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2016–17 Iraq FA Cup

2016–17 Iraq FA Cup
Country  Iraq
Teams 60
Matches played 46
Goals scored 132 (2.87 per match)

The 2016–17 Iraq FA Cup is the 28th edition of the Iraqi knockout football cup competition, the main domestic cup in Iraqi football. A total of 19 teams from the Iraqi Premier League and 41 teams from the Iraq Division One are participating. It starts on 2 December 2016 and the final will be played at the Al-Shaab Stadium in Baghdad, which has hosted the final ever since the competition started (apart from the 2003 final).

Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya are the defending champions of the cup having won their 4th cup in 2015–16 by defeating 14-time winners Al-Zawra'a 2–0 in the final. The cup winners qualify for the 2018 AFC Cup as well as the 2017 Iraqi Super Cup.

The cup starts with the first round, consisting of the 41 teams from the Iraq Division One, 40 of which play against each other and 1 of which automatically proceeds to the next round. The second round consists of the 21 qualified teams from the first round, 18 of which play against each other and 3 of which automatically proceed to the Round of 32. The 20 Iraqi Premier League clubs were to join the 12 qualified teams from the second round to form the Round of 32, but Erbil withdrew from the tournament and therefore Division One side Al-Jinsiya were admitted into the Round of 32 to replace them despite already being knocked out.

The last cup tournament saw almost half of the Premier League clubs withdraw from the tournament. To avoid this happening again, the Iraq FA announced that any team that withdrew would be fined and also deducted three points in the league.

If a player receives a second yellow card, they will be banned from the next cup match. If a player receives a red card, they will be banned a minimum of one match, but more can be added by the Iraq Football Association.


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