their league title win qualified them for the 2016 afc cup. they finished top of group b with a record of five wins and one loss, but they lost 1–0 in the round of 16 to al-jaish. they were not allowed to play their home matches in iraq in this tournament due to security concerns. in the 2015–16 iraqi premier league, naft al-wasat finished in second place in their group, behind eventual champions al-zawraa, to qualify for the final stage. in the final stage, naft al-wasat finished as runners-up, again behind al-zawraa. as the league's runners-up, naft al-wasat qualified for the 2016–17 arab club championship, where they got revenge on al-jaish by knocking them out to qualify for the group stage.