Al-Shorta have been crowned champions of the 2018/19 Iraqi Premier League, qualifying them for the group stages of the 2020 AFC Champions League.
Al-Qeetharah lost 1-0 at Al-Minaa on Sunday but Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya’s 2-1 defeat to Al-Naft on the same day meant that the leaders have an eight-point lead at the top with just six points left to play for. Al-Shorta are set to lift the trophy in their final home game next week with Al-Karkh.
Strike duo Alaa Abdul-Zahra and Mohanad Ali were hugely influential in Al-Shorta’s historic title triumph with a combined 47 goals, with the latter having signed for Qatar Stars League club Al-Duhail a few days ago. Iraq internationals Mustafa Nadhim, Karrar Jassim, Mahdi Kamel, Dhurgham Ismail, Alaa Mhawi, Amjad Attwan, Mohammed Hameed, Waleed Salem and Saad Abdul-Amir are among the other members of the squad to have had a crucial role in the club picking up the title.
At the other end of the table, Al-Hussein’s three-year stay in the top-flight has come to an end as the Red and Blacks have been relegated, while Al-Bahri are set to join them imminently.
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