Esteghlal Shahrdari Rasht Football Club () commonly known as Esteghlal Rasht, is a

football club In association football, a football club (or association football club, alternatively soccer club) is a sports club that acts as an entity through which association football teams organise their sporting activities. The club can exist either as ...

, based in

Rasht Rasht (; ) is a city in the Central District (Rasht County), Central District of Rasht County, Gilan province, Gilan province, Iran, serving as the capital of the province, the county, and the district. The city is also known as the "City of ...

Gilan Gilan Province () is one of the 31 provinces of Iran, in the northwest of the country and southwest of the Caspian Sea. Its capital is the city of Rasht. The province lies along the Caspian Sea, in Iran's Region 3, west of the province of ...

, Iran. The club was founded in 1983. First dissolved in 2002, the club was refounded later. The club plays currently in the

Gilan Province League Gilan Provincial League is the premier football league of Gilan Province, Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, an ...

History

Establishment

The club was known as Esteghlal Gaz Rasht in

1992–93 Iran Football's 2nd Division Year 199 ( CXCIX) was a common year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was sometimes known as year 952 ''Ab urbe condita''. The denomination 199 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno D ...

due to sponsorship. After playing many years in

Iran Football's 2nd Division Iranian football's 2nd division () is the third-highest football (soccer), football division overall in the Iranian football league system. Before 2001, the 2nd division league was the second-highest division in the national football league system ...

, they were promoted to

Azadegan League The Azadegan League (, ''Lig-e Âzâdegân''), also known as League 1 (, ''Lig-e Yek''), is the second highest division of professional football in Iran. It was the top-level football league in Iran from its foundation in 1991 until 2001, when t ...

in 2000. They finished 10th in 2000–01 season. But only one year later they were relegated again. They finished 13th in that season.

Dissolution

Due to financial problems and relegation, Esteghlal Rasht sold their licence to ''Pegah Dairy Company''. The new club was named as Pegah Gilan. Many players and their coach

Majid Jahanpour Majid Jahanpour (, ) is a former Iranian Football player and coach who played for Rah Ahan Rah Ahan Sports Club (, ''Bashgah-e Vârzeshi-ye Rahâhen''), commonly known as Rah Ahan Football Club, was an Iranian professional football club based ...

moved to Pegah Gilan. On 5 August 2002, Esteghlal Rasht was officially dissolvedand it is known as Damashguilan sc

Refounding

However Esteghlal Rasht was refounded years later and able to play in

Stadium

Dr. Azodi Stadium The Shahid Dr. Azodi Stadium () is a multipurpose stadium in Rasht, Iran. It is currently used mostly for football matches and is the home stadium of S.C. Damash Gilan, who play in the Persian Gulf Pro League. The stadium holds up to 15,000 peo ...

is the home stadium of Esteghlal Rasht since 1990. It has a current capacity of 11,000 spectators. The stadium is named after Dr. Hassan Azodi who was killed on June 28, 1982, in an explosion at the central office of the

Islamic Republican Party The Islamic Republican Party (IRP; , also translated Islamic Republic Party) was formed in 1979 to assist the Iranian Revolution and Ayatollah Khomeini in their goal to establish theocracy in Iran. It was disbanded in 1987 due to internal confl ...

. It is also the home venue of local rivals Damash and Sepidrood.

Seasons

The table below chronicles the achievements of Esteghlal Rasht in various competitions since 1990.

Club managers

(1990) *

Farhad Kazemi Farhad Kazemi (; born 2 July 1959 in Tehran) is an Iranian football coach and a former footballer who played as a forward. With many professional clubs in his résumé, Kazemi has established himself as one of the top coaches in a country which ...

(2000) *

(2000–2001) *

Nasser Hejazi Nasser Hejazi (Persian: ناصر حجازی, ''nāser hejāzi''; 14 December 1949 – 23 May 2011), nicknamed "the legendary Iranian goalkeeper", was an Iranian football player and coach who most notably played for Esteghlal (Taj). Considered ...

(2001–2002) *

(2002)

References

{{reflist Association football clubs established in 1983 Association football clubs disestablished in 2002 Defunct football clubs in Iran Sport in Gilan province 1983 establishments in Iran 2002 disestablishments in Iran