2024–25 Iraq Stars League
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The 2024–25 Iraq Stars League will be 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 will start on 20 September 2024 and will end in July 2025.[1]
| Season | 2024–25 |
|---|---|
| Dates | 20 September 2024 – July 2025 |
← 2023–24 | |
20 teams are set to compete 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 will play in the top-flight for the first time in history this season.
Al-Shorta are the defending champions, having won the league in the previous three seasons.
Locations of the 2024–25 Iraq Stars League teams
Stadiums and locations
| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Position in the table | Incoming manager | Date of appointment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Al-Hudood | Adel Nima | Mutual consent | End of previous season | Pre-season | Haidar Abdul-Amir | Start of current season |
| Al-Kahrabaa | Luay Salah | Mutual consent | End of previous season | Pre-season | Wali Karim | Start of current season |
| Al-Karkh | Haitham Shaaban | Mutual consent | End of previous season | Pre-season | Ahmed Abdul-Jabbar | Start of current season |
| Al-Karma | Natiq Haddad | Mutual consent | End of previous season | Pre-season | Ghazi Fahad | Start of current season |
| Al-Minaa | Hassan Ahmed | Mutual consent | End of previous season | Pre-season | Pablo Grandes | Start of current season |
| Al-Naft | Basim Qasim | Mutual consent | End of previous season | Pre-season | Adel Nima | Start of current season |
| Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya | Razzaq Farhan | Mutual consent | End of previous season | Pre-season | Wesam Rizik | Start of current season |
| Al-Shorta | Moamen Soliman | Mutual consent | End of previous season | Pre-season | Ahmed Salah | Start of current season |
| Al-Talaba | Qahtan Chathir | Mutual consent | End of previous season | Pre-season | Basim Qasim | Start of current season |
| Duhok | Ahmed Khalaf | Mutual consent | End of previous season | Pre-season | Mesut Meral | Start of current season |
| Karbala | Chasib Sultan | Mutual consent | End of previous season | Pre-season | Carlos Hernandez | Start of current season |
| Naft Al-Basra | Haitham Al-Shaboul | Mutual consent | End of previous season | Pre-season | Andrej Panadić | Start of current season |
| Newroz | Nizar Mahrous | Mutual consent | End of previous season | Pre-season | Jorvan Vieira | Start of current season |
| Karbala | Carlos Hernandez | Mutual consent | Prior to the start of the season | Pre-season | Hassan Ahmed | Start of current season |
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 6 foreigners in their squad.
- Clubs must sign at least 4 players whose countries are within the top 90 in the FIFA International World Rankings.
- The two permitted players from countries below the top 90 must be capped for their respective national teams.
- Clubs must not sign a foreign goalkeeper.
- Players from Yemen do not coutribute to the foreigner limit, capped at 2 players per team
- Players registered for the Iraq Reserves Stars League are not required to be registered in the 25-man squad.
Transfer windows and squad registration
The summer transfer window in Iraq started on 2 August and will end 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
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Al-Minaa | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | +1 | 3 | Qualification for the AFC Champions League Elite league stage |
| 2 | Erbil | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | +1 | 3 | |
| 3 | Naft Maysan | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | +1 | 3 | |
| 4 | Al-Zawraa | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | +1 | 3 | |
| 5 | Naft Al-Basra | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | +1 | 3 | |
| 6 | Al-Shorta | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | |
| 7 | Al-Karma | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | |
| 8 | Al-Naft | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
| 9 | Al-Najaf | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
| 10 | Karbala | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
| 11 | Newroz | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
| 12 | Al-Kahrabaa | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
| 13 | Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
| 14 | Al-Talaba | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
| 15 | Zakho | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
| 16 | Al-Hudood | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | −1 | 0 | |
| 17 | Diyala | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | −1 | 0 | |
| 18 | Al-Qasim | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | −1 | 0 | Qualification for the relegation play-off |
| 19 | Duhok | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | −1 | 0 | Relegation to the Iraqi Premier Division League |
| 20 | Al-Karkh | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | −1 | 0 |
Updated to match(es) played on 20 September 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.
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.
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.
| Rank | Player | Team | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sherko Karim | Erbil SC | 2 |
| 2 | Benjamin Okoronkwo | Diyala SC | 1 |
| 2 | Hasan Abdulkareem | Al-Zawraa SC | 1 |
| 2 | Ali Khalel | Naft Al-Basra SC | 1 |
| 2 | Hussein Ali | Al-Shorta SC | 1 |
| 2 | Lucas Santos | Al-Shorta SC | 1 |
| 2 | Mohammed Adnan | Al-Karma SC | 1 |
| 2 | Abbas Qasim | Al-Karma SC | 1 |
| 2 | Dominique Mendy | Al-Najaf SC | 1 |
| 2 | Ahmed Sabri | Al-Naft SC | 1 |
| 2 | Raul Parra | Al-Minaa SC | 1 |
| 2 | Sumar Almadjed | Al-Minaa SC | 1 |
| 2 | Ali Lateef | Naft Maysan SC | 1 |
| 2 | Abbas Fadhel | Naft Maysan SC | 1 |
| 2 | Messouke Oloumou | Al-Qasim SC | 1 |
Most Man of the Match awards
| Rank | Player | Team | Awards |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Murtadha Hedaib | Al-Kahrabaa SC | 1 |
| 1 | Abdulaziz Ammar | Karbala SC | 1 |
| 1 | Sherko Karim | Erbil SC | 1 |
| 1 | Ali Khalil | Naft Al-Basra | 1 |
| 1 | Hamid Abdulla | Al-Minaa SC | 1 |
- ^ "المدربون الأجانب في دوري نجوم العراق" (in Arabic). Almaalomah. 13 August 2024.
- ^ "موازين تنشر تفاصيل اجتماع اندية دوري نجوم العراق" (in Arabic). Mawazin. 13 August 2024.
- ^ "اتحاد الكرة العراقي يعتبر اللاعب اليمني "لاعباً محلياً" في دوري النجوم" (in Arabic). Shafaq. 20 August 2024.
- ^ "فترةُ الانتقالاتِ الصيفيّة والشتويّة للموسم 2024/2025". facebook.com (in Arabic). August 4, 2024. Retrieved August 11, 2024.
- ^ 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/
- ^ 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
- Official website (in Arabic)
- Iraq Football Association