Azadi Football Stadium is the biggest venue for Iranian football (soccer). It is also the world's 3rd largest soccer stadium.
Football is the most popular sport in Iran, with wrestling and volleyball as close contenders. Football has been a part of life for Iranians for many decades now and is played in schools, streets, and football clubs nationwide.
For political and social reasons, women's football grew little from the 1980s to 2020, and clubs such as Persepolis and Esteghlal did not even have a women's football team in these years.
History
Early days
Football was played in Iran as early as 1898, when a team of British residents of Esfahan played a team of Armenians.[1] In south western Iran the game was introduced in 1907 by British sailors and workers. At that time they were working at port cities Bushehr, Khorramshahr, Bandar Abbas and major oil refineries such as Abadan and Masjed Soleiman in the province of Khuzestan, the latter area even boasting a football league. The local Iranian employees of the company first looked on, and then began replacing individual players on the teams, until they formed their own teams.
In the same year, the Tehran Football Association Club, an organising body for arranging football matches, was established. All teams were made up of British residents of Tehran, although when teams didn't have enough players they sometimes chose Iranian bystanders to come on the field and play. The matches were played at or around Mashq Square. The first Iranian player was Karim Zandi who played from 1908 to 1916. This period saw increasing interest in the game among Iranians.
In 1910, Samuel M. Jordan, the principal of the American School (currently known as Alborz High School) in Tehran, introduced football as part of the school's curriculum. Four years later 1914, the start of World War I put an end to these football matches and programs.
In other parts of southern Iran, (e.g. cities such as Shiraz) football was introduced by the British officers of the South Persia Rifles (1916–1921) to the Iranian troops they commanded, who then spread the game among the civilian population. The period following World War 1 saw football matches recommence in Tehran. Then two years later, in 1920, a number of Iranian and British football enthusiasts founded the Iranian Football Association (Majmaa-i Football-i Iran) to encourage Iranian players and to popularize the game. The director of the Imperial Bank of Persia, James McMurray, became its president, and he was assisted by the legation doctor, A.R. Neligan; they each donated a cup to be awarded to winning teams.
1920 also saw the establishment of Iran's first football club called Iran Club. Soon after the alumni of American College and the students of School of Political Science also formed teams. The Iran Club squad consisted of Karim Zandi, Khan Sardar brothers, Amir-Aslani brothers, Mohammad Ali Shokooh, Azizollah Afkkhami, Reza Kalantar, Sheybani, Hasan Meftah, Herand, Galustyan, Khajeh-Noori, Reza Rabizadeh, Hambarson, Ashrafi. This group of players won the Tehran Association Cup in 1923. In the same year a new club was established called Tehran Club, followed by the creation of the Armenian Sports Club and the Toofan Club, and in 1925 the Tehran Club reached the final and defeated the British Select Team of Tehran 2–1.
In this period a number of footballers who had played abroad, such as Hossein Sadaghiani and the Khan-Sardar brothers, who played in the Belgian Football Leagues, returned to Iran. Hossein Sadaghiani for instance after returning to Iran temporarily from Europe, helped to establish the first football club (Ferdowsi Club) in Mashhad. During his one-year stay in Mashhad, he arranged football matches between the club and the British Consulate-General. Before this, football was only played by foreign residents in Mashhad (especially the employees of the Telegraph Office and the British Consulate-General).
In places that had not entertained a significant foreign presence, such as Ardabil, it seems that the game was introduced in the 1920s by young men who had spent some time in the Caucasus.[3][bettersourceneeded]
1950s to 1970s
By the 1950s and early 60s, football had become a popular sport in Iran, and teams from Khuzestan were considered the most successful.[clarification needed] Tehran then slowly started becoming the football capital of Iran, and numerous great clubs emerged from there. Shahin FC, Oghab FC, and Taj, were all Tehran teams established in the mid-1940s and are still active. As the number of club teams increased the need for a national league became apparent, and ever since 1960, with the exception of a few years, a nationwide football league has existed in Iran. The Takhte Jamshid Cup, Azadegan League and the IPL being the most important ones.
Zahra Khajavi, considered as an important goalkeeper in the Iranian national football team history
On 27 December 2019, Zahra Khajavi broke the clean sheet record of Iranian football by not receiving any goal for 953 minutes.[4][5][6] Also, she, along with Alireza Biranvand, are known as the record holders of the longest hand throws in Iranian football.[7] As one of the best goalkeepers in the history of Iranian football, Khajavi was able to once again draw the attention of the domestic media to the Iranian women's national football team. Her achievements played a key role in the progress of the women's national football team in these years.[7]
2020s
In the 2020s, women's football became more popular among young Iranians, both boys and girls.[8]
The COVID-19 pandemic in Iran forced the fixtures to be played without spectators, bringing new financial problems that lasted for years for some clubs.
In 1929 it was time for a return visit, and so a team from Baku was invited to play in Tehran in late November. To impress the visitors, grass had been planted on the state-owned football field. The last of the three games, all of which were won by the visitors, was attended by Abdolhossein Teymourtash, the powerful minister of court. The humiliating defeats, suffered on home ground, caused great consternation, so much so that some young men gave up football altogether. In subsequent years the interest in football waned, and newspapers hardly reported on those matches that did take place. However, all this changed with the return of crown prince Mohammad Reza Pahlavi from Switzerland in 1936 and arrival of Thomas R Gibson in the 1930s to promote the game.
One man can be remembered, who contributed to Iranian football during the post-World War One period. Hossein Sadaghiani became active in sharing the knowledge of the game and also with growth of football, he became the first head coach of the Iranian national team, who later coached football teams of University of Tehran. The first match that the Iranian national football team played was on August 25, 1941, away at Afghanistan.
Iran team lineup were: Fathollah Minbashian, Mansour Hajian, Abbas Qarib, Aziz Farzanegan, Abbas Tandidehgar, Jamshid Malekshahi, Bakhtiar, Akbar Toofan, Ahmad Izadpanah and 2 more players. The team's head coach was Hossein Sadaghiani.
British Army XI lineup included players such as Wilf Mannion, Migger and Bick,[18]Bertie Mee, Jimmy McCabe.
In the 1960s and 1970s, Iran established itself as one of Asia's top sides, winning the Asian Cup in 1968, 1972 and 1976, the only team to win the tournament three times in a row. In 1964 Iran qualified for the Olympic Games, but they finished last in their group with one point which came in a 1–1 draw against Mexico. Iran also qualified for the 1972, 1976 and 1980Olympic Games. In 1978, Iran qualified for its first FIFA World Cup, held in Argentina. In the 1980s the Iran–Iraq War hindered the development of the national team and Iran missed out on several World Cups due to withdrawing from the qualifying stage. After a twenty-year absence, Iran qualified for the 1998 FIFA World Cup and recorded their first-ever World Cup victory, defeating the United States 2–1. Iran has also more recently qualified for the tournament in 2006, 2014, 2018 and 2022, failing to advance past the group stage on each occasion.
The Iran women's national football team, nicknamed the Lionesses, represents Iran in international women's football around the world, and is controlled by the Football Federation of Iran. Iran plays their home matches on the Ararat Stadium.
Youth national teams
Iran fields youth national teams in men's and women's sections predominantly at the U17, U20 and U23 levels having enjoyed moderate success.
Other football teams
Men's teams
Iran national futsal team: The Iran national futsal team represents Iran in international futsal competitions and is controlled by the Futsal Commission of the Iranian Football Federation. The "Kings of Asian Futsal" are by far the strongest Asian team and one of the best teams in the world according to the Futsal World Ranking. The Iranians are the regular participants of the FIFA Futsal World Cup reaching the third place in 2016 after eliminating the favorites, Brazil. Iran have won the first Futsal Confederations Cup in 2009 and also reached the second place in the Grand Prix de Futsal known as Futsal Mini-World Cup in multiple editions.
Iran national beach soccer team: Iran has won the AFC Beach Soccer Championship a record two times (2013, 2017) and has placed in the top four in every edition. Iran has also appeared in the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup seven times, reaching the quarterfinals on three occasions (2013, 2015, 2017), and finishing in third place once (2017).
Women's teams
The Iran women's national futsal team represents the country in international women's futsal, and is controlled by the Iran Football Federation. The team usually known as one of the "world powers" in futsal.
Iran women's national beach soccer team, is being reviewed by the Iranian Football Federation.
Persepolis is the most successful team in Iran's men's football league.
The current structure has been in place since 2001. The Persian Gulf Pro League is the highest level of club football in Iran. Below it is the Azadegan League, also known as the 1st division, which consists of two twelve-team groups. One level further down from that is the 2nd division which is made up of 28 teams evenly distributed into two groups. One step down, and the final nationwide league, is the 3rd division. This level has eight groups and 45 teams. Each groups contains teams that are located in the same area of the nation. The final level of the football system consists of 28 provincial leagues. Local teams from each province participate in these leagues, and some of the leagues are divided into further divisions.
The system works with a promotion-relegation system, meaning that a team from the lowest level of the system can make it to the top level after a number of years. The number of teams in each league often changes from season to season, due to the lack of any professional management in the lower levels of the system. Currently the IPL is the only league that is considered professional, despite many of its rules about club facilities and management being broken. It is not uncommon for teams in the lower levels of the system to change team names because of sponsorship issues or for teams to completely withdraw from a competition.
The top four levels of the men's system are managed by the FFIRI, while the bottom level leagues are managed by their respective provincial football committee. The Kowsar Women Football League is the primary women's football league in Iran.[19]
The Persian Gulf Pro League, formerly known as the Iran Premier League, is the top men's professional football division of the Iranian football league system. It is controlled by the FFIRI and is contested by 16 teams over a 30-matchday period.
Hazfi Cup formerly known as Pahlavi Cup is an Iranian knockout football competition held annually by the Football Federation Islamic Republic of Iran.
The Iran women's national football team, nicknamed the Lionesses, represents Iran in international women's football around the world, and is controlled by the Football Federation Islamic Republic of Iran (FFIRI). The Iran women's team played its first international match in May 1971 against Italy and first FIFA international in September 2005 against Syria.
Mostafa Mokri was an Iranian footballer. He served most of his career at Toufan. He was also former chairman of IRIFF and Persepolis.
Saba Qom Football Club was an Iranian football team based in Qom, Iran. The club was dissolved in 2018. The team is a former part of Saba Battery Club, owned by Saba Battery Co., and was moved to Qom in 2007, although they were formerly registered as a team from Tehran playing at Shahid Derakhshan Stadium of Robat Karim.
Naft Tehran Football Club is an Iranian football club based in Tehran, Iran. They competed in the Persian Gulf Pro League. They were owned by the National Iranian Oil Company previously. Naft Tehran was founded in 1950 and played in the Takhti Stadium until 2018.
The 2010–11 Azadegan League was the 20th season of the Azadegan League and tenth as the second highest division since its establishment in 1991. The season featured 19 teams from the 2009–10 Azadegan League, three new teams relegated from the 2009–10 Persian Gulf Cup and four new teams promoted from the 2009–10 2nd Division. Foolad Natanz replaced Sepahan Novin, Machine Sazi replaced Petroshimi Tabriz and Sanat Sari replaced Mehrkam Pars. Shensa Arak changed their name to Hamyari Arak. The league started on 23 September 2010 and ended on 9 May 2011. Damash won the Azadegan League title for the first time in their history. Damash, Mes Sarcheshmeh and Moghavemat Shiraz gained promotion to the Persian Gulf Cup.
The 2011–12 Azadegan League was the 21st season of the Azadegan League and 11th as the second highest division since its establishment in 1991. The season featured 21 teams from the 2010–11 Azadegan League, three new teams relegated from the 2010–11 Persian Gulf Cup: PAS Hamedan, Paykan and Steel Azin and three new teams promoted from the 2010–11 2nd Division: Saipa Shomal as champions, Niroye Zamini and Parseh Tehran. Esteghlal Khuzestan replaced Esteghlal Jonoub Tehran. Damash Lorestan changed their name into Gahar Zagros while Hamyari Arak changed their name into Shahrdari Arak. The league started on 14 September 2011 and ended on 19 April 2012. Paykan won the Azadegan League title for the first time in their history. Paykan, Aluminium Hormozgan and Gahar Zagros promoted to the Persian Gulf Cup.
Amirhossein Karimi is an Iranian international center midfielder who has played in different national team levels for his country.
The 2015 Hazfi Cup Final was the 28th final since 1975. The match was contested by Zob Ahan and Naft Tehran at Takhti Stadium in Tehran. The match was played on 1 June 2015 and was the final match of the competition. Zob Ahan won 3–1 and won their third title in the competition. They also qualified for the group stages of the 2016 AFC Champions League.
The Kowsar Women Football League is a women's football league, run by the Football Federation Islamic Republic of Iran. At the top of the Iranian football league system, it is the country's primary competition for the sport. It was established in 2007.
Mohammad Soltani Mehr (Persian: محمد سلطانی مهر, is an Iranian professional football player who currently plays for Iranian football club Zob Ahan in the Persian Gulf Pro League and the Iran national under-20 football team. He has been mentioned by The Guardian among 60 of the best young talents in world football.
The 2017–18 Persian Gulf Pro League was the 35th season of Iran's Football League and 17th as Persian Gulf Pro League since its establishment in 2001. Persepolis were the defending champions. The season featured 14 teams from the 2016–17 Persian Gulf Pro League and two new teams promoted from the 2016–17 Azadegan League: Pars Jonoubi Jam as champions and Sepidrood. The league started on 27 July 2017 and ended on 27 April 2018. Persepolis won the Pro League title for the fourth time in their history, a total 11th Iranian title.
The 2018–19 Persian Gulf Pro League was the 36th season of Iran's Football League and 18th as Persian Gulf Pro League since its establishment in 2001. Persepolis were the defending champions. The season featured 13 teams from the 2017–18 Persian Gulf Pro League and two new teams promoted from the 2017–18 Azadegan League: Naft Masjed Soleyman as champions and Nassaji Mazandaran. Machine Sazi replaced Gostaresh. The league started on 26 July 2018 and ended on 16 May 2019. Persepolis won the Pro League title for the fifth time in their history, a total 12th Iranian title.
Bam Khatoon Women's Football Club formerly Shahrdari Bam, is an Iranian professional women's football club based in Bam which plays in the Kowsar Women Football League. It also qualified for the inaugural AFC Women's Champions League.
The 2022–23 Hazfi Cup was the 36th season of the Iranian football knockout competition.
The article contains information about the 2022–23 Iran 3rd Division football season. This is the 4th rated football league in Iran after the Persian Gulf Cup, Azadegan League, and 2nd Division. The league has been started on 29 October 2022 and finished on 1 September 2023.
Zahra Khajavi is an Iranian professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for the Kowsar Women Football League club Bam Khatoon and the Iran women's national team. She is considered as one of the best Iranian goalkeepers of all time.
The article contains information about the 2023–24 Iran 3rd Division football season. This is the 4th rated football league in Iran after the Persian Gulf Cup, Azadegan League, and 2nd Division. The league has been expanded from 85 to 98 teams.
Malavan Bandar Anzali Women Football Club, commonly referred to as just Malavan, is an Iranian professional women's football club based in Bandar-e Anzali, Iran. The club plays in the Iranian Women's League, the top tier of Iranian women's football. Malavan women were founded in 1969.
References
↑ Sport: The First Five Millennia, By Allen Guttmann, p.235
A Political History of Football in Iran, H. E. Chehabi; Iranian Studies, Vol. 35, No. 4, Sports and Games (Autumn, 2002), pp.371–402, Published by: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. on behalf of International Society for Iranian Studies
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