League of the Institutes
 |
|
| Country | Iraq |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1948 |
| Folded | 1974 |
| Number of teams | 15 |
| Level on pyramid | 1 |
| Relegation to | Iraqi Second Division |
| International cup(s) | Asian Champion Club Tournament |
| Last champions |
Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya (1973–74) |
| Most championships |
Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya Al-Shorta Amanat Baghdad (5 titles each) |
League of the Institutes (Arabic: دوري المؤسسات العراقي, Dawri Al-Muassasat) was the top-level division of football in Iraq before the creation of the Iraqi Premier League and contained the top 15 Iraqi football teams in its final season. It was founded in 1948 and was controlled by the Iraq Football Association which was founded in the same year. The league was never actually called the League of the Institutes; it gained this name in the years following its abolishing due to the fact that many of the teams were institute teams rather than football clubs.
It began its first season in 1948, but after its first edition, it was not held for a further seven years until it restarted in 1956. From 1956 to 1961, the league was played in a double-elimination format, but a round-robin system was introduced in 1961, followed by the introduction of a double round-robin format in 1965 which remained in place until the league folded in 1974. For the majority of its existence, only Baghdad-based teams were allowed to enter the competition, although it was still considered to be the national championship. The league was dominated by Al-Shorta, Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya and Amanat Baghdad who together won 15 of the 18 completed championships.
The tournament was founded under the name Iraq FA Championship and its first edition was in the 1948–49 season. Six teams from around the country were split into two groups, with the winners of the two groups facing each other in the final at Al-Kashafa Stadium in Baghdad. Sharikat Naft Al-Basra won the competition, beating Kuliya Al-Askariya 1–0 in the final. The tournament was put on hold for the next seven years before returning for the 1956–57 season as a double-elimination tournament called the Iraq FA Cup Championship, which was only open to teams from Baghdad. Teams who were knocked out early would be relegated to the lower division (which was also a double-elimination tournament).
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