2024–25 Iraq Stars League

Iraq Stars League
Season2024–25
Dates20 September 2024 – July 2025

The 2024–25 Iraq Stars League is the 51st season of the highest tier football league in Iraq since its establishment in 1974, and the second season since launching as a professional league under the name Iraq Stars League. The season started on 20 September 2024 and will end in July 2025.[1]

Overview

20 teams are competing in the 2024–25 Iraq Stars League: 18 teams from the previous season, as well as Diyala and Al-Karma who were promoted from the 2023–24 Iraqi Premier Division League, replacing Amanat Baghdad and Naft Al-Wasat who were relegated.[2] Diyala are returning to the top-flight after a 13-year absence, while Al-Karma are playing in the top-flight for the first time in history this season.

Al-Shorta are the defending champions, having won the league in each of the previous three seasons.

Teams

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Locations of the 2024–25 Iraq Stars League teams

Stadiums and locations

Team Location Stadium Capacity
Al-Hudood Baghdad (14 July) Al-Saher Ahmed Radhi Stadium 5,150
Al-Kahrabaa Baghdad (Al-Wazireya Al-Sinaaiya) Al-Zawraa Stadium 15,443
Al-Karkh Baghdad (Al-Mansour) Al-Saher Ahmed Radhi Stadium 5,150
Al-Karma Anbar (Al-Karma) Al-Ramadi Stadium 10,000
Al-Minaa Basra (Maqal) Al-Minaa Olympic Stadium 30,000
Al-Naft Baghdad (Shaab) Al-Kut Olympic Stadium 32,000
Al-Najaf Najaf Al-Najaf International Stadium 30,000
Al-Qasim Babil (Al-Qasim) Al-Najaf International Stadium 30,000
Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya Baghdad (Zayouna) Al-Shaab Stadium 35,700
Al-Shorta Baghdad (Zayouna) Al-Shaab Stadium 35,700
Al-Talaba Baghdad (Hayy Qahira) Al-Madina Stadium 32,000
Al-Zawraa Baghdad (Sheikh Maaruf, Al-Shaljiya) Al-Zawraa Stadium 15,443
Diyala Diyala (Baqubah) Al-Madina Stadium 32,000
Duhok Duhok Duhok Stadium 22,800
Erbil Erbil Franso Hariri Stadium 25,000
Karbala Karbala Karbala International Stadium 30,000
Naft Al-Basra Basra (Al-Khadhraa) Al-Fayhaa Stadium 30,000
Naft Maysan Maysan (Amarah) Maysan Olympic Stadium 25,000
Newroz Sulaymaniyah Sulaymaniyah Stadium 15,000
Zakho Duhok (Zakho) Zakho International Stadium 20,000

Personnel and kits

Team Manager Captain Kit manufacturer Shirt sponsor
Al-Hudood Iraq Haidar Abdul-Amir Iraq Saqr Ajail Germany Jako none
Al-Kahrabaa Iraq Wali Karim Iraq Hussam Kadhim Germany Jako none
Al-Karkh Iraq Ahmed Abdul-Jabbar Iraq Jaafer Obeis Spain Kelme none
Al-Karma Iraq Ghazi Fahad Iraq Mohammed Hameed Spain Kelme Al-Rahma Telecom
Al-Minaa Spain Pablo Grandes Iraq Alaa Abdul-Zahra Germany Adidas none
Al-Naft Iraq Adel Nima Iraq Ali Yaseen Iraq Al-Naft (own brand) none
Al-Najaf Iraq Abdul-Ghani Shahad Iraq Mohammed Jassim Germany Adidas none
Al-Qasim Syria Ayman Hakeem Iraq Hussein Abdul-Wahid Kaka Sport none
Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya Qatar Wesam Rizik Iraq Saad Abdul-Amir Spain Kelme none
Al-Shorta Iraq Ahmed Salah Iraq Mohanad Ali Iraq Qitharah (own brand) none
Al-Talaba Iraq Basim Qasim Iraq Saad Natiq Germany Puma Al-Manasa IPTV
Al-Zawraa Iraq Essam Hamad Iraq Jalal Hassan Germany Adidas none
Diyala Iraq Sadeq Hanoon Iraq Kosrat Baiz Spain Kelme Alrabiaa Network Television
Duhok Sweden Mesut Meral Iraq Bayar Abubakir Spain Kelme First Iraqi Bank
Erbil Iraq Samir Babo Iraq Sherko Karim Germany Puma Korek Telecom
Karbala Iraq Hassan Ahmed Iraq Ali Salih Kaka Sport none
Naft Al-Basra Croatia Andrej Panadić Iraq Hussam Malik Iraq Naft Al-Basra (own brand) none
Naft Maysan Iraq Ali Abdul-Jabbar Iraq Akram Raheem Iraq Naft Maysan (own brand) none
Newroz Brazil Jorvan Vieira Iraq Mohammed Delawar Germany Puma none
Zakho Qatar Talal Al-Bloushi Iraq Amjad Attwan Denmark Hummel none

Managerial changes

Team Outgoing manager Manner of departure Date of vacancy Position in the table Incoming manager Date of appointment
Al-Hudood Iraq Adel Nima Mutual consent End of previous season Pre-season Iraq Haidar Abdul-Amir Start of current season
Al-Kahrabaa Iraq Luay Salah Mutual consent End of previous season Pre-season Iraq Wali Karim Start of current season
Al-Karkh Egypt Haitham Shaaban Mutual consent End of previous season Pre-season Iraq Ahmed Abdul-Jabbar Start of current season
Al-Karma Iraq Natiq Haddad Mutual consent End of previous season Pre-season Iraq Ghazi Fahad Start of current season
Al-Minaa Iraq Hassan Ahmed Mutual consent End of previous season Pre-season Spain Pablo Grandes Start of current season
Al-Naft Iraq Basim Qasim Mutual consent End of previous season Pre-season Iraq Adel Nima Start of current season
Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya Iraq Razzaq Farhan Mutual consent End of previous season Pre-season Qatar Wesam Rizik Start of current season
Al-Shorta Egypt Moamen Soliman Mutual consent End of previous season Pre-season Iraq Ahmed Salah Start of current season
Al-Talaba Iraq Qahtan Chathir Mutual consent End of previous season Pre-season Iraq Basim Qasim Start of current season
Duhok Iraq Ahmed Khalaf Mutual consent End of previous season Pre-season Sweden Mesut Meral Start of current season
Karbala Iraq Chasib Sultan Mutual consent End of previous season Pre-season Spain Carlos Hernandez Start of current season
Naft Al-Basra Jordan Haitham Al-Shaboul Mutual consent End of previous season Pre-season Croatia Andrej Panadić Start of current season
Newroz Syria Nizar Mahrous Mutual consent End of previous season Pre-season Brazil Jorvan Vieira Start of current season
Karbala Spain Carlos Hernandez Mutual consent Prior to the start of the season Pre-season Iraq Hassan Ahmed Start of current season
Diyala SC Iraq Sadeq Hanoon Sacked November 3rd 2024 19th Tunisia Yamen Zelfani November 12th 2024
Al-Hudood SC Iraq Haidar Abdul-Amir Sacked November 4th 2024 20th Iraq Thair Jassem November 5th 2024
Al Quwa Al Jawiya Qatar Wesam Rizik Sacked December 5th 2024 7th Iraq Luay Salah December 6th 2024

Squads

See also: List of Iraqi football transfers summer 2024 and List of Iraqi football transfers winter 2024–25

Squad registration rules

The rules for the squad selection of the Iraq Stars League:[3]

  • Each club must submit a 25-man squad for the league.
  • Each club must have no more than six foreign players in their squad. This restriction does not apply to players from Yemen, and does not apply to a maximum of one player from Syria.
  • Each club must have no more than six foreign players on the pitch at any given time.
  • No more than two players from countries that are outside the top 90 in the FIFA Men's World Rankings can play at any given time. The two permitted players from countries outside the top 90 must be capped for their respective national teams.
  • Clubs are not permitted to sign a foreign goalkeeper.
  • Players registered for a club's reserve or youth teams are not required to be registered in the 25-man squad.

Transfer windows and squad registration

Main articles: List of Iraqi football transfers summer 2024 and List of Iraqi football transfers winter 2024–25

The summer transfer window in Iraq started on 2 August 2024 and ended on 2 October 2024, while the winter transfer window will start on 5 January 2025 and will end on 5 February 2025.[4]

List of foreign players

Club Player 1 Player 2 Player 3 Player 4 Player 5 Player 6 Player 7 (Syrian) Yemeni players Former players
Al-Hudood Senegal Romuald Dacosta Mauritania Mohamed Dellahi Colombia Stiwar Mena Colombia Harlin Suárez Mauritania Mouhamed Soueid Brazil Paulo Victor
Al-Kahrabaa Nigeria Aniyikaye Adeleye Nigeria Gbolagade Adelowo Nigeria David Ekejiuba Ghana Farouk Mohammed Brazil Ruan Teles
Al-Karkh Brazil Caio Acaraú Republic of the Congo Christ Kouvouama Jordan Mohannad Abu Taha Brazil Leanderson Lucas Morocco Anass Nouader Nigeria Ifeanyi Eze
Al-Karma Brazil Jeferson Bahia Tunisia Najeh Ferjani Brazil Wenderson Cameroon Frank Cédric Abogo Angola Herenilson Nigeria John Okoli Yemen Omar Al-Dahi
Al-Minaa Zimbabwe Gerald Takwara Tunisia Abdallah Amri Gabon Clech Loufilou Democratic Republic of the Congo Tuisila Kisinda Spain Lolo Plá Spain Raúl Parra
Al-Naft Nigeria Samson Dare Cameroon Joel Tchofo Nigeria Valentine Odoh Cameroon Ramses Donfack Ghana Mohammed Sadat Burkina Faso Sami Hien Yemen Ahmed Al-Sarori
Al-Najaf Senegal Moustapha Fall Ghana Denny Antwi Togo Magnime Agbotcho Senegal Dominique Mendy Nigeria Iyayi Atiemwen Tunisia Bechir Ghariani
Al-Qasim Jordan Mo Abualnadi Ivory Coast Elie Sou Nigeria Odeni George Ivory Coast Karim Abubakar Cameroon Messouke Oloumou Malawi Dennis Chembezi
Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya France Arnold Temanfo Colombia Carlos Salazar Nigeria Ahmed Isaiah Argentina Jonathan Bustos Colombia Carlos Enrique France Gerald Kilota
Al-Shorta Niger Abdoul Madjid Moumouni Jordan Mohammad Abu Zrayq Senegal Idrissa Niang Brazil Lucas Santos Cameroon Salomon Banga Syria Mahmoud Al-Mawas Syria Fahd Al-Youssef Algeria Djamel Benlamri[5][6]
Al-Talaba Tunisia Ghaith Maaroufi Cameroon Ngweni Ndassi Tunisia Habib Oueslati Nigeria Austin Amutu Cameroon Ronald Ngah Tanzania Simon Msuva Yemen Hamza Al-Rimi
Al-Zawraa Netherlands Lassana Faye Lebanon Hasan Srour Morocco Anouar Tarkhatt Cameroon Clarence Bitang Ivory Coast Mamadou Soro Tunisia Aziz Chtioui
Diyala Ivory Coast Habib Omar Fofana Mauritania Bakary N'Diaye Cameroon Nathaniel Nangolo Democratic Republic of the Congo Ducapel Moloko Nigeria Benjamin Okoronkwo Brazil Mateus Toto
Duhok Ghana Gilbert Koomson Ivory Coast Wonlo Coulibaly Ghana Reuben Acquah Brazil Moisés Ivory Coast Yannick Zakri Morocco Charki El Bahri
Erbil Tunisia Bilel Ifa Brazil Hélio Jamaica Collin Anderson Brazil Higor Vidal Tunisia Youssef Ben Souda
Karbala Burkina Faso Mohamed Ouattara
Naft Al-Basra Togo Kangnivi Ama Tchoutchoui Ivory Coast Hamed Touré Nigeria Joseph Onoja Togo Ismaïl Ouro-Agoro Democratic Republic of the Congo Omwele Zeke Aristote
Naft Maysan Nigeria Okiki Afolabi Nigeria Dare Olatunji Senegal Daouda Diémé Ivory Coast Alexandré Yeoule Nigeria Usman Sale Ivory Coast Soualio Dabilo Ouattara Syria Ali Koute Yemen Ahmed Maher
Newroz Brazil Cláudio Maradona Brazil Wellington Taira Cameroon Daniel Kamy Ivory Coast Inters Gui Nigeria Ifeanyi Ifeanyi Senegal El Hadji Youssoupha Konate
Zakho Brazil Patrick Marcelino Brazil Moisés Wolschick Jordan Mohammad Abu Hashish Morocco Ayoub Nanah Brazil Gustavo Henrique Syria Mahmoud Al-Aswad Syria Ibrahim Hesar Yemen Nasser Mohammedoh

League table

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
1 Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya 10 7 3 0 12 4 +8 24 Qualification for the AFC Champions League Elite league stage
2 Zakho 11 5 4 2 16 9 +7 19
3 Al-Naft 11 5 4 2 9 4 +5 19
4 Al-Zawraa 11 5 4 2 12 8 +4 19
5 Al-Shorta 9 5 3 1 16 6 +10 18
6 Naft Maysan 11 5 3 3 10 9 +1 18
7 Erbil 11 5 3 3 17 18 −1 18
8 Al-Najaf 11 4 5 2 12 7 +5 17
9 Al-Talaba 11 5 2 4 6 4 +2 17
10 Al-Karma 11 4 2 5 15 12 +3 14
11 Al-Kahrabaa 10 3 5 2 10 9 +1 14
12 Karbala 11 3 5 3 9 14 −5 14
13 Duhok 9 3 3 3 11 9 +2 12
14 Al-Minaa 10 3 3 4 9 8 +1 12
15 Al-Qasim 10 2 5 3 8 6 +2 11
16 Al-Karkh 11 3 2 6 11 14 −3 11
17 Naft Al-Basra 11 3 2 6 7 17 −10 11
18 Newroz 10 2 2 6 7 13 −6 8 Qualification for the relegation play-off
19 Diyala 11 0 4 7 7 21 −14 4 Relegation to the Iraqi Premier Division League
20 Al-Hudood 10 1 0 9 6 18 −12 3
Updated to match(es) played on 20 December 2024. Source: IPFL
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal difference; 4) goal difference; 5) number of goals scored; 6) number of wins.

Results

Home \ Away HUD KAH KKH KRM MIN NFT NJF QSM QWJ SHR TLB ZWR DYL DHK ERB KRB NFB NFM NEW ZAK
Al-Hudood
Al-Kahrabaa 1–1 0–0
Al-Karkh
Al-Karma 0–2
Al-Minaa 2–1 1–2 a a
Al-Naft
Al-Najaf 1–1
Al-Qasim 0–0 1–2
Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya 2–1 a a a
Al-Shorta 2–2 a a a
Al-Talaba 1–0 a a a 0–0
Al-Zawraa 2–1 a a a
Diyala 0–6
Duhok 0–1 0–1
Erbil 1–1 2–1
Karbala 1–1 0–0
Naft Al-Basra 1–0 a
Naft Maysan 1–0
Newroz
Zakho 5–0 1–1
Updated to match(es) played on 20 September 2024. Source: IPFL
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.
For upcoming matches, an "a" indicates there is an article about the rivalry between the two participants.

Relegation play-off

The 18th-placed team in the Stars League will compete in a play-off with the 3rd-placed team from the Premier Division League for a place in next season's Stars League.

v

Season statistics

Top scorers

Rank Player Team Goals
1 Iraq Amjad Attwan Zakho 7
2 Iraq Mohanad Ali Al-Shorta 4
Iraq Hatem Al-Harith Qasim
Iraq Mohammed Qasim Majid Najaf
Nigeria John Okoli Karma

Hat-tricks

Main article: List of Iraq Stars League hat-tricks
Player For Against Result Date
Iraq Mohanad Ali Al-Shorta Diyala 6–0 (A)[7] 26 September 2024
Notes

(H) – Home team
(A) – Away team

Manager of the Month

Manager Team Month References
Iraq Adel Nima Al Naft October [8]
Iraq Ghazi Fahad Al Karma SC November [9]

Attendances

# Football club Average attendance
1 Zakho SC 23,200
2 Duhok SC 18,653
3 Al-Karma SC 12,800
4 Al-Zawraa SC 11,500
5 Erbil SC 9,963
6 Newroz SC 8,225
7 Al-Najaf FC 8,040
8 Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya 8,000
9 Al-Shorta SC 7,025
10 Al-Naft SC 6,000
11 Karbala SC 5,450
12 Al-Minaa SC 4,775
13 Al-Hudood SC 3,500
14 Al-Kahrabaa SC 2,867
15 Al-Talaba SC 2,550
16 Al-Qasim SC 1,610
17 Diyala SC 1,455
18 Naft Missan SC 1,375
19 Al-Karkh SC 833
20 Naft Al-Basra SC 255

Last update: 10 December 2024

References

  1. ^ "المدربون الأجانب في دوري نجوم العراق" (in Arabic). Almaalomah. 13 August 2024.
  2. ^ "موازين تنشر تفاصيل اجتماع اندية دوري نجوم العراق" (in Arabic). Mawazin. 13 August 2024.
  3. ^ "اتحاد الكرة العراقي يعتبر اللاعب اليمني "لاعباً محلياً" في دوري النجوم" (in Arabic). Shafaq. 20 August 2024.
  4. ^ "فترةُ الانتقالاتِ الصيفيّة والشتويّة للموسم 2024/2025". facebook.com (in Arabic). August 4, 2024. Retrieved August 11, 2024.
  5. ^ https://www.awras.com/%D8%A8%D9%86-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B9%D9%85%D8%B1%D9%8A-%D9%8A%D8%B3%D8%A7%D8%B1%D8%B9-%D9%84%D9%84%D8%B1%D8%AF-%D8%A8%D9%82%D9%88%D8%A9-%D8%B9%D9%84%D9%89-%D8%A7%D8%AA%D9%87%D8%A7%D9%85%D8%A7%D8%AA-%D8%AE/
  6. ^ https://www.winwin.com/%D9%83%D8%B1%D8%A9-%D9%82%D8%AF%D9%85/%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A3%D8%AE%D8%A8%D8%A7%D8%B1/%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AA%D9%81%D8%A7%D8%B5%D9%8A%D9%84-%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%83%D8%A7%D9%85%D9%84%D8%A9-%D9%84%D9%87%D8%B1%D9%88%D8%A8-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%AC%D8%B2%D8%A7%D8%A6%D8%B1%D9%8A-%D8%AC%D9%85%D8%A7%D9%84-%D8%A8%D9%84%D8%B9%D9%85%D8%B1%D9%8A
  7. ^ "طوفان الشرطة يجتاح ديالى" (in Arabic). Kooora. 26 September 2024.
  8. ^ https://www.instagram.com/reel/DBojvLggOza/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==
  9. ^ https://www.instagram.com/p/DC9aO9JCR2l/