The 2000–01 Iraqi Elite League was the 27th season of the competition since its foundation in 1974. The name of the league was changed from Iraqi First Division to Iraqi Elite League. Instead of relegating teams from the 1999–2000 season and promoting teams from the lower division in order to decide which teams were playing in the competition, the Iraq Football Association decided that every team in the country from every division should play qualifying games in order to decide who participated.
The qualifying rounds started in September and saw a total of 135 teams being split into groups based on geographical position, all competing for the 16 places in the league. After all the qualifiers were over in December, the league competition itself was played and was 30 rounds long. In the end, Al-Zawraa won their third league title in a row, finishing a comfortable eight points clear of their rivals. Al-Zawraa's record in the qualifying round was 17 matches, 14 wins, 1 draw, 2 losses, 80 goals scored, 6 goals conceded, +74 goal difference and 43 points.[1][2][3]
Qualifiers
First qualifying round
In the first qualifying round, each province (apart from Baghdad and Sulaymaniya) had its own group with the highest-placed team in each group qualifying to the final qualifying round.
Al-Qasim played Al-Hilla in a two-legged play-off which ended 1–1 on aggregate; Al-Qasim qualified on away goals. Other teams in the group included Babil
Baghdad
All 35 teams admitted directly to final qualifying round
Al-Minaa played Al-Basra in a two-legged play-off; both legs ended in draws and Al-Minaa won 1–0 via a golden goal in extra-time. Other teams in the group included Al-Bahri and Al-Ittihad
