Esteghlal Football Club (استقلال ; commonly known as Esteghlal, is the oldest Iranian professional football club based in Tehran that competes in the Persian Gulf Pro League. The club was founded in 1945 as 'The Cyclists' and was known as Tâj between 1949 and 1979. This club is also known as the giant of Asia. AFC has given this title to this great club. The club is part of the multisport club Esteghlal Athletic and Cultural Company of Iran They were the first team to reach 1,000 points in Persian Gulf Pro League.
Andranik Eskandarian is an Iranian former footballer. He played as a defender for the F.C. Ararat Tehran, Taj SC and New York Cosmos of the North American Soccer League.
Nasser Hejazi, nicknamed "the legendary Iranian goalkeeper", was an Iranian football player and coach who most notably played for Esteghlal (Taj).
The Football Federation Islamic Republic of Iran is the governing body for football in Iran. It was founded in 1920. The federation has been a member of FIFA since 1948 and a member of the Asian Football Confederation since 1958.
Hassan Rowshan is an Iranian football coach, manager, and former player. He usually played as a striker. He is currently the head of technical committee of Esteghlal.
Heshmatollah Mohajerani is a retired Iranian association football midfielder and manager.
Nasrollah Abdollahi is an Iranian football coach and former player.
Seyed Jalal Talebi is a retired Iranian football player and manager.
Parviz Ghelichkhani is an Iranian-French retired football player and former captain of Iran national football team. He is now based in France, where he is the editor and publisher of a political magazine.
Gholam Hossein Mazloumi, nicknamed Sar Talaei, was an Iranian football player, coach and football administrator.
Mansour Pourheidari was an Iranian football player, coach and manager.
Javad Allahverdi is a retired Iranian footballer of Taj and Persepolis. Also he was a member of Iran national football team in World Cup 1978.
Mansour Barzegar is a retired Iranian welterweight freestyle wrestler. He competed at the 1972 and 1976 Olympics and placed fifth and second, respectively. At the world championships he won one gold and two silver medals between 1973 and 1977.
Hassan Habibi is a retired Iranian association football player and manager.
Alireza Khorshidi is an Iranian retired football forward who played for Iran from 1971 to 1978. He competed in the 1976 Asian Cup where Iran won their third championship title. He also played for Iran at the 1976 Summer Olympics. Khorshidi played club football for Homa.
Asghar Sharafi is an Iranian football coach and former player who was head coach of Mes Sarcheshmeh. He has coached many teams such as Esteghlal, Iranjavan, Bargh Shiraz, Pegah and Ekbatan. He is one of the oldest head coaches in Iranian football history.
Ali Jabbari is an Iranian former football midfielder who played for Iran in the 1972 Summer Olympics. He also played for Taj SC. On 13 May 1972 during a group match at the 1972 AFC Asian Cup, Iran were trailing 2–0 to Thailand. Ali Jabbari turned the match around with a hat-trick in the space of 8 minutes, with goals in 80', 86' and 88', giving Iran first place in the group. He scored again in the final in which Iran beat South Korea.
Akbar Kargarjam is an Iranian association football defender who played for Iran at the 1972 Summer Olympics. He also played for Rah Ahan and Taj SC.
Javad Ghorab is an Iranian former football midfielder who played for Iran in the 1972 Summer Olympics. He also played for Taj SC.
Abdullah Al-Rashidi is a Kuwaiti sport shooter and three-time world champion. He competed at the Summer Olympics in 1996, 2000, 2004, 2008, 2012, 2016, and 2020, winning bronze medals in men's skeet in both 2016 and 2020.
