[nb 1] They are the four most successful teams in the history of Iraqi football, and league games between the clubs are usually played at the neutral venue of Al-Shaab Stadium to accommodate more spectators.

[29] The rivalry first developed between Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya Al-Malakiya (Royal Air Force) and Al-Shorta (Police) in the 1930s, the decade where both of the teams were founded.

[26] The very first season of the Premier League in 1974–75 was won by Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya (under the name Al-Tayaran), while Al-Shorta finished in fifth.

[34] Meanwhile, Al-Zawraa won the 1974–75 second-tier title and were promoted to the Premier League along with Al-Jamiea (now known as Al-Talaba) for the 1975–76 season.

Al-Rasheed also won the 1988–89 league title, but Al-Zawraa were the FA Cup winners that year.

The 2008–09 season was the biggest testimony to the shift in power in Iraqi football as none of the four Baghdad rivals finished in the top four places of the league.

The trend continued in the 2009–10 season as a different Northern team became champions, this time Duhok.

[41] A main reason for the rise of the Northern sides was the poor security situation and economic instability in Baghdad following the US invasion of Iraq in 2003, meaning the top players preferred to move to the north of the country, thus diminishing the impact of the Baghdad derbies on the league title race.

[39] Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya also won Asia's second-tier club competition, the AFC Cup, in 2016, 2017 and 2018.