Simorgh Alborz (

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 ...

: ), also known as Alborz Phoenixes Mazar, is a professional football club from

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bord ...

. It last played in the

Afghan Premier League The Afghan Premier League (APL), also known as Rahmani Foundation Afghan Premier League for sponsorship reasons, is a professional men's soccer league run by the Afghanistan Football Federation (AFF). It is the country's primary competition for ...

Etymology

The club is named after the mythical

Simorgh Simurgh (; fa, سیمرغ, also spelled ''simorgh, simorg'', ''simurg'', ''simoorg, simorq'' or ''simourv'') is a benevolent, mythical bird in Persian mythology and literature. It is sometimes equated with other mythological birds such as the ...

– a large, graceful, winged bird – and the sacred mountain

Alborz The Alborz ( fa, البرز) range, also spelled as Alburz, Elburz or Elborz, is a mountain range in northern Iran that stretches from the border of Azerbaijan along the western and entire southern coast of the Caspian Sea and finally runs ...

, both famous elements of ancient

Persian mythology Persian mythology or Iranian mythology ( Persian:اساطیرشناسی ایرانی) is the body of the myths originally told by ancient Persians and other Iranian peoples, and a genre of Ancient Persian folklore. These stories concern the ori ...

, referred to in many famous poems and, according to a legend, linked to the region around Balkh and Samangan. Koh e Alburz is the name of a mountain ridge south of the ancient city of

Balkh ), named for its green-tiled ''Gonbad'' ( prs, گُنبَد, dome), in July 2001 , pushpin_map=Afghanistan#Bactria#West Asia , pushpin_relief=yes , pushpin_label_position=bottom , pushpin_mapsize=300 , pushpin_map_caption=Location in Afghanistan ...

. Likewise, Simorgh Alborz football team represents north and northwestern Afghanistan, including the historical region of Balkh.

History

The club was founded in August 2012 by the creation of Afghan Premier League and its players have been chosen through a casting-show called Maidon-E-Sabz (Green Field). Based in the city of

Mazar-i-Sharif , official_name = , settlement_type = City , image_skyline = , pushpin_map = Afghanistan#Bactria#West Asia , pushpin_label = Mazar-i-Sharif , pushpin ...

, club represents provinces of

, Samangan, Sar-e Pol,

Jowzjan Jowzjan, sometimes spelled Jawzjan or Jozjan (Dari: ), is one of the thirty-four provinces of Afghanistan, located in the north of the country bordering neighboring Turkmenistan. The province is divided into 11 districts and contains hundreds of v ...

and

Faryab Faryab ( Dari: ) is one of the thirty-four provinces of Afghanistan, which is located in the north of the country bordering neighboring Turkmenistan. It has a population of about 1,109,223, which is multi-ethnic and mostly a tribal society. The ...

in the northwestern region of Afghanistan. They have claimed both runners-up positions in first two years of Afghan Premier League.

References

Football clubs in Afghanistan Mazar-i-Sharif 2012 establishments in Afghanistan Association football clubs established in 2012 {{Afghanistan-footyclub-stub