Persepolis F.C. (women)

Last updated

Persepolis (Women)
FC Persepolis Official Logo.svg
Full namePersepolis Football Club Women
Nickname(s)Persepolis Girls
Tehran Reds
Tehran Lionesses
Founded1968;57 years ago (1968)
October 2024;11 months ago (2024-10)(reestablished)
Ground Derafshifar Stadium
Capacity2,500
Owner Persepolis Athletic and Cultural Club
(Shahr Bank: 30%
Bank Mellat: 20%
Tejarat Bank: 20%
Bank Saderat Iran: 5.175%
MSY: 5.158%
Refah Bank: 5%
EN Bank: 5%
Public Shareholders: 9.667% – IFB: PSPP1)
President Reza Darvish
Head coach Maryam Azmoon
League Kowsar Women Football League
2024–25 Women 1st Division champions
Website http://fc-perspolis.com
Soccerball current event.svg Current season

Persepolis F.C. (women) is an Iranian professional women's football club based in Tehran, Iran. It is the women's football section of Persepolis F.C. and competes in the First Division, playing home games at the Shahid Kazemi Stadium.

Contents

History

1970s

Women's football in Iran started in 1970. Women were participating in male football competitions in alleys and streets, and also took part in some men's football games. During that time, when numerous trainers participated in the top grade of FIFA's training courses in Japan, they were able to see the Japan women's national football team's games against female teams from Korea, Singapore and India. From 1970, serious measures were taken in order to reach appropriate standards. Thereafter, women took part first in football training and then in football teams such as Taj, Deyhim, Persepolis and Oghab . By organizing different competitions between those teams, the best players were selected and placed in the first Iranian women's national team. This team was composed of former volleyball players, basketball players and athletes aged from 12 to 18. They started to train more seriously as sport magazines published the news of their progress, then gradually a large number of female fans arose to support the team. With the help of educational institutions across the country, talented youngsters were scouted.

The first head coach for the winning women's team in Iran was Alan Rogers (from Persepolis), who was also the coach of the men's team at the same time. [1]

Rebuilding the team in 2022 was on the agenda. [2] [3]

2020s

Fatemeh Safarastgu in the team's first match after re-establishment on November 14, 2024. Persepolis W.F.C. vs Mehregan W.F.C., 14 November 2024 2 (cropped).jpg
Fatemeh Safarastgu in the team's first match after re-establishment on November 14, 2024.

On October 12, 2024, it was announced that, after facing many oppositions and challenges, Persepolis acquired the rights of the "Ako Kermanshah Women's Football Team" in the Women's League of Iran. Thus, Persepolis re-established its women's football section, marking a significant step in its sports history by returning to the women's football scene. [4] [5]

Shortly after its launch in October 2024, Persepolis Football Club issued a call for capable female footballers. In just two days, over 300 girls participated in the team's training tests. The revival of Persepolis Women's Football Team sparked significant excitement and enthusiasm among Iranian girls interested in football, as more than 500 girls applied to join the team within five days. [6]

2024–25 Persepolis F.C.Women season finished by winning the Division One. [7] [8]


Team image

The Persian column from Persepolis serves as a symbol for the team. Homa Persepolis Iran.JPG
The Persian column from Persepolis serves as a symbol for the team.
An illustration of a column at Apadana, from the Illustrerad verldshistoria utgifven Illustrerad Verldshistoria band I Ill 070.jpg
An illustration of a column at Apadana, from the Illustrerad verldshistoria utgifven

Persepolis Football Club was named after Persepolis, the capital of the Achaemenid Empire. The club logo incorporates elements from the location. The first design of Persepolis' crest used the Faravahar, an ancient Persian and Zoroastrian symbol depicting a man with three-feathered falcon wings. [9] After using the crest on its shirt in its early years, the team stopped including the crest on its shirt until the 1980s. In the middle of the 1980s, the team created a new crest based on an image depicted on a column at Apadana. The image consists of two bull heads attached to one body, with a cup on top and the Olympic symbols underneath. [9] The bull is a symbol of productivity in ancient Persian beliefs and Persian Literature, and the cup on the top of the column represents the championship. The team then changed the crest again in the middle of the 1990s to a more stylised image: the crest became bent and the Olympic rings were dropped, the cup became more explicit, and the bull heads leaned toward the cup. [9] This version was used until 2004, [9] when the team restored the Olympic rings and replaced the bulls with the Homa, a mythological bird and symbol used in the architecture of Persepolis. [9] During the 2011–2012 season, and before 74th Tehran derby, the club released a new version of its logo [10] This current version of the club's logo incorporates the previous version into a red shield-shaped frame and includes the name of Persepolis in Persian and English.

Colors and kits

The women’s team, like the men’s team of the club, uses a first red kit and a secondary white kit. The team’s nicknames include “Red Army” and “Red Lionesses.” Another unofficial nickname attributed to them on social media is “Red Devils”. [11]

Media

The women’s team has accounts on social media. In October 2024, its Instagram account was launched. [12] [13]

Grounds

Team's training at Derafshifar Stadium in 2025 Persepolis Women Football Team Training in 2025.jpg
Team’s training at Derafshifar Stadium in 2025

In 2024, the Persepolis Women’s Football Club designated Marghoobkar Stadium [14] [15] as its initial home ground. This arrangement lasted until November 2024, when the team relocated its home matches to Derafshifar Stadium. [16] [17] Subsequently, a decision was made to establish Kazemi Stadium as the club’s new permanent home venue, reflecting efforts to enhance facilities for the team. [18] [19]

Supporters and rivalries

The Persepolis Women’s Football Team, known as the “Lionesses of Tehran” and the “Red Army,” is among the most popular women’s football clubs in Iran. This popularity has largely been influenced by the fame of the club’s men’s team, as the women’s team had no activity for nearly half a century (due to government policies following the 1979 Revolution). Persepolis fans typically react to team news and support the players. [20] [21]

Esteghlal Football Team and Sepahan Isfahan Football Team are their rivals.

Players

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No.Pos.NationPlayer
1 GK Flag of Iran.svg  IRN Samira Mohammadi
2 DF Flag of Iran.svg  IRN Haniyeh Taleghani
4 DF Flag of Iran.svg  IRN Zeynab Abbaspour
5 DF Flag of Iran.svg  IRN Narjes Tayyebi
6Flag of Iran.svg  IRN Mahdieh Mostafaei
7 MF Flag of Iran.svg  IRN Fatemeh Ardestani
8 DF Flag of Iran.svg  IRN Ghazaleh Salehipour
9 MF Flag of Iran.svg  IRN Maryam Mohammadi
10 FW Flag of Iran.svg  IRN Fatemeh Ghasemi (Captain)
11 MF Flag of Iran.svg  IRN Zahra Ahmadizadeh
12 GK Flag of Iran.svg  IRN Mobina Khodadadi
13 DF Flag of Iran.svg  IRN Mohaddeseh Amiri
14 MF Flag of Iran.svg  IRN Maryam Safarastgoo
17 MF Flag of Iran.svg  IRN Baran Dostvandi
No.Pos.NationPlayer
18 MF Flag of Iran.svg  IRN Sana Sadeghi
19Flag of Iran.svg  IRN Matina Zamani
20Flag of Iran.svg  IRN Narges Gholamzadeh
21 FW Flag of Iran.svg  IRN Fatemeh Safarastgoo
22 GK Flag of Iran.svg  IRN Atena Tofigh
23Flag of Iran.svg  IRN Fatemeh Rezaei
24Flag of Iran.svg  IRN Zilan Moradi
25 FW Flag of Iran.svg  IRN Samaneh Ghamari
26Flag of Iran.svg  IRN Zahra Pourrostami
30Flag of Iran.svg  IRN Helia Seiri
44Flag of Iran.svg  IRN Nazanin Zahra Qasemi
87 MF Flag of Iran.svg  IRN Zhino Salehi
88Flag of Iran.svg  IRN Melika Bagherinasab
90 DF Flag of Iran.svg  IRN Zahra Omidi
98 GK Flag of Iran.svg  IRN Zahra Khorram
99 GK Flag of Iran.svg  IRN Hananeh Afradi
FW Flag of Iran.svg  IRN Fatemeh Rezaei
FW Flag of Iran.svg  IRN Somayeh Khorrami
MF Flag of Iran.svg  IRN Sahar Ramezani
Flag of Iran.svg  IRN Nastaran Mohammadkhani
DF Flag of Iran.svg  IRN Elham Abdolrahmani

Technical staff

PositionStaff
Head coach Flag of Iran.svg Maryam Azmoon [22]
First-team coach Flag of Iran.svg Fariba Zarghani
Assistant coaches Flag of Iran.svg Mahshid Shabani
Goalkeeping coach Flag of Iran.svg Zeinab Saberi
Team Manager Flag of Iran.svg Hoda Khosh Bayan [23]

Recent seasons

The table below chronicles the achievements of Persepolis F.C. (women) in various competitions since 2024.

YearDivisionPositionHazfi Cup AWCL
2024-251st Division1st [24] Not helddid not qualify
2025-26 Kowsar League Not helddid not qualify

Sponsorship

See also

Reserve teams

References

  1. "Women Have Been Demanding Their Right to Play Football for Half a Century". iranwire.com. Retrieved 2022-03-28.
  2. "در انتظار ورود رسمی پرسپولیس به فوتبال زنان". ورزش سه (in Persian). Retrieved 2022-03-28.
  3. سیما, IRIB NEWS AGENCY | خبرگزاری صدا و (February 8, 2021). "تشکیل تیم فوتبال بانوان پرسپولیس در صورت الزام آسیا". fa (in Persian). Retrieved 2022-03-28.
  4. "پرسپولیس در فوتبال بانوان تیم‌دار شد - ایسنا". www.isna.ir. Retrieved 2024-11-18.
  5. "با اعلام رسمی باشگاه؛ تشکیل تیم فوتبال زنان پرسپولیس، اولین‌بار پس از انقلاب". ایران اینترنشنال (in Persian). 2024-10-13. Retrieved 2024-11-18.
  6. "پانصد-دختر-در-انتظار-نیم-نگاه-سرمربی-پرسپولیس".
  7. "Persepolis Wins Iran's Women's Football League One - Sports news". Tasnim News Agency. Retrieved 2025-03-03.
  8. "Persepolis newcomers of Kowsar Women's Football League". Tehran Times. 2025-02-08. Retrieved 2025-03-03.
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 لوگوی باشگاه پرسپولیس عوض شد. Persepolis News (in Persian). Archived from the original on 25 April 2014. Retrieved 25 April 2014.
  10. لوگوی جدید باشگاه پرسپولیس رونمایی شد (in Persian). iranvij.ir. Archived from the original on 13 March 2013. Retrieved 22 April 2013.
  11. ماهنامه فوتبالی، ۱۴۰۴، فروردین، نسخه نخست. Tehran Sports Group.
  12. "عکس| صفحه تیم فوتبال زنان پرسپولیس شروع به کار کرد". خبرورزشی (in Persian). 2024-11-13. Retrieved 2025-04-10.
  13. "با شروع به کار تیم زنان پرسپولیس ، صفحه این تیم در اینستاگرام شروع به کار کرد". طرفداری (in Persian). 2024-11-13. Retrieved 2025-04-10.
  14. "اولین میزبانی رسمی زنان پرسپولیس در خانه استقلال!". ورزش سه (in Persian). Retrieved 2025-04-10.
  15. جهان, Fararu | فرارو | اخبار روز ایران و. "(تصاویر) نخستین مسابقه تاریخ فوتبال زنان پرسپولیس". fa (in Persian). Retrieved 2025-04-10.
  16. "اولین پیروزی تاریخ زنان پرسپولیس با چهار گل!". ورزش سه (in Persian). Retrieved 2025-04-10.
  17. "انتقال بازی های خانگی بانوان پرسپولیس به درفشی فر". خبرورزشی (in Persian). 2024-11-18. Retrieved 2025-04-10.
  18. "ورزشگاه کاظمی، استادیوم اختصاصی تیم زنان پرسپولیس شد". www.iranintl.com (in Persian). 2025-04-09. Retrieved 2025-04-10.
  19. "Kazemi Stadium For PFC". www.irna.ir. Retrieved 2025-04-10.
  20. "فوتبال زنان با حضور همه باشگاه‌های مطرح قوی می شود؛ زنان سرخپوش در مسیر موفقیت". اعتمادآنلاین (in Persian). 2025-04-10. Retrieved 2025-04-10.
  21. خبرنامه ۳۸۹ تهران ورزشی، ۲، ۳. Tehran Varzeshy.
  22. "مریم آزمون، سرمربی جدید تیم فوتبال زنان پرسپولیس".
  23. انتصاب مدیر تیم فوتبال بانوان پرسپولیس
  24. "تیم-زنان-پرسپولیس-قهرمان-شد".
  25. "بانک-شهر-اسپانسر-تیم-بانوان-پرسپولی". 13 November 2024.

35°46′23.95″N51°23′35.15″E / 35.7733194°N 51.3930972°E / 35.7733194; 51.3930972