The Iraqi Super Cup (), previously called Iraqi Perseverance Cup (), is a

super cup A super cup is a competition, in association football, basketball, handball, volleyball and rugby union which often forms the 'curtain raiser' to a season, and typically involves only two teams who have qualified through success in other competi ...

tournament in Iraqi football. Founded in

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. ** Spain and Portugal en ...

as a two-team competition, the current version has been contested since

2025 So far, the year has seen the continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudanese civil war, and the Gaza war. Internal crises in Bangladesh post-resignation v ...

by six teams: the top four teams from the

Iraq Stars League The Iraq Stars League (), is the highest level of the Iraqi football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the Iraqi Premier Division League. It is governed by the Iraqi Pro League Associa ...

and the winners and runners-up of the

Iraq FA Cup The Iraq Cup (), commonly known as the Iraq FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in men's domestic Football in Iraq, Iraqi football organised by the Iraq Football Association. Firs ...

. The six teams are split into two groups, with the group winners facing each other in the final and the group runners-up competing in a third place play-off.

Al-Zawraa Al-Zawra'a Sports Club () is an Iraqi professional sports club based in Utayfia, Karkh District (near Tigris River), Baghdad. Their football team competes in the Iraq Stars League, the top-flight of Iraqi football. Al-Zawra'a have won the most ...

are the most successful club with five titles. The current holders are

Al-Shorta Al-Shorta Sports Club () is an Iraqi sports club based in Al-Rusafa, Iraq, Al-Rusafa, Baghdad. It has teams in 19 different sports, and the best known section of the club is the football team, whose origins date back to 1932. Al-Shorta was for ...

, who defeated Al-Karkh 1–0 in the

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

final.

History

Before 1973, league tournaments in Iraq were played at a regional level and there was a cup called the Iraq Central FA Perseverance Cup played between the winners and runners-up of the

Iraq Central FA Premier League The Iraq Central FA Premier League, also known as the Iraq Central FA First Division and previously named the Iraq FA Baghdad First Division (), was the top-level division of football in Baghdad and its neighbouring cities between 1948 and 1973. ...

. Twelve years after the foundation of the Iraqi National Clubs League, the Perseverance Cup was played as a national tournament for the first time, and it was between

Al-Talaba Al-Talaba Sports Club () is an Iraqi professional sports club based in Al-Rusafa, Baghdad. Its football team competes in the Iraq Stars League, the top flight of Iraqi football. Founded in 1969, the club was named Al-Jamiea but became known a ...

and Al-Rasheed, the winners and runners-up of the

1985–86 Iraqi National League The 1985–86 Iraqi National Clubs League (First Division) was the 12th season of the competition since its foundation in 1974. Unlike the previous season, each win was worth two points rather than three. Al-Talaba won their third league title, fin ...

. It took another eleven years for the tournament to resume, returning in 1997 as a match between the winners of the Iraqi Premier League and the

. The

1997 Events January * January 1 – The Emergency Alert System is introduced in the United States. * January 11 – Turkey threatens Cyprus on account of a deal to buy Russian S-300 missiles, prompting the Cypriot Missile Crisis. * January 1 ...

and

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...

editions were played at the end of the season to bring a close to the campaign, but from

1999 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...

onwards, the cup was played before the start of the following league season as a 'curtain-raiser' to the new league campaign. From the 2003–04 season until the 2014–15 season, the Iraq FA Cup was either not played or not completed. It was finally completed in 2015–16, and therefore the Iraqi Perseverance Cup under the new name of Iraqi Super Cup was scheduled to be played in August 2016, but it was cancelled due to scheduling difficulties. The Iraqi Super Cup eventually returned in

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

and was held four times until it was stopped after the

edition. On 24 May 2025, it was announced that the tournament would return for the following season with a new six-team format featuring the top four teams from the Stars League and the top two teams from the FA Cup. If one of the FA Cup finalists finish in the league's top four, the fifth-placed team in the league enters the Super Cup, while if both FA Cup finalists finish in the league's top four, the fifth and sixth-placed teams in the league enter the Super Cup. The six teams are split into two groups of three, with each team facing the other teams in their group once. The group winners qualify for the final, while the group runners-up compete in a third place play-off.

Finals by year

Two-team format

Six-team format

Titles by club

List of winning managers

References

External links

Iraq Football Association
{{National football Supercups (AFC region) Football competitions in Iraq

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...