The Iraqi League has reached a crossroads due to the numerous postponements that have struck the tournament, resulting from international breaks related to the Iraqi national team's matches, which have recently increased.

With the end of the current year approaching, only 8 rounds have been played in the Iraqi Stars League competition, despite the competition starting last September, making the situation of the tournament more complicated.

Sources said: "The Iraqi Football Association, during its president Adnan Dirjal's meeting with representatives of the league clubs yesterday, discussed with them the complexity dominating the competition’s situation due to the many matches of the Iraqi national team in the Asian qualifiers as well as the playoff matches, and finally its participation in the 2025 Arab Cup in Qatar, where he apologized for the delays that affected the tournament, but said the matter is beyond his control."

They added: "Dirjal also informed them that the ambitions were directed towards holding a competition free of postponements, especially since expectations were that the Iraqi national team would qualify directly for the World Cup without the need to go through the playoffs, but what happened was the opposite. Therefore, everyone must stand by the Iraqi national team until the end so it can successfully complete its mission, especially since the team is close to the World Cup and is only one match away."

They explained: "The Iraqi Football Association, in cooperation with the clubs, agreed on two options only to complete the competition and avoid postponements. The first proposal involves continuing the league with a compressed schedule, playing a match every three to four days, opening the registration window to add five players to the 25-player squad, including 2 professionals and 3 locals, and granting clubs the right to contract a professional goalkeeper, a step never before taken in the Iraqi league."

They continued: "The second proposal involves completing the first phase, then evaluating the teams into two groups of 10 teams each, playing matches in a single round of 9 matches, with points carried over. The first-place team from each group qualifies for the final match, while the second-place teams play a match to determine third and fourth places. This proposal was approved by only 4 clubs out of 20 teams."

They added: "In the two-group proposal, the bottom two teams (tenth place in each group) will be relegated, and a playoff match will be held between the ninth-placed teams. The division of the twenty teams will be based on their rankings at the end of the first phase, with the first-place team placed in Group One, the second-place team in Group Two, and the rest distributed according to odd and even numbers, so the league concludes earlier."

They concluded: "The next few days will be decisive for the status of the Iraqi Stars League, as the Iraqi Football Association awaits official letters from the clubs selecting the proposal that suits them. The proposal that receives the highest number of votes will be adopted. Therefore, the Iraqi league will either have a compressed schedule or be held through two groups."