Founded | 1975 |
---|---|
Region | Iraq |
Number of teams | 61 (2016–17) |
Domestic cup(s) | Iraqi Super Cup |
International cup(s) | AFC Cup |
Current champions |
Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya (4th title) (2015–16) |
Most successful club(s) |
Al-Zawra'a (14 titles) |
2016–17 Iraq FA Cup |
Iraq FA Cup is the primary knockout cup competition in Iraqi football, organised by and named after the Iraq Football Association.
The tournament was first held in its current format in the 1975–76 season. Entry is open to teams from the Iraqi Premier League and the Iraq Division One. It allows teams from the lower divisions to have a chance of eliminating the Premier League teams or even to win the cup, although no lower division team has been able to get past the semifinals. The winners of the competition are awarded a place in the Iraqi Super Cup against the league champions at the start of the next season, as well as a place in the next season's AFC Cup tournaments.
Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya are the current holders of the cup, having beaten Al-Zawra'a 2–0 in the 2016 final to win the cup for the fourth time. Al-Zawra'a have the record for most FA Cup wins in their history with a total of 14.
Pairings for each round are drawn at random. There are no seeds and the draw for each round is not made until after the scheduled dates for the previous round. The draw also determines which teams will play at home.
The preliminary round, round of 32 and round of 16 are played as a single leg and if match ends in a draw, it gets settled through extra time and penalty shoot-outs. The quarterfinals and the semifinals are played as two legs and if the two teams draw on aggregate, it gets settled through the away goals rule. If the teams are still level, then extra time and penalty shoot-outs decide who goes through. The final goes back to being played as a single leg; if the final is a draw then it goes straight to a penalty shootout, with no extra time period. There are a total of 6 rounds in the competition - one preliminary round for lower division teams, followed by three proper rounds, plus the semifinals and final.