2022–23 Iraqi Second Division League Explained

Competition:Iraqi Second Division League
Season:2022–23
Dates:1 December 2022 – 6 August 2023
Winners:Al-Karma
(1st title)
Promoted:Al-Karma
Ghaz Al-Shamal
Al-Gharraf
Al-Fahad
Relegated:25 teams
Prevseason:2021–22
Nextseason:2023–24
(Iraqi First Division League)
Updated:28 July 2023

The 2022–23 Iraqi Second Division League was the 49th season of what is now called the Iraqi First Division League, the third tier of the Iraqi football league system, since its establishment in 1974. The number of clubs in the league have varied throughout history for various reasons; in this season the number of clubs was 98 (in addition to 26 pre-qualified teams from the previous season, playing starting from the second round, so the total is 124 teams). The top four teams (top 2 teams in each group) in the Final Qualifiers were promoted directly to the second tier, while teams that fail to qualify for the second round and finish in the bottom positions in the group ranking table will be relegated directly to the third tier. The season started on 1 December 2022.[1] [2]

In the Ultimate competing round of the league, in the group 1, Al-Karma and Al-Gharraf were able to top the group after each of them achieved 19 points, while in the group 2, Ghaz Al-Shamal and Al-Fahad topped the group after each of them achieved 22 points. All four teams were promoted to the second tier.[3] [4]

It was decided on August 6, to hold the final match to determine the league champion, between the leaders of the group 1, Al-Karma, and the leaders of the group 2, Ghaz Al-Shamal.[5] [6] [7]

The final match was held at Al-Shaab Stadium in Baghdad, and Al-Karma was able to beat Ghaz Al-Shamal by penalty kicks (4–3) after the end of the regular time of the match, with the two teams drewed (1–1).[8]

Team changes

The following teams have changed division since the 2021–22 season:

Promoted from Third Division League

Relegated from the First Division League

Promoted to the First Division League

Relegated to Third Division League

Competition format

Schedule

The Iraqi Second Division League starts with 98 clubs and ends with four qualified clubs according to three rounds, The teams that qualified for the second round last season and the teams that were relegated from the Iraqi First Division League in the 2021–22 season moved directly to play in the second round.

RoundStageMain dateParticipating teamsQualified teamsQualify for
1stIn-governorates qualifiers 1 December 2022 98 27 In-territories qualifiers
2ndIn-territories qualifiers 31 March 2023 53 12 Final qualifiers
3rdFinal qualifiers 9 June 2023 12 4 Promotion to the Iraqi First Division League

First round

The 98 clubs are divided into 16 groups depending on the location, except for the groups of Dohuk and Erbil, each group representing the governorate to which these clubs belong and is located within its borders.

1- Dohuk Group

There are no teams in Dohuk that play in this division.

2- Nineveh Group

3- Erbil Group

There are no teams in Erbil that play in this division.

4- Kirkuk Group

5- Sulaymaniyah Group

6- Saladin Group

7- Al-Anbar Group

8- Baghdad Groups

Group 1

Group 2

9- Diyala Group

10- Karbalaa Group

11- Babil Group

12- Wasit Groups

Group 1

Group 2

13- Al-Najaf Group

14- Al-Qādisiyyah Group

15- Maysan Group

16- Al-Muthanna Group

17- Dhi Qar Group

18- Basra Group

Qualified teams

The 26 pre-qualified teams and the 27 teams coming from the first round are all divided into five groups by location,[9] and these groups have sub-groups. The first from each group is considered a winner, the winning teams advance directly to the third round.

RankGroupsGovernoratesWinners teamsPre-qualified teams
1Northern GroupDohuk
  • Shekhan
Nineveh
Erbil
Kirkuk
Sulaymaniyah
2Western GroupSaladin
Al-Anbar
Diyala
3Baghdad GroupBaghdad
4Central Euphrates GroupKarbalaa
Babil
Al-Najaf
Al-Qādisiyyah
Al-Muthanna
5Southern GroupWasit
Maysan
Dhi Qar
Basra

[a] Al-Karma replaced Al-Habbaniya.

Second round

The draw for the Central Euphrates Group and Southern Group regions was held on February 21, 2023,[10] [11] [12] and the Western Group on February 22,[13] while the Northern Group draw was held in February 25.[14]

Northern section

Group 1

Group 2

Group 3

Western section

Group 1

Group 2

Baghdad section

Group 1

Group 2

Central Euphrates section

Group 1

Group 2

Southern section

Group 1

Group 2

Group 3

Third round

The twelve qualified teams have been divided into two groups, and the first two teams from each group will be promoted to Iraqi First Division League, and the draw took place on May 30, 2023.[15] [16]

After the lottery was drawn between the qualified teams, Al-Qurna was replaced by Al-Kut, due to the appeal decision issued by the Football Association, as Al-Kut considered a winner over Suq Al-Shuyukh with a score 3–0 instead of the draw result with which the match ended, and thus Al-Kut has got on 13 points ahead of Al-Qurna who has 12 points.[17] [18]

Ultimate competing teams

TeamManagerLocationStadiumCapacity
Al-Fahad Anmar SalamAl-Ramadi Stadium15,000
Al-Furat Nayef FalahSuq Al-Shuyukh Stadium5,000
Al-Gharraf Moayad TaumaDhi Qar Al-Shatra Stadium7,500
Al-Hashd Al-Shaabi Azhar TaherAl-Saher Ahmed Radhi Stadium5,150
Qahtan Dakhel Al-Hashimiya Stadium5,000
Al-Karma Shaker Mohammed SabbarAl-Anbar Al-Fallujah Stadium7,000
Nadhim HusseinBabil Al-Kifl Stadium8,000
Haider IbrahimAl-Kut Olympic Stadium20,000
Al-Mosul Ziyad MahmoudNinevehMosul University Stadium20,000
Zuhair Abdul-RidhaBaghdad Al-Taji Stadium5,000
Ghaz Al-Shamal Natiq HaddadGhaz Al-Shamal Stadium5,000
Naft Al-Shamal Ahmed HabibKirkuk Khak Stadium5,000

Final Qualifiers

Group 1

Group 2

Final

GK 32 Omar Abboud
RB29 Sajjad Deabes
CB 37 Ziyad Khalaf
CB 4 Anaid Shaaban
LB 66 Koran Emad
CM 8 Ali Najem
CM 77 Abdullah Sarbast
CM 6 Gehad Abdulrab
RF 7 Ibrahim Khaled
CF 11 Ali Sulayman
LF 21 Hussein Yasser
Manager:
Shaker Mohammed Sabbar
GK 37 Abdullah Hamad
RB 70 Abdul-Muhaimen Abdullah
CB 23 Laith Jalil
CB 3 Hussein Jamal
LB 17 Omar Tariq
CM 88 Ahmed Hussein
CM 25 Aassi Sultan
CM 9 Ahmed Khalaf
RF 7 Ayad Khalaf
CF 10 Yasser Naji
LF 18 Mustafa Brisho
Manager:
Natiq Haddad
Match officials
  • Assistant referees:
    • Safin Qader
    • Thul-Faqar Khalil
  • Fourth official: Ahmed Ali Talib

Match rules

  • 90 minutes.
  • Penalty shootout if scores still level.
  • Maximum of five substitutions

Final qualifiers statistics

Top scorers

RankPlayerClubGoals
1 Ahmed MahoodAl-Furat7
Ahmed RahimAl-Hashd Al-Shaabi
3 Abbas RaysanAl-Gharraf6
Yasser NajiGhaz Al-Shamal
Hussein ShararAl-Kifl
Serri JamalAl-Fahad
7 Ali SulaymanAl-Karma5
Dana KameranNaft Al-Shamal
9 Ali KowtiAl-Gharraf4
Ibrahim KhaledAl-Karma
Ali FadhelAl-Gharraf

Hat-tricks

Player For Against Result Date
Serri Jamal4Al-FahadAl-Jawhara5–2 (H)22 June 2023
Hussein ShararAl-KiflAl-Karma3–0 (H)2 July 2023
Ahmed MahoodAl-FuratAl-Kut3–2 (H)18 July 2023
Notes4 Player scored 4 goals
(H) – Home team
(A) – Away team

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: المسابقات تعلن مواعيد منهاجها الكروي للموسم المقبل. 2021-08-08. Iraq Football Association. ar.
  2. Web site: إقامة قرعة دوري الدرجة الثانية لفرق بغداد. December 1, 2022. ashourland.net. ar.
  3. Web site: الاتحاد العراقي يحدد موعد وآلية انطلاق بطولة الجمهورية. July 28, 2023. shafaq.com. ar.
  4. Web site: رئيس اتحاد الكرة يبارك تأهل فرق الكرمة والغراف والفهد وغاز الشمال إلى دوري الدرجة الأولى. July 30, 2023. addustor.com. ar.
  5. Web site: غاز الشمال والگرمة يتنافسان على لقب بطل دوري الدرجة الثانية لكرة القدم. July 31, 2023. shafaq.com. ar.
  6. Web site: الجوية تقهر الكرخ وتتوعّد أربيل بمواجهة نارية في نهائي الكأس. August 2, 2023. azzaman.com. ar.
  7. Web site: اليوم.. ملعب الشعب يحتضن نهائي دوري الدرجة الثانية. August 6, 2023. ina.iq. ar.
  8. Web site: الگرمة" بطلاً لدوري الدرجة الثانية بفوزه على غاز الشمال بركلات الترجيح". August 6, 2023. shafaq.com. ar.
  9. Web site: تحديد موعد انطلاق الدوري العراقي الرديف لفرق الممتاز والدرجة الثانية. February 9, 2023. shafaq.com. ar.
  10. Web site: اتحاد الكرة يحدد موعد إجراء قرعة للأندية المتأهلة إلى الدور التأهيلي للدرجة الأولى. February 17, 2023. ninanews.com. ar.
  11. Web site: إجراء قرعة الدور التأهيلي لأندية الدرجة الأولى للمجموعتين الجنوبية والفرات الأوسط. February 21, 2023. azlsport.com. ar.
  12. Web site: سحب قرعة الدور التأهيلي للمنطقتين الوسطى والجنوبية. February 22, 2023. alsabaah.i. ar.
  13. Web site: قرعة دوري الدرجة الثانية المؤهل للأولى للمنطقة الغربية. alrased.news. Arabic. February 22, 2023.
  14. Web site: إقامة قرعة دوري الدرجة الثانية المؤهل للأولى للمنطقة الشمالية. ashourland.net. Arabic. February 25, 2023.
  15. Web site: اجراء قرعة الدوري المؤهل إلى الدرجة الأولى. May 30, 2023. awla.news. ar.
  16. Web site: إليكم قرعة تصفيات الدور الحاسم المؤهل لدوري الدرجة الاولى. ashourland.net. Arabic. May 30, 2023.
  17. Web site: لجنة الاستئناف تصدر قرارات بشأن طلب نادي الكوت الرياضي. ashourland.net. Arabic. June 1, 2023.
  18. Web site: قرار من لجنة الاستئناف باتحاد الكرة يعيد الكوت إلى المنافسة على التأهل لدوري الدرجة الأولى. ninanews.net. Arabic. June 1, 2023.