Football Club Abu Muslim (, ''Bashgah-e Futbal-e Abumislâm-e Xorasan''), commonly known as Abu Muslim, is an Iranian

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

Mashhad Mashhad ( ; ), historically also known as Mashad, Meshhed, or Meshed in English, is the List of Iranian cities by population, second-most-populous city in Iran, located in the relatively remote north-east of the country about from Tehran. ...

, Razavi Khorasan, that competes in the League 3. The club was founded in 1970 and is named after

Abbasid-era The Abbasid Caliphate or Abbasid Empire (; ) was the third caliphate to succeed the prophets and messengers in Islam, Islamic prophet Muhammad. It was founded by a dynasty descended from Muhammad's uncle, Abbas ibn Abd al-Muttalib (566–653 C ...

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

general

Abu Muslim Abu Muslim Abd al-Rahman ibn Muslim al-Khurasani (; ; 718/19 or 723/27 – 755) was a Persian general who led the Abbasid Revolution that toppled the Umayyad dynasty, leading to the establishment of the Abbasid Caliphate. Little is known ab ...

, who led the Abbasid Revolution that toppled the Umayyad dynasty. The football team plays its home games at the

Samen Stadium The Samen Al-Aeme Stadium (), commonly known as Samen, is a multi-use stadium in Mashhad, Razavi Khorasan, Iran, with a 27,000 seating capacity. The stadium opened in 2004 with a 35,000 capacity and is owned by the Ministry of Sport and Youth. I ...

which has a

seating capacity Seating capacity is the number of people who can be seated in a specific space, in terms of both the physical space available and limitations set by law. Seating capacity can be used in the description of anything ranging from an automobile that ...

of 27,000. The club is owned and supported by Mohammad Reza Abbasi. Abu Muslim won four League 2 trophies, three Khorasan League titles, and one final participation in the

Hazfi Cup Hazfi Cup (, ) formerly known as Pahlavi Cup () is an Iranian knockout football competition held annually by the Football Federation Islamic Republic of Iran. The Iranian Football League, Iranian football league was not held during the 1980s, h ...

. Abu Muslim holds a long-standing enmity with provincial rivals

Payam Khorasan Payam Toos Khorasan Football Club (, ''Bashgah-e Futbal-e Peyam Tus Xerasan'') is an Iranian football club based in Mashhad, Razavi Khorasan. They compete in the 2nd Division. The club is more commonly known as Payam Mashhad when it was based ...

known as the

Mashhad derby The Mashhad derby (), also known as the Razavi Khorasan derby (), is a football local derby match between the four most popular clubs from Mashhad: Aboomoslem, Payam, Siah Jamegan and Padideh. In the 1980s and early 1990s, it was Iran's second ...

History

Establishment

In 1970 a group of football players from Mashhad decided to create a new football team by the name of Abu Muslim. After defeat in the tournament, it was decided that for Khorasan to have a powerful football team, Abu Muslim and Aria must merge. Three brothers helped to merge the clubs, and Abu Muslim was able to make it to the 1975 Takht Jamshid Cup, which was the top football league in Iran before the

Iranian revolution The Iranian Revolution (, ), also known as the 1979 Revolution, or the Islamic Revolution of 1979 (, ) was a series of events that culminated in the overthrow of the Pahlavi dynasty in 1979. The revolution led to the replacement of the Impe ...

. The team originally only wore black, but red was added late on. Success was short lived and the team was relegated the next season, staying in the 2nd division until the revolution.

Post Revolution

Like most sporting clubs in Iran, the revolution and the Iran–Iraq War severely limited the team's activities. From 1980 to 1984 the club participated in almost no meaningful competitions. This changed when in late 1984 local and provincial leagues were set up. In the late 1980s, ''Shahdiran Inc.'' sponsored the team. After the war the local and provincial leagues were scrapped in favor of nationwide leagues. Abu Muslim made it to the newly established Azadegan League and participated during the 1990–91 and 1991–92 seasons, but was relegated after only two years. Once relegated the club struggled dramatically, being relegated all the way to the third division, which was a local league. Shahdiran stopped sponsoring the team and was replaced by soft drink company, ''Khoshgovar''. After several seasons in the lower leagues, Abu Muslim finally made it back to the top level of Iranian football, gaining promotion to the Azadegan League during the 1997–98 season. Abu Muslim had been in a poor financial situation that season, as Khoshgovar had stopped being its sponsor. Abu Muslim's only revenue came from advertisements and support from club fans, but surprisingly won promotion. Abu Muslim again only stayed in the league for two seasons and was relegated during the 1999–2000 season. Around the same time the club went back to its roots, once again being sponsored by the Iranian police.

Iran Pro League

They were promoted again in the next season and debuted in Iran's first fully professional league, the IPL, for the 2001–02 season. They have remained in the IPL since with two 5th-place finishes being their best results. After the 2004–05 season Abu Muslim's new sponsor became

Iran Khodro Iran Khodro (, ''Irān Xodro''), branded as IKCO, is an Iranian automaker headquartered in Tehran. IKCO was founded in 1962 as Iran National (, ''Irān Nāsionāl''). The public company manufactures vehicles, including Samand, Peugeot and Rena ...

Recent

In 2006 Khodadad Azizi joined the club as an advisor, after retirement from playing. Akbar Misaghian the club's manager for the past two seasons resigned after the first week of the 2006–07 season due to financial disagreements with management. In January 2007,

Khodadad Azizi Khodadad Azizi (; born 22 June 1971) is an Iranian football coach and former player who played as a striker. Early life He lived in the Piranshahr neighborhood of Mashhad. As a child, he played soccer with mismatched pair of shoes and at the ...

was named manager of Abu Muslim. He was sacked less than a year later and replaced by

Parviz Mazloomi Parviz Mazloomi (, born 16 September 1954) is a former Iranian footballer who is the team manager of the Esteghlal. He played for Esteghlal and Tractor Sazi in the 1970s and 1980s. He also managed many clubs such as Saba Battery, Sanat Naft, ...

in October 2007. The club had a very difficult season which they avoided the relegation in the last week and changed three head coaches and three chairmen but their instability continued for the 2009–10 season where they finished last and got relegated. In 2014 for the first time in the club's history the team was relegated to the 2nd Division.

Bankruptcy

Because of the financial problems suffered by the club, On 7 September 2014 the

Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports The Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports is a branch of the Government of India which administers the Department of Youth Affairs and the Department of Sports in India. Mansukh Mandaviya is the current Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports foll ...

declared the

bankruptcy Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the deb ...

of F.C. Abu Muslim. The new chairman Mehdi Biglari re-established the club in 2014 as Toloe Nasl e Abu Muslim Football Club. Abu Muslim restarted operations in 2016 and started competing in the fourth tier.

Logo history

Mashhad Derby

The Mashhad derby also known as the Khorasan derby is a football local derby match between F.C. Abu Muslim and

. Nowadays it has lost its status to more popular derbies such as Esfahan derby, Ahvaz derby and Shiraz derby.

Stadium

The club currently plays in

after years of playing in Mashhad's Takhti Stadium. The club announced plans to construct their own stadium with the help of the provincial government. The land was awarded to the team during Karim Malahi's time as club chairman. Construction was planned to begin March 2007 in the Elahieh area of Mashhad.

Supporters

Fan base

Abu Muslim is the most popular club from

Khorasan KhorasanDabeersiaghi, Commentary on Safarnâma-e Nâsir Khusraw, 6th Ed. Tehran, Zavvâr: 1375 (Solar Hijri Calendar) 235–236 (; , ) is a historical eastern region in the Iranian Plateau in West and Central Asia that encompasses western and no ...

Famous fans

Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf (, born 23 August 1961) is an Iranian Iranian Principlists, conservative politician, former military officer, and current List of Speakers of the Parliament of Iran, Speaker of the Islamic Consultative Assembly, Parli ...

– Mayor of Tehran *

Reza Ghoochannejhad Reza Ghoochannejhad Nournia (; born 20 September 1987) is an Iranian-Dutch former professional footballer who played as a forward. He is also known as Gucci in Belgium and Netherlands. Having played for the Netherlands at youth level, he switche ...

– Football player for

Iran national football team The Iran national football team (), recognised as IR Iran by FIFA since 2018, represents Iran in men's international senior Association football, football and is governed by the Football Federation Islamic Republic of Iran (FFIRI). At the cont ...

and

Heerenveen Heerenveen (, ) is a town and Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of Friesland (Fryslân), in the Northern Netherlands. In 2021, the town had a population of 29,790 (1 January) while the m ...

Season-by-season

The table below chronicles the achievements of Abu Muslim in various competitions.

Club chairmen

Heshmat Mohajerani Heshmatollah Mohajerani (, born 13 December 1939) is a retired Iranian association football midfielder and manager. Early life and playing career Mohajerani was born to Asadoolah Mohajerani and Leila Nassiri in a family of six siblings. Afte ...

Hadi Khayami Hadi or Hady () is an Arabic masculine given name and surname. Al-Hadi is one of the 99 names of God in Islam meaning ''guide'' (from the Arabic triconsonantal root ; also present in hidayah). Given name Hadi * Hadi Saei (born 1976), Iranian taek ...

* Amir Sharifian * Bagher Sayammi * Jahangir Sadehdel * Hamid Tayebbi * Mahmoud Haj Rezapour * Rahman Naderi * Gholam Hossein Takaffoli * Gholam Reza Basiripour * Nasser Shafagh * Mahdi Najami *

Karim Malahi Kareem (alternatively spelled Karim, Kerim or Karem) () is a given name and surname of Arabic language, Arabic origin that means "generous", "noble", "honourable". It is also one of the Names of God. Given name Karim * Karim Abdel Aziz (born 197 ...

(1996–06) * Nasser Shafagh (2006–08) * Mostafa Bani-Asad (2008–09) *

Hossein Ghasemi Hussein, Hossein, Hussain, Hossain, Huseyn, Husayn, Husein, Hussin, Hoessein, Houcine, Hocine or Husain (; ), coming from the triconsonantal root Ḥ-S-N (), is an Arabic name which is the diminutive of Hassan, meaning "good", "handsome" or ...

(2009–10) * Esmaeil Vafaei (2010–2014) * Mehdii Biglari (2014–present)

Club managers

Seyed Mehdi Qiyassi Haj. Seyed Mehdi Qiyassi (Persian: حاج سید مهدی قیاسی; born in 1941 in Mashhad, Iran) is one of the most experienced association football, football coaches from Mashhad. He first started as a swimmer before turning to Football. In 1 ...

(1974) * Abbas Razavi (1974) * Ştefan Stănculescu (1974) *

(1974–1986) * Seyed Kazem Ghiyassian (c.early 1990s) *

Hossein Fekri Hossein Fekri (, March 15, 1924 – July 1, 2003) was an Iranian football player and coach for the Iran national football team. As an international player he won a silver medal at the 1951 Asian Games. At the club level he competed for Daraei ...

(1995–96) * Mehdi Dinvarzadeh (1996–97) *

Akbar Misaghian Akbar Misaghian (, born May 21, 1953) is an Iranian retired football player and coach. After retirement, he managed several Iranian clubs, most notably F.C. Aboumoslem. Playing career Club career He started his playing career in 1971 when he p ...

(1997–99) *

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 ...

(2000–01) *

Firouz Karimi Firouz Karimi (, born 13 April 1958) is an Iran, Iranian football Coach (sport), coach and former player. Early life Firouz Karimi was born on 13 April 1958 in Tehran, Iran. Playing career He began playing football in Shahrbani F.C. in 1970 a ...

(2001–02) *

Mahmoud Yavari Mahmoud Yavari (, 11 October 1939 – 10 November 2020) was an Iranian football coach and player. He was head coach of the Iran national football team for a short period of time in 1984. He had coached many teams like Zob Ahan, Sepahan, Shah ...

(2002–03) *

(2003–06) *

Mehdi Ghiasi Mehdi () is a common Arabic masculine given name, meaning "rightly guided". People with the name Mehdi generally originate from Iran, with other notable countries of origin being India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iraq, Azerbaijan, France, Mo ...

(2006) *

(2006–07) *

(2007–08) *

(2008) * Hadi Bargizar (2008) *

Amir Hossein Peyrovani Amir Hossein Peiravani ( born in Shiraz, Iran) is an Iranian retired footballer and manager. Currently, he is the assistant coach of Tractor Sazi. He is the brother of Iranian international footballers Gholam Peyrovani and Afshin Peyrovani. ...

(2008) *

Ali Hanteh Masoud Ali Hanteh (born November 10, 1966) is a retired Iranian football player. He is currently free agent. His latest job was to be the manager of Esteghlal Ahvaz in Iran Pro League. Playing career He played for Aboomoslem back in 1980s, then ...

(2008–09) *

Naser Pourmehdi Naser Pourmehdi (; born 1959, Isfahan, Iran) is an Iranian retired football player and current coach. Early life He was born in 1959 in Isfahan, Iran. He graduated from Azad University The Islamic Azad University (IAU; , ''Dāneshgāh-e Āz� ...

(2009) *

(2009–10) *

Nader Dastneshan Nader Dastneshan (, 29 November 1959 – 16 April 2021) was an Iranian football player and coach. Early life Nader Dastneshan was born on 24 May 1960 in Shaahi, Mazandaran province. His father, an Azerbaijani, was from Tabriz and his mother was ...

(2010) *

Majid Namjoo-Motlagh Majid Namjoo-Motlagh (; born May 31, 1966, in Tehran, Iran) is a former Iranian football player and now manager. Playing career International career Namjoo-Moltagh debuted for the Iran national football team on May 28, 1986, in a friendly matc ...

(2010) *

Asghar Sadri Asghar Sadri (; born 2 October 1957) is a former Iranian football player. Playing career He started playing at youth level for Rah Ahan F.C., then at senior level for Bargh Shiraz F.C. and Shahbaz. In 1979, at age of 22 moved to Germany to stu ...

(2010) * Seyed Kazem Ghiyassian (2010–11) *

(2011) * Seyed Kazem Ghiyassian (2011) *

(2011–12) *

Gholam Hossein Peyrovani Gholam Hossein Peyrovani (, born 29 March 1955, in Shiraz, Iran) is a former Iranian football player and now manager. He was the coach of the Iran national under-23 football team from 2009 to 2010. He is also the older brother of former Persepol ...

(2012) * Hadi Bargizar (2012–13) *

(2013–2014) * Saeed Josheshi (2014–)

Honours

Club honours

League

* 2nd Division **Champions (4): 1974–75, 1977–78, 1990–91, 2000–01 *Khorasan Football League **Champions (3): 1987–88, 1989–90, 1993–94 **Runners-up (1): 1988–89 *Mashhad Football League **Champions (2): 1984–85, 1985–86

Cup

: **Runners-up (1): 2004–05 * AK Pipe International Cup: **Champions (1): 2001

Individual honours

top scorers in Iranian League

Players

As of 10 September 2013:

First-team squad

(U23) (U23) (U23) (U23) (U23) (U23) (U23) ''For recent transfers, see

List of Iranian football transfers winter 2013–14 This is a list of Iranian football transfers for the 2013–14 winter transfer window. Transfers of Iran Pro League is listed. Rules and regulations The Iranian Football Clubs who participate in 2013–14 Iran Pro League are allowed to have up ...

''.

Former players

''For details on former players, see :Aboomoslem players.''

Aboomoslem Players at major tournaments

The following players were selected for their national teams for major tournaments while playing for Aboomoslem:

References

External links

*
Official fan site

Official Popular comments site
. {{Football in Iran Aboumoslem Aboumoslem 1970 establishments in Iran Sport in Mashhad