 The Iraq War broke out on 20 March 2003, but matches continued to be played up to and including round 29 until the Iraq Football Association (IFA) brought the competition to an end due to the war.At that point, Al-Shorta were leading the league with 68 points, while Al-Talaba were second, Al-Zawraa were third and Al-Najaf were fourth.Although a number of journalists recorded that the season had been considered null and void, several notable sources disputed this and reported that Al-Shorta had won, with the league being ended at round 27 by the IFA, which was the last round that had started before the outbreak of war.