Founded 1991 Region Iraq Last champions Al-Zawra'a (2003) | Abolished 2003 Number of teams 8 (from 1994) | |
Most successful club(s) Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya, Al-Talaba, Al-Zawra'a & Al-Shorta (3 titles) | ||
Baghdad Championship, also known as Iraqi Elite Cup and previously known as Umm Al Ma'arik Cup (Arabic: كأس أم المعارك, which translates to Mother of All Battles Cup, which is the name that former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein referred to the Gulf War as) was an Iraqi football competition held at the beginning of each season, starting in 1991 and ending in 2003. The top 8 teams of the previous Iraqi Premier League season entered the competition, with the exception of the 1991 and 1993 editions, where the top 6 teams of the league entered. The teams were split into two groups, and the top two teams from each group advanced to the knockout stage.
Although the Umm Al-Ma'arik cup was one of the four major domestic trophies attainable by the Iraqi league teams, it was perceived by larger clubs as being of a lower priority to the league championship and the Iraq FA Cup. In the first edition, the winners received a 7k IQD prize money, while the runners-up received 5k IQD. In the second edition, because of the economical changes that accrued on the dinar, the winners were given 150k IQD and the runners-up were given 100k IQD.
History
The idea of this cup was requested by the administration of Al-Talaba to the Iraq Football Association and it was to put the top 6 teams of the 1990–91 Iraqi National League in a single elimination competition, because of the lack of Iraqi competitions other than the then-called Iraqi National League and the Iraq FA Cup. The football association accepted the request on 24 August 1991, and put up a committee to administrate the competition, which decided to make the opening date 2 September. Over 55,000 spectators came to Al-Shaab Stadium, that can only hold 45,000, to watch the cup final between Al-Zawra'a and Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya, which ended with a 3-1 win for Al-Zawra'a. After the first edition of the cup that was set up by Al-Talaba, the Iraq Football Association adopted the competition due to its promising reception from the fans.
The Umm Al-Ma'arik cup was criticized for containing only the top 8 teams of the league, because it was thought that Iraqi football needed another competition that allows clubs from different divisions and popularity rates to participate, other than the Iraq FA Cup. Almost in every single edition of the cup, three of the Baghdad derby clubs (Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya, Al-Zawra'a, Al-Talaba and Al-Shorta) finished in the top four, while in the 2002 and 2003 editions, all of them were in the top four. All of the derby teams have won the cup title three times.
Due to the Battle of Baghdad in April 2003 and the end of the rule of the former President Saddam Hussein, the Iraq Football Association decided to change the competition's name from Umm Al-Ma'arik Cup to Baghdad Championship due to the former name's resemblance to the Gulf War. It was named the Baghdad Championship because all of the competition's matches were played in Baghdad, being divided between Al-Shorta Stadium, Al-Karkh Stadium, Al-Zawra'a Stadium, and Al-Sina'a Stadium. It ended with Al-Zawra'a winning the championship. This was the first and last edition of the Baghdad Championship.