after the 2012–13 season, the technical staff was changed, signing the manager, abdul ghani shahad, on 27 august 2013. in the 2013–14 season, naft al-wasat were promoted for the first time in their history. they were in top of group e at 34 points, 8 points away from al-diwaniya fc, which was a big difference from last seasons. in the second stage, naft al-wasat took the group 4 lead, at 20 points, by winning 6 matches and drawing in two. they ended their season as the leaders of group 1 in the last stage, claiming promotion to the iraqi premier league.