2007–08 Iraqi Premier League

Iraqi Premier League
Season	2007–08
Champions	Erbil; (2nd title)
Relegated	Al-Forat; Sirwan; Al-Jaish; Al-Shuala; Al-Adala; Al-Shatra; Zakho
AFC Cup	Erbil; Al-Zawraa
Arab Champions League	Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya
Top goalscorer	Asaad Abdul-Nabi; (14 goals)
	← 2006–07 2008–09 →

The 2007–08 Iraqi Premier League season started on 26 November 2007 and ended on 24 August 2008. The season saw Erbil crowned as champions for the second time in a row.

For security reasons, the league was divided into three groups: South, North and Central. The top six clubs from the Central Group and the top four clubs from the North and South Groups qualified for the Elite Stage. The Elite Stage consisted of three groups, from which the winners and one runner-up qualified for the Golden Stage, a knockout tournament. The Golden Stage matches were held in Al-Shaab Stadium in Baghdad.

The champions and runners-up qualified for the 2009 AFC Cup (Iraq were excluded from the AFC Champions League due to not fulfilling the AFC requirements), while third-placed Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya qualified for the 2008–09 Arab Champions League.^[1]^[2]

New rule

The IFA made a new rule that the clubs can use 4 substitutions instead of 3 substitutions.

Group stage

South Group

Rank	Team	GP	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification or relegation
1	Karbalaa	16	12	2	2	27	12	+15	38	Elite Stage
2	Al-Najaf	16	9	5	2	23	9	+14	32
3	Al-Minaa	16	8	6	2	19	10	+9	30
4	Naft Al-Junoob	16	5	6	5	16	14	+2	21
5	Maysan	16	4	7	5	16	17	–1	19
6	Al-Kufa	16	4	5	7	13	15	–2	17
7	Al-Samawa	16	3	7	6	11	18	–7	16
8	Al-Forat	16	4	2	10	17	33	–16	14	Relegated to Iraq Division 1
9	Al-Shatra	16	2	2	12	12	26	–14	8	Relegated to Iraq Division 1

Results

	FOR	MIN	SAM	SHT	KRB	KUF	MAY	JUN	NJF
Al-Forat		1-0	3-0	2-1	2-4	1-4	1-3	0-2	1-2
Al-Minaa	2-0		2-0	1-0	2-1	2-0	2-1	3-3	0-0
Al-Samawa	2-1	0-0		1-0	0-0	1-0	1-1	1-1	1-1
Al-Shatra	2-3	1-1	2-2		0-2	1-0	0-2	0-1	1-3
Karbalaa	5-0	2-1	1-0	1-0		2-1	1-0	2-1	0-0
Al-Kufa	0-0	0-1	1-0	3-2	1-2		2-2	1-0	0-1
Maysan	1-1	1-1	1-1	0-1	0-1	0-0		1-0	2-1
Naft Al-Junoob	2-0	0-0	2-1	3-0	1-2	0-0	0-0		0-0
Al-Najaf	3-1	0-1	2-0	1-0	2-1	0-0	4-1	3-0

North Group

Rank	Team	GP	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification or relegation
1	Erbil	14	9	4	1	21	5	+16	31	Elite Stage
2	Duhok	14	9	3	2	16	6	+10	30
3	Peris	14	6	4	4	20	16	+4	22
4	Kirkuk	14	6	3	5	18	17	+1	21
5	Al-Sulaymaniya	14	4	7	3	16	17	–1	19
6	Samaraa	14	3	5	6	10	16	–6	14
7	Sirwan	14	2	4	8	9	14	–5	10	Relegated to Iraq Division 1
8	Zakho	14	0	4	10	5	24	–19	4	Relegated to Iraq Division 1

Note: Al-Mosul withdrew from the league.

Results

	ARB	DUH	KRK	PER	SMR	SIR	SUL	ZXO
Erbil		0-1	2-0	1-0	4-1	1-0	4-0	0-0
Duhok	1-2		0-1	2-1	0-0	2-1	2-1	1-0
Kirkuk	0-2	0-1		2-3	1-0	3-1	2-2	2-0
Peris	1-1	0-2	1-1		2-0	0-0	3-3	3-0 ¹
Samaraa	1-2	0-1	1-1	2-0		0-2	1-1	3-2
Sirwan	0-0	0-0	0-1	0-1	0-1		1-2	3-0
Al-Sulaymaniya	0-0	0-0	3-1	1-3	0-0	2-0		1-0
Zakho	0-2	0-3 ²	1-3	1-2	0-0	1-1	0-0

^{1, 2} Zakho's matches with Duhok (0–0) and Peris (1–1) were both awarded as 3–0 defeats for Zakho as a penalty for using a banned player.

Central Group

Rank	Team	GP	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification or relegation
1	Al-Shorta	22	13	8	1	40	14	+26	47	Elite Stage
2	Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya	22	14	4	4	42	13	+29	46
3	Al-Kahrabaa	22	10	8	4	30	10	+20	38
4	Al-Zawraa	22	10	7	5	24	12	+12	37
5	Al-Talaba	22	9	9	4	25	17	+8	36
6	Al-Sinaa	22	9	8	5	24	16	+8	35
7	Al-Bareed	22	8	6	8	25	29	–4	30
8	Al-Naft	22	6	9	7	18	24	–6	27
9	Al-Ramadi	22	5	6	11	26	42	–16	21
10	Al-Jaish	22	3	6	13	14	39	–25	15	Relegated to Iraq Division 1
11	Al-Shuala	22	3	4	15	14	44	–30	13
12	Al-Adala	22	3	3	17	10	33	–22	12

Results

	ADL	BRD	JSH	KAH	NFT	JAW	RAM	SHO	SHL	SIN	TAL	ZAW
Al-Adala		2-1	0-2	0-3	0-0	0-1	0-2	0-1	0-1	0-2	2-3	1-1
Al-Bareed	2-0		1-0	1-0	1-0	0-2	3-3	1-4	1-1	3-2	0-0	2-2
Al-Jaish	1-0	0-1		1-8	2-2	0-3	1-3	0-0	0-3	0-1	0-0	0-2
Al-Kahrabaa	1-1	4-2	2-0		0-1	1-0	1-0	1-1	1-0	0-1	2-0	0-0
Al-Naft	2-1	1-0	2-2	0-0		0-0	3-1	1-1	2-1	0-0	0-2	1-2
Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya	0-1	1-1	1-0	0-1	2-0		3-1	1-1	3-0 ¹	2-0	1-1	1-0
Al-Ramadi	1-0	2-1	1-2	0-4	2-2	2-7		1-1	1-2	0-2	0-1	0-0
Al-Shorta	3-1	2-0	4-1	0-0	3-0	2-0	4-2		2-1	0-0	1-2	1-0
Al-Shuala	1-2	0-1	1-1	1-0	0-1	0-7	2-3	0-3		1-3	1-3	0-5
Al-Sinaa	2-0	1-2	1-0	1-1	3-0	0-2	0-0	1-1	1-1		2-2	1-0
Al-Talaba	2-0	2-1	1-1	0-0	1-0	1-2	1-1	0-0	3-0	0-0		0-1
Al-Zawraa	1-0	0-0	2-0	0-0	0-0	1-3	2-0	1-2	1-0	1-0	2-0

¹ Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya were awarded 3–0 victory over Al-Shuala as Al-Shuala did not turn up to the match.

Elite stage

Group 1

Rank	Team	GP	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification or relegation
1	Erbil	8	4	2	2	9	5	+4	14	Semi-finals
2	Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya	8	4	1	3	10	8	+2	13	Semi-final playoff
3	Kirkuk	8	3	1	4	8	9	–1	10
4	Al-Minaa	8	2	3	3	6	8	–2	9
5	Al-Sinaa	8	2	3	3	4	7	–3	9

Results

	MIN	JAW	SIN	ARB	KRK
Al-Minaa		1-0	1-1	0-0	1-0
Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya	1-0		1-0	2-1	6-3
Al-Sinaa	2-1	0-0		0-3	1-0
Erbil	2-2	1-0	1-0		1-0
Kirkuk	2-0	2-0	0-0	1-0

Group 2

Rank	Team	GP	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification or relegation
1	Duhok	8	5	3	0	12	3	+9	18	Semi-finals
2	Karbalaa	8	4	4	0	9	4	+5	16	Semi-final playoff
3	Al-Talaba	8	1	4	3	4	7	–3	7
4	Naft Al-Junoob	8	2	1	5	6	11	–5	7
5	Al-Kahrabaa	8	1	2	5	10	16	–6	5

Results

	KAH	TAL	DUH	KRB	JUN
Al-Kahrabaa		0-1	0-4	1-2	3-1
Al-Talaba	2-2		0-1	0-0	0-1
Duhok	2-2	2-0		0-0	1-0
Karbalaa	2-1	1-1	0-0		2-0
Naft Al-Junoob	2-1	0-0	1-2	1-2

Group 3

Rank	Team	GP	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification or relegation
1	Al-Zawraa	6	4	1	1	11	5	+6	13	Semi-finals
2	Al-Najaf	6	3	2	1	7	4	+3	11	Semi-final playoff
3	Al-Shorta	6	1	2	3	5	9	–4	5
4	Peris	6	0	3	3	1	6	–5	3

Results

	SHO	ZAW	NJF	PER
Al-Shorta		1-3	0-1	2-1
Al-Zawraa	1-1		0-1	2-0
Al-Najaf	3-1	2-3		0-0
Peris	0-0	0-2	0-0

Semi-final playoff

Rank	Team	GP	W	L	GF	GA	Pts	Qualification or relegation
1	Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya	2	1	1	3	3	3	Semi-finals
2	Al-Najaf	2	1	1	3	3	3
3	Karbalaa	2	1	1	1	1	3

Results

	JAW	KRB	NJF
Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya		0-1
Karbalaa			0-1
Al-Najaf	1-2 FT 2-3 AET (7-8 PK)

Golden stage

Semi-finals		Final

20 August 2008 - Al-Shaab Stadium, Baghdad

Al-Zawraa	1
		24 August 2008 - Al-Shaab Stadium, Baghdad
Duhok	0
		Al-Zawraa	0
21 August 2008 - Al-Shaab Stadium, Baghdad
		Erbil (aet)	1
Erbil	2

Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya	0
		Third place

		23 August 2008 - Al-Shaab Stadium, Baghdad

		Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya	3

		Duhok	0

Semi-finals

August 20, 2008

Al-Zawraa	1–0	Duhok
Abood 75' (pen.)

Al-Shaab Stadium, Baghdad

August 21, 2008

Erbil	2–0	Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya
L. Salah 28' A. Salah 53'

Al-Shaab Stadium, Baghdad

Third place match

August 23, 2008

Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya	3–0	Duhok
Radhi 5' Khalid 42' Zwaid 82'

Al-Shaab Stadium, Baghdad

Final

August 24, 2008

Al-Zawraa	0–1 (a.e.t.)	Erbil
		A. Salah 99'

Al-Shaab Stadium, Baghdad

Champions
Erbil 2nd Title

Final positions

Pos	Team	Pld	Pts	Eff	Qualification
1	Erbil	24	51	70.8%	2009 AFC Cup
2	Al-Zawraa	30	53	58.9%	2009 AFC Cup
3	Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya	34	65	63.7%	2008–09 Arab Champions League
4	Duhok	24	48	66.7%
Eliminated in the Semi-Final Play-Off
5	Al-Najaf	24	46	63.9%
6	Karbalaa	26	57	73.1%
Eliminated in the Elite Stage
7	Kirkuk	22	31	47.0%
8	Al-Talaba	30	43	47.8%
9	Al-Shorta	28	52	61.9%
10	Al-Minaa	24	39	54.2%
11	Naft Al-Junoob	24	28	38.9%
12	Al-Sinaa	30	44	48.9%
13	Al-Kahrabaa	30	43	47.8%
14	Peris	20	25	41.7%
Eliminated in the Group Stage
15	Al-Bareed	22	30	45.5%
16	Al-Sulaymaniya	14	19	45.2%
17	Maysan	16	19	39.6%
18	Al-Naft	22	27	40.9%
19	Al-Kufa	16	17	35.4%
20	Samaraa	14	14	33.3%
21	Al-Samawa	16	16	33.3%
22	Al-Ramadi	22	21	31.8%
Relegated
23	Al-Forat	16	14	29.2%
24	Sirwan	14	10	23.8%
25	Al-Jaish	22	15	22.7%
26	Al-Shuala	22	13	19.7%
27	Al-Adala	22	12	18.2%
28	Al-Shatra	16	8	16.7%
29	Zakho	14	4	9.5%

Awards

Top scorer: Asaad Abdul-Nabi (Al-Kahrabaa)
Best Player/MVP: Ahmad Ayad (Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya)
Best Coach: Radhi Shenaishil (Al-Zawraa)

Top scorers

Last updated: 24 August 2008.

#	Player		Team	Goals per Stage				Total
#	Player		Team	Primary Stage	Elite Stage	Play-Off	Golden Stage	Total
1		Asaad Abdul-Nabi	Al-Kahrabaa	10	4	x	x	14
2		Hussam Saeed	Al-Zawraa	10	2	x	x	12
=		Taysir Abdul-Hussein	Al-Shorta	10	2	x	x	12
4		Abdul-Salam Abood	Al-Zawraa	7	3	x	1	11
=		Yassir Abdul-Mohsen	Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya	10	1	x	x	11
6		Ayad Shaalan	Al-Sinaa	10	x	x	x	10
=		Ahmad Ijdayia	Al-Ramadi	10	x	x	x	10
8		Ahmad Salah	Erbil	4	3	x	2	9
=		Ali Sabbar	Al-Sinaa	7	2	x	x	9
=		Akram Hashem	Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya	8	1	x	x	9
11		Luay Salah	Erbil	6	1	x	1	8
=		Ali Mohammed	Al-Najaf	6	1	1	x	8
=		Younis Shakor	Kirkuk	5	3	x	x	8
14		Nawaf Falah	Duhok	3	4	x	x	7
=		Hussam Farhoud	Karbalaa	7	x	x	x	7
=		Ali Aoda	Al-Jaish	7	x	x	x	7
=		Hussam Aziz	Al-Forat	7	x	x	x	7
18		Ali Mansour	Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya	2	4	x	x	6
=		Saeed Mohsen	Al-Najaf	2	4	x	x	6
=		Sahib Abbas	Karbalaa	3	3	x	x	6
=		Jabir Shakir	Al-Kahrabaa	3	3	x	x	6
=		Osama Shaial	Al-Minaa	3	3	x	x	6
=		Ali Jabir Abdul-Hussein	Karbalaa	5	1	x	x	6
=		Ahmad Hanon	Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya	5	1	x	x	6
=		Alaa Aasi	Al-Minaa	5	1	x	x	6
=		Halkurd Mulla Mohammed	Al-Sulaymaniya	6	x	x	x	6
As of the end of The Golden Stage

References

External links

Iraqi Football Website

[1] List of Iraqi Premier League Champions

[2] Goalzz.com

[1]

[2]

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