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
The Iraq Football Association (IFA) ( ar, الاتحاد العراقي لكرة القدم) is the governing body of football in Iraq, controlling the Iraqi national team and the Iraqi Premier League. The Iraqi Football Association was founded ...
decided that every eligible team in the country from every division should play qualifying games in order to decide who participated.
The qualifying rounds saw a total of 135 teams being split into regional groups, all competing for the 16 places in the league. After all the qualifiers were over in December, the league competition itself was held with each team playing 30 matches. In the end,
Al-Zawraa won their third league title in a row, finishing eight points clear at the top.
Regional qualifiers
First round
In the first qualifying round, each province apart from
Baghdad
Baghdad (; ar, بَغْدَاد , ) is the capital of Iraq and the second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located on the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon and the Sassanid Persian capital of Ctesiphon. I ...
and
Sulaymaniya had its own qualifying tournament with the winner advancing to the second qualifying round.
Second round
In the second qualifying round, which started in September and ended in December, the remaining teams were split into five regional groups. The two Baghdad groups were played in a single round-robin format (teams played each other once) while the other three groups were played in a double round-robin format (teams played each other twice).
North Group
Central Group
South Group
Baghdad Group 1
=Results
=
Baghdad Group 2
=Results
=
Play-off round
In the play-off round, the two fourth-placed teams from the Baghdad Groups faced off in a two-legged tie to determine the seventh qualifying team from Baghdad.
''2–2 on aggregate. Al-Difaa Al-Jawi won on away goals and qualified for the Elite League.''
League table
Results
Season statistics
Top scorers
Hat-tricks
;Notes
4 Player scored 4 goals
5 Player scored 5 goals
References
External links
Iraq Football Association
{{DEFAULTSORT:2000-01 Iraqi Premier League
Iraqi Premier League seasons
1
Iraq
Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to the north, Iran to the east, the Persian Gulf and K ...