Esteghlal Women F.C.

Esteghlal Ladies F.C.

Full name	Esteghlal Ladies Football Club
Short name	ELFC
Founded	1971;53 years ago (1971)
Head coach	Maryam Hassanzadeh
League	Iran Women Soccer League 2
Home colours Away colours

Esteghlal Ladies Football Club, formerly known as Taj Ladies Football Club, is a women's professional football club based in Tehran.

History

Formation

Taj LFC and a team of Italian female players and staff in a group photo prior to a friendly match on spring of 1971

The club was formed in winter of 1971 as Taj by the Taj sports and cultural organization. Taj was the first female football club in Iran and the first step towards introducing football to Iranian girls and women. ^[1] The first club manager was Parivz Aboutaleb, former player of Taj F.C. and manager of Deyhim F.C. The first female football match ever held in Iran was a friendly between Taj L.F.C. and Deyhim L.F.C. that ended in a 1–1 draw. This match was played in 2 halftimes of 30 minutes. In spring of the same year Taj invited a team of Italian footballers and played the first international match in Amjadieh Stadium that ended in a 0–2 defeat for the Iranian side.

After Taj, other Iranian clubs including Oghab F.C. Persepolis F.C. and Deyhim F.C. started their all female teams. The newer teams were not as powerful as Taj and their matches usually ended in Taj's victories.

The Iranian Revolution stopped Taj's activities. ^[2]

First revival

Esteghlal W.F.C. in 2012

In 2000s Esteghlal LFC, the new name of Taj after the revolution, restarted its activities and Esteghlal's academy had a section for girls football. In winter of 2009 a match between male and females youth teams which ended in 0–7 victory for the boys angered the authorities for breaching the country's strict gender segregation laws and put a stop on Esteghlal LFC activities for a second time in its history. ^{[3] [4] [5]}

Second revival

A few years later during tuner of a new chairman Ali Fathollahzadeh, Esteghlal restarted its ladies football section and participated in 3 seasons of the Iranian football league. ^{[6] [7]} On fall of 2016 and with a new chairman Esteghlal LFC stopped its activities for a third time. Financial difficulties was announced the main reason of this decision by Reza Eftekhari, then chairman of the club. ^[8]

See also

• List of Esteghlal F.C. records and statistics
• List of Esteghlal F.C. honours
• Persepolis F.C. (women)

References

1. "نگاهی به تاریخچه فوتبال زنان در ایران". Archived from the original on 2010-07-02. Retrieved 2021-02-23.
2. "آشنایی با تاریخچه فوتبال زنان در ایران". همشهری آنلاین (in Persian). 2011-07-12. Retrieved 2021-02-23.
3. "تیم فوتبال بانوان استقلال منحل شد". asriran.com. Retrieved 2021-02-23.
4. "Iranian football boss in trouble over 'battle of sexes' claims". The Guardian. 2009-01-26. Retrieved 2021-02-23.
5. "No Boys Vs. Girls in Iran". RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty. Retrieved 2021-02-23.
6. "لیگ برتر فوتبال بانوان". 2013-11-27. Archived from the original on 2013-11-27. Retrieved 2021-02-23.
7. "لیگ برتر فوتبال بانوان". 2014-07-26. Archived from the original on 2014-07-26. Retrieved 2021-02-23.
8. Agency, قوه قضائیه | خبرگزاری میزان | Mizan Online News. "توضیحات افتخاری درباره عدم فعالیت تیم بانوان استقلال". fa (in Persian). Retrieved 2021-02-23.

Bibliography

• Ahmadi, Seyyed Ali Akbar (21 December 2009). Esteghlal Full History of the Club from Docharkheh Savaran and Taj to Esteghlal. Paygan. ISBN   978-600-5096-54-5.