| Tourney Name: | Arab Club Champions Cup |
| Year: | 1981–82 |
| Other Titles: | بطولة الأندية العربية لأبطال الدوري 1981–82 |
| Dates: | 19 June 1981 – 7 February 1982 |
| Num Teams: | 3 |
| Associations: | 1 |
| Champion Other: |  Al-Shorta |
| Count: | 1 |
| Second Other: | Al-Nejmeh |
| Matches: | 4 |
| Goals: | 9 |
| Top Scorer: | Ali Hussein Mahmoud Jamal Al-KhatibHassan Chatila (2 goals each) |
| Nextseason: | 1984 |
The 1981–82 Arab Club Champions Cup was the first edition of the Arab Club Champions Cup. The tournament featured three teams, after the withdrawal of South Yemeni club Al-Tilal, Saudi club Al-Nassr and Somali club Horseed.
Iraqi club Al-Shorta were crowned champions after a playoff victory against Lebanese side Al-Nejmeh. Al-Ahli of Jordan were the other team to take part.
| Team | Qualifying method |
|---|---|
| Al-Shorta | 1979–80 Iraqi National League champions |
 Al-Ahli | 1979 Jordan League champions |
| Al-Nejmeh | 1974–75 Lebanese Premier League champions (most recent Lebanese championship) |
| Team | Qualifying method | |
|---|---|---|
| Al-Tilal | 1979–80 South Yemeni League champions | |
| Al-Nassr | 1979–80 Saudi Premier League champions | |
 Horseed | 1979–80 Somali First Division champions |
The six teams were originally drawn into two groups, with one group consisting of Al-Nejmeh, Al-Ahli and Al-Tilal, and the other group consisting of Al-Shorta, Horseed and Al-Nassr.[1] However, Al-Nassr withdrew from the tournament due to several of their players being unavailable on international duty, and Al-Tilal also withdrew from the competition.
A two-legged semi-final was therefore set up between Al-Nejmeh and Al-Ahli, with both matches being held at Amman International Stadium in Amman, Jordan due to the Lebanese Civil War[2] Horseed were scheduled to travel to Baghdad on 2 February to play Al-Shorta in the other semi-final, but Horseed withdrew from the tournament and Al-Shorta qualified directly for the final.[3]
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Both legs of the final were held at Al-Shaab Stadium in Baghdad, Iraq due to the Lebanese Civil War.|}
After Al-Nejmeh's kits and boots did not arrive in Baghdad in time for the first leg, Al-Shorta provided kits and boots to the Al-Nejmeh team to wear for the match. Al-Nejmeh wore red shirts with white shorts and black boots (except for the player Mohammed Hatoum who wore white boots), while Al-Shorta wore green shirts with white shorts and green socks.[4]
Al-Shorta took the lead in the 40th minute; Mahmoud Hussein Mahmoud beat an Al-Nejmeh player on the right wing and sent in a cross which his brother Ali Hussein Mahmoud met with a header, sending the ball over Al-Nejmeh goalkeeper Zain Hashim and into the net.[5] Ali Hussein Mahmoud scored his second goal in the 83rd minute, as he was sent through on goal and netted with a left-footed shot towards the near post from inside the penalty area.[6] The Kuwaiti referee also awarded Al-Shorta a penalty in the match, but it was missed by Ali Hussein Mahmoud, and the match ended 2–0.[7]
Al-Nejmeh wore orange shirts, black shorts and orange socks for the second leg, and the Lebanese side took the lead in the first half through Jamal Al-Khatib who got onto the end of a corner delivered by Al-Nejmeh's captain and struck the ball past goalkeeper Raad Hammoudi.[8] Al-Shorta equalised in the first half when Riyadh Nouri bundled the ball over the line after an Al-Nejmeh defender had made a goal-line block. Al-Nejmeh took the lead again in the second half when Hassan Chatila scored with a shot from outside the penalty area, but Al-Shorta brought the game back level and restored their two-goal aggregate advantage when Tariq Abdul-Amir crossed the ball into the box for Salih Radhi to finish.[9]
Al-Nejmeh player Jamal Al-Khatib suffered a dislocated hip during the match, which ended 2–2, therefore making Al-Shorta 4–2 winners on aggregate.[10] Al-Shorta manager Douglas Aziz was presented with the trophy after the game.[11]
| 1981–82 Arab Club Champions Cup Winners | |
|---|---|
| |
| Al-Shorta 1st Title |
| Rank | Player | Team | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ali Hussein Mahmoud | Al-Shorta | 2 |
| Jamal Al-Khatib | Al-Nejmeh | ||
| Hassan Chatila | Al-Nejmeh | ||
| 4 | Shaker Salamah | Al-Ahli | 1 |
| Riyadh Nouri | Al-Shorta | ||
| Salih Radhi | Al-Shorta |
