The competition started on 1 October 2003, with the third place match being cancelled and the final being postponed to 5 January 2004 for security reasons due to crowd trouble that occurred in the semi-finals. In the final, held at Al-Zawraa Stadium, Al-Zawraa defeated Al-Talaba 5–4 on penalties after a 2–2 draw that saw three red cards. This turned out to be the last ever edition of the Iraqi Elite Cup.[1][2]