 The tournament begins with two rounds played between lower division clubs, twelve of which advance to the Round of 32, where the Iraqi Premier League clubs are entered.The Round of 32 is then followed by the Round of 16, the quarter-finals, the semi-finals and the final which is played as a single leg at Al-Shaab Stadium.Significant focus is given to the lower division clubs who progress furthest, with unlikely victories against Premier League teams being labelled as "giant-killings", although no lower division team has been able to get past the semi-finals.