | 27 | 6 | 8 | 13 | 26 | 42 | −16 | 26 | |
16 | Al-Sinaa | 26 | 4 | 11 | 11 | 17 | 29 | −12 | 23 | |
17 | Al-Naft | 27 | 4 | 10 | 13 | 21 | 37 | −16 | 22 | |
18 | Al-Samawa | 27 | 5 | 7 | 15 | 22 | 52 | −30 | 22 | |
19 | Kirkuk | 27 | 2 | 9 | 16 | 14 | 48 | −34 | 15 | |
20 | Al-Basra | 27 | 3 | 5 | 19 | 14 | 45 | −31 | 14 |
Notes:
- ^ The IFA initially planned to admit Al-Najaf into the AFC Champions League,[9] but Al-Najaf were not ready to participate and the IFA thus gave the slot to Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya, the next highest-placed team in the table that had not already been admitted into a continental or regional competition. When informed by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) that participation in the AFC Champions League should be for the league champions and the FA Cup winners (Al-Talaba), the IFA asked the AFC to give it freedom in choosing its participating clubs due to the league not being completed.[10] The AFC agreed to the IFA's request and therefore Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya entered the competition alongside Al-Shorta.
Results
[edit]Season statistics
[edit]Hat-tricks
[edit]Player[12] | For | Against | Result | Date |
---|---|---|---|---|
Ahmed Khalaf | Duhok | Al-Mosul | 4–1 | 6 September 2002 |
Younis Mahmoud | Al-Talaba | Al-Basra | 3–1 | 26 September 2002 |
Ihsan Hadi | Al-Minaa | Al-Samawa | 3–0 | 10 October 2002 |
Hamid Qasim4 | Erbil | Al-Naft | 5–1 | 11 October 2002 |
Nashat Akram | Al-Shorta | Duhok | 8–0 | 18 October 2002 |
Hussam Fawzi | Al-Zawraa | Al-Basra | 4–0 | 1 November 2002 |
Amin Abbas | Duhok | Samarra | 4–1 | 15 November 2002 |
Ahmed Ibrahim | Samarra | Al-Nasiriya | 3–1 | 22 November 2002 |
Ahmed Mnajed | Al-Shorta | Al-Samawa | 3–0 | 29 November 2002 |
Mohammed Nasser | Erbil | Al-Minaa | 5–0 | 20 December 2002 |
Husham Mohammed | Al-Zawraa | Kirkuk | 5–1 | 23 December 2002 |
Basim Hamoud | Al-Jaish | Al-Shorta | 4–1 | 20 February 2003 |
Salim Khanjar | Zakho | Al-Nasiriya | 6–1 | 7 March 2003 |
Husham Mohammed | Al-Zawraa | Kirkuk | 4–1 | 7 March 2003 |
Muayad Judi | Al-Sinaa | Samarra | 3–2 | 7 March 2003 |
- Notes
4 Player scored 4 goals
References
[edit]- ^ "الدوري العراقي". 29 March 2003.
- ^ Al-Tuwaijri, Abdul-Aziz (3 April 2003). "استمرار منافسات الدوري العراقي رغم الحرب يثير استغراب المراقبين". Asharq Al-Awsat.
- ^ "Un hijo de Sadam pide que la Liga de fútbol iraquí continúe pese a la guerra". El País. 28 March 2003.
- ^ Kitz, Sami (28 March 2003). "القنابل الاميركية لم تحل دون استمرار الدوري العراقي". MEO News. Archived from the original on 1 September 2020. Retrieved 16 May 2020.
- ^ Qadri Hassan, Mohammed (6 May 2003). "العراقي حسين سعيد: جاهزون لمقابلة الفرق الكويتية وأنديتنا عادت لتدريباتها". Asharq Al-Awsat.
- ^ Qadri Hassan, Mohammed (30 May 2003). "راضي رئيس اتحاد الكرة العراقي: ادعاءات عمو بابا كاذبة وهو دائم الاستجداء". Asharq Al-Awsat.
- ^ Qadri Hassan, Mohammed (3 June 2003). "منتخب فلسطين الأولمبي يستعين بلاعبين من تشيلي لملاقاة الكويت السبت". Asharq Al-Awsat.
- ^ "الاتحاد العراقي المركزي لكرة القدم تعليمات ونشاطات الموسم الرياضي 2003-2004". 25 September 2003.
- ^ a b "Al-Najaf to participate in the Asian Champions League". Iraq Soccer. 14 October 2003. Archived from the original on 2004-01-17.
- ^ "من سيمثك العراق في بطولة الأندية الآسيوية؟" (PDF). Al-Taakhi Newspaper. 30 November 2003. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2004-06-28.
- ^ Al-Sabti, Ali (2014). Iraqi League History 1974-2011. Iraq.
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: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - ^ "Iraq 2002/03". RSSSF. 25 July 2019.