The Iranian football league system is a series of interconnected leagues for

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

clubs in

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, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

Structure

The current structure has been in place since 2001. The Pro League is the highest level of club football in Iran. It is also called the Pro League. Below it is the

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 ...

, also known as the 1st division and called the

, which consists of one eighteen-team group. One level further down from that is the League 3, also known as League 3 which is made up of 60 teams evenly distributed into three groups. One step down, and the final nationwide league, is the League 3. This level has six groups and 96 teams. The final level of the football system consists of 31 provincial leagues. Local teams from each province participate in these leagues, and some of the leagues are divided into further divisions. The system works with a promotion-relegation system, meaning that a team from the lowest level of the system can make it to the top level within a number of years. The number of teams in each league often changes from season to season, due to the lack of any professional management in the lower levels of the system. Currently the IPL is the only league that is considered professional, despite many of its rules about club facilities and management being broken. It is not uncommon for teams in the lower levels of the system to change team names because of sponsorship issues or for teams to completely withdraw from a competition. The top five levels of the system are managed by the Iranian football federation, while the bottom level leagues are managed by their respective provincial football committee.

League system changes

History

Before 1970

Before the 1970s, Iran did not have an official national football league. Most clubs participated in championships of their city or province. Therefore, the champion of the Tehran Premier League was seen as the Iranian football champion. Due to their achievements in the Tehran Premier League, Shahin Tehran and Taj, today known as Esteghlal, were the most popular teams at this time. Also Daraei and PAS Tehran were successful clubs in

Tehran Tehran (; , ''Tehrân'') is the capital and largest city of Iran. It is the capital of Tehran province, and the administrative center for Tehran County and its Central District (Tehran County), Central District. With a population of around 9. ...

's own league.

Iran Football Championship Cup

was a football tournament held in Iran between 1957 and 1968. These official

matches were held under the supervision of the Football Federation of Iran.

Local League

In 1970, the Local League was created. For the first time, the league comprised also teams from many other cities and provinces including

Sepahan Foolad Mobarakeh Sepahan Sport Club (, ''Bâšgâh-e Farhangi-Varzeši-ye Fulâd-e Mobârake-ye Sepâhân''), commonly known as Sepahan, is an Iranian sports club based in Isfahan. It is best known for their football section that play in the P ...

from

Isfahan Isfahan or Esfahan ( ) is a city in the Central District (Isfahan County), Central District of Isfahan County, Isfahan province, Iran. It is the capital of the province, the county, and the district. It is located south of Tehran. The city ...

and

East Azerbaijan East Azerbaijan province () is one of the 31 provinces of Iran. Its capital is the city of Tabriz. The province is located in Iranian Azerbaijan, bordering Armenia, the Republic of Azerbaijan, Ardabil province, West Azerbaijan province ...

club

Tractor A tractor is an engineering vehicle specifically designed to deliver a high tractive effort (or torque) at slow speeds, for the purposes of hauling a Trailer (vehicle), trailer or machinery such as that used in agriculture, mining or constructio ...

. The first recognized Iranian football champion was Taj after beating PAS Tehran 2–1 in the final of the

1970–71 Local League The 1970–71 season was the first season of the Local League of Iranian football. The competition was won by Taj Football Club of Tehran. Qualifying Tournament Region A * All matches played in Kerman. Region B * All matches played in ...

. The incidents of the semi-final between Taj and

Persepolis Persepolis (; ; ) was the ceremonial capital of the Achaemenid Empire (). It is situated in the plains of Marvdasht, encircled by the southern Zagros mountains, Fars province of Iran. It is one of the key Iranian cultural heritage sites and ...

are also of great importance for the rivalry between both clubs. The second and last edition of the Local League was won by Persepolis.

Takht Jamshid Cup

In 1972, the

Takht Jamshid Cup The Takht Jamshid Cup (, Jâm-e Taxt-e Jamšid) was a national football league based in Iran which lasted from 1974 to 1979. The league was named after ''Takht-e Jamshid'', the Iranian name for the ancient city known as Persepolis. Hi ...

was founded as the national league and included teams from all over the country. The Iranian Football Federation had decided to create a league similar to European football leagues. The league was named after Takht-e Jamshid, the ancient

Achaemenid The Achaemenid Empire or Achaemenian Empire, also known as the Persian Empire or First Persian Empire (; , , ), was an Iranian empire founded by Cyrus the Great of the Achaemenid dynasty in 550 BC. Based in modern-day Iran, it was the large ...

capital known outside of Iran as

. The Takht Jamshid Cup comprised twelve clubs in the 1973–74 season.

became the first champions of the Takht Jamshid Cup, two points ahead of rival Taj. Before the beginning of the 1974–75 season, the number of teams were increased from twelve to 16 teams. Esteghlal claimed its first Takht Jamshid Cup title after winning the league ahead of Persepolis. The 1975–76 Takht Jamshid Cup was won by Persepolis with a great performance by Iranian football legend

Ali Parvin Ali Parvin (; born 25 September 1947) is a retired Iranian association football, football player and coach. He is among the most prominent Iran, Iranian footballers. He played for the Iran national football team. During his career, he played as ...

. The second place team was another

based club, Homa. The next two seasons were won by PAS Tehran under coach

Hassan Habibi Hassan Ebrahim Habibi (; 29 January 1937 – 31 January 2013) was an Iranian politician, lawyer, scholar and the first vice president from 1989 until 2001 under Presidents Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani and Mohammad Khatami. He was also a member of ...

. PAS Tehran won their championships both times ahead of Persepolis. At this time the Takht Jamshid Cup was one of the strongest football leagues in Asia. The

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 ...

won in 1976 their third successive

AFC Asian Cup The AFC Asian Cup is the primary association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), determining the continental champion of Asia. It is the second-oldest c ...

and qualified 1978 for the

FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often called the World Cup, is an international association football competition among the senior List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams of the members of the FIFA, Fédération Internatio ...

for the first time in the country's history. The 1978–79 Takht Jamshid Cup season was abandoned due to the

1979 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 ...

. Shahbaz was leading the league after twelve matchdays ahead of Persepolis and Taj.

1979 Revolution and 1980s

Due to the

Islamic 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 Im ...

and the

Iran–Iraq War The Iran–Iraq War, also known as the First Gulf War, was an armed conflict between Iran and Iraq that lasted from September 1980 to August 1988. Active hostilities began with the Iraqi invasion of Iran and lasted for nearly eight years, unti ...

, the Takht Jamshid Cup was dissolved and also the lower leagues were unorganized. Once again the champion of the Tehran Province League was seen as the Iranian football champion. The league was dominated by

with five titles and Esteghlal with two championships. In 1987 the 17th of Shahrivar league was created with mainly teams from

, but also with clubs from some others cities. The league was won by Persepolis ahead of Daraei. Due to the fact that the league was part of the Tehran Province League, Persepolis' title is today not accepted as a national championship.

Qods League

In 1989 the Qods League was formed as the national Iranian football league. The first official Iranian football champion since the revolution was Esteghlal. After only one season the Qods League was abolished.

Azadegan League

In 1991 the Azadegan League was formed as the top flight of Iranian football. The league was named as Azadegan League in honor of the Iranian

prisoners of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of war for a ...

who were released. ''Azadegan'' means ''the liberated'' in

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 ...

. The league started with a format of 12 teams in the first

season A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's axial tilt, tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperat ...

. In the 1992–93 Azadegan League season the league changed its format. 16 clubs participated in two groups of eight teams. PAS Tehran were the champions in both seasons. Esteghlal relegated for the first time in their history in 1993. Before the start of the 1993–94 season, the league changed its format again. 14 teams participated in one group.

Saipa SAIPA (, ''SAIPA'') is an Iranian automaker headquartered in Tehran. The SAIPAC (an acronym for the French ''Société anonyme iranienne de production des automobiles Citroën'' lit. ''Iranian Limited Company for the Production of Citroën Autom ...

won the Azadegan League title, sitting three points of runners-up

. Only one year later the league format was changed again. 24 clubs participated in two groups of 12 teams. Saipa defended their title in final against Esteghlal. Prior to the start of the 1995–96 Azadegan League season, the league changed its format again. 16 teams participated in one group until 1999.

were the champions in 1995–96, 1996–97 and 1998–99, while Esteghlal became the champion in the 1997–98 season. In 1999 the league was reduced to 14 teams. Persepolis won the 1999–2000 Azadegan League season, sitting seven points clear of rival Esteghlal. The 2000–01 season was the last year of the Azadegan League as the top-level football league of Iran. Esteghlal became the champion in a league of 12 teams.

Pro League

The 2001–2002 season saw the beginning of the first professional football league in

. Unfortunately many say that the new league is professional in name only and is missing many of the required components of a pro league. Player salaries have risen significantly and other positives in the league are the emergence of provincial teams and raw talent which every Pro League team boasts. Teams like Foolad Sepahan, Foolad Khouzestan,

Zob Ahan FC Zob Ahan Esfahan Football Club (, ''Bâšgâh-e Futbâl-e Zobâhan-e Esfahân'') is an Iranian football club based in Fuladshahr, Iran. It competes in the Persian Gulf Pro League. The team is sponsored by the ''Isfahan Steel Company'', which al ...

and Esteghlal Ahvaz have all shown they can compete, even though they are not based in

. The league can only continue to get better, and many are hoping this league will help Iran's football, in terms of improving quality and reputation. On 12 August 2006, the Iranian Football Federation decided to change the name of the league once again. The name of the league was initially the Persian Gulf Cup. This was done to promote the name of the Persian Gulf, instead of the many variations which some nations and organizations use which Iran claims are incorrect. The league logo was also changed, with the winner being selected from over 130 designs and unveiled on 14 November 2006. They continued to get better steady and slowly which made many people criticize that the league is sometimes stepping backwards.

was the 6th team to win the 6th new edition of the league which meant 6 different teams won 6 leagues in the row. But in 2008

regained the title after 6 years by the dramatic win again the rival

on the 96th minute of the final match and become the first team that won two titles in the new edition of the Iranian League. The next season Esteghlal did the same thing and won the league for second time on the final matchday. Then,

dominated the league by winning the title in three consecutive seasons. Currently

holds the Pro League title record with four previous titles and they recently added a fifth to their trophy case with the 2014–15 season championship. _{Notes

1. Taj changed its name to Esteghlal in 1979.

2. Shahin changed its name to Persepolis

Persepolis (; ; ) was the ceremonial capital of the Achaemenid Empire (). It is situated in the plains of Marvdasht, encircled by the southern Zagros mountains, Fars province of Iran. It is one of the key Iranian cultural heritage sites and ...
in 1968, which in turn changed to Piroozi in 1986; but the 'old' name Persepolis is still used in preference to Piroozi in Iran.

3. 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 ...
is now the name of the 2nd highest division in Iran, only the IPL is higher.}

Championships

The number of national championships attained by football clubs in Iran since 1957. The national championships were suspended from 1979 to 1991.