1965–66 Iraq Central FA Premier League
The 1965–66 Iraq Central FA Premier League was the 18th season of the Iraq Central FA League (the top division of football in central Iraq, including the capital city of Baghdad, from 1948 to 1974), and the first under the name of Premier League. It kicked off on 15 October 1965 and ended on 2 June 1966. This was the first season that featured a double round-robin format where each team played all the other teams in the league twice, once home and once away, although the league was ended with three games still to play.
| Season | 1965–66 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Al-Firqa Al-Thalitha (1st Al-Firqa Al-Thalitha title) (1st Al-Jaish title) |
| Top goalscorer | Nouri Dhiab Mahmoud Assad (7 goals each) |
← 1964–65 1966–67 → | |
The decision to end the league slightly early was made on 11 July 1966 following a meeting held between the Iraq Football Association and the participating teams two days earlier. Al-Firqa Al-Thalitha were therefore crowned champions for their first league title. Al-Firqa Al-Thalitha's Shidrak Yousif won the best player award while their duo Nouri Dhiab and Mahmoud Assad shared the top scorer award with seven goals each. Al-Firqa Al-Thalitha also beat Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya 1–0 in the one-match Iraq Central FA Perseverance Cup on 9 June 1966.[1]
League table
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Al-Firqa Al-Thalitha (C) | 9 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 25 | 6 | +19 | 14 |
| 2 | Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya | 8 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 18 | 13 | +5 | 10 |
| 3 | Maslahat Naqil Al-Rukab | 9 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 14 | 12 | +2 | 10 |
| 4 | Aliyat Al-Shorta | 10 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 15 | 21 | −6 | 8 |
| 5 | Al-Kuliya Al-Askariya | 8 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 9 | 15 | −6 | 6 |
| 6 | Al-Firqa Al-Khamisa | 10 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 9 | 23 | −14 | 6 |
(C) Champion.