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Iran's Premier Football League known as the Iran Premier League (IPL) and now officially as the Persian Gulf Cup is the most important football league in Iran. IPL is really one of many steps in the evolution of Iranian league football. The league system resembles the system being used in England currently. The Premier league is the top league, then follows the 1st division, the 2nd division, the 3rd Division and the lower local leagues.

Iran's Premier Football League
Persian Gulf Cup (2006-2007)
Sport	Football
Founded	2001
No. of teams	16
Country	Iran
Current champions	Esteghlal Tehran

Contents 1 History 1.1 Pre-1970s 1.2 Takht Jamshid Cup 1.3 1980s 1.4 Azadegan League 1.5 IPL: Iranian Premier League 1.6 Persian Gulf Cup 2 Teams of Iran's Premier Football League 2006-2007 season 3 League champions 3.1 Local Leagues 3.2 Takht Jamshid Cup 3.3 1980s 3.4 Qods League 3.5 Azadegan League 3.6 IPL 4 Total Championships 5 See also 6 Notes 7 External links

Before the early 1970's Iran did not have an official national league. Most teams would participate in city championships. Taj¹ and Persepolis² had become the two most popular teams in the mid 60s and continue to be in the present. Pas, Shahin, Taj, Daraei F.C., all won championships in the Tehran local league, during this period.

In 1972, the Takht Jamshid Cup was created. It was designed to include teams from all over the country, but as usual teams from Tehran dominated, mostly Pas, winning the final two. The league was in place until the Iranian Revolution took place, and the 1978 season was left uncompleted.

Due to the revolution and the Iran-Iraq War, football was no longer a priority. Clubs had very little money and due to political reasons team names, management and resources were changed. There was no major league competition during the 1980-89 period, only a few cup competitions and some local city league championships such as the 17th of Shahrivar league and the Qods Cup.In 1989 the Qods league was created and saw Esteghlal as its champion.

In 1991 the Qods league was renamed the Azadegan League³. Named the Azadegan League in honor of Iranian prisoners of war who were released, it began operations in the 1991-92 season. Pas was its first champion. For the first time in more than ten years Iran finally had a national league again. The number of teams playing in the league varied from year to year. Pas and Saipa dominated the league in the first four years. Pas and Esteghlal both were able to capture Asian Club Championships in the early 1990s. By the mid-90s Persepolis and Esteghlal regained their dominant form. The league championship every year between 1995-2001 was either Esteghlal or Persepolis. The two clubs always had the most talented players in Iran, the national team consisted mainly of Persepolis and Esteghlal players, and some of the greatest talents Iranian football has seen were discovered during this period.

The 2001-2002 season saw the beginning of the first professional football league in Iran. 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 and other positives in the league are the emergence of provincial teams and raw talent which every IPL team boasts. Teams like Foolad Sepahan, Foolad Khouzestan and Zob Ahan FC have all shown they can compete, even though they are not based in Tehran. The league can only continue to get better, and many are hoping this league will help Iran's football, in terms of quality and reputation improve.

On August 12, 2006, the Iranian Football Federation decided to change the name of the league once again. The name of the league now is the Persian Gulf Cup.^[1]. This was done to promote the name of the Persian Gulf, instead of the incorrect variations which some nations and organizations use. The league logo was also changed, with the winner selected from over 130 designs being unveiled on November 14, 2006.^[2]

Esteghlal F.C. 2005/06 IPL Champion	F.C. Aboomoslem	Bargh Shiraz F.C.	Esteghlal Ahvaz F.C.	F.C. Fajr Sepasi	Foolad F.C.	Malavan F.C.
Pas F.C.	Persepolis F.C.	Rah Ahan F.C.	Saba Battery F.C.	Saipa F.C.	Sepahan F.C.	F.C. Zob Ahan
Teams Promoted from Azadegan League	Mes Kerman F.C.	Paykan Tehran F.C.

• 1960 Shahin F.C.
• 1961 Not Held
• 1963 Daraei F.C.
• 1964 to 1966 Not Held
• 1967 Pas F.C.
• 1968 Pas F.C.
• 1969 Not Held
• 1970 Taj

• 1972 Persepolis F.C.

• 1973 Persepolis F.C.
• 1974 Taj
• 1975 Persepolis F.C.
• 1976 Pas F.C.
• 1977 Pas F.C.
• 1978 Not Completed Due to Revolution

• 1979-1989 No League Competition

• 1989-1990 Esteghlal F.C.

• 1991-1992 Pas F.C.
• 1992-1993 Pas F.C.
• 1993-1994 Saipa F.C.
• 1994-1995 Saipa F.C.
• 1995-1996 Persepolis F.C.
• 1996-1997 Persepolis F.C.
• 1997-1998 Esteghlal F.C.
• 1998-1999 Persepolis F.C.
• 1999-2000 Persepolis F.C.
• 2000-2001 Esteghlal F.C.

• 2001-2002 Persepolis F.C.
• 2002-2003 Sepahan F.C.
• 2003-2004 Pas F.C.
• 2004-2005 Foolad F.C.
• 2005-2006 Esteghlal F.C.

Notes
1. Taj changed its name to Esteghlal F.C. in 1979.
2. Shahin F.C. changed its name to Persepolis F.C. in 1968, which in turn changed to Pirouzi in 1986; but the 'old' name Persepolis is still used in preference to Piroozi in Iran.
3. Azadegan League is now the name of the 2nd highest division in Iran, only the IPL is higher.

The number of national championships that clubs in Iran have attained.

Club	Number of Championships
Persepolis F.C.	7
Esteghlal F.C.	5
Pas F.C.	5
Saipa F.C.	2
Sepahan F.C.	1
Foolad F.C.	1

• Azadegan League (1st Division)
• 2nd Division
• 3rd Division
• Hazfi Cup
• Iranian Super Cup
• Iran AFC Cup (Jaam Velayat)
• Iranian Club Football Season by Season Top Goalscorers
• Iranian Club Football Top All-time Goal Scorers
• List of foreign IPL players
• Navad

• "90" NAVAD - weekly TV sport magazine live online from Iranian Pro League
• Iran Football Center (IFC) Latest Sport Videos and news
• Iran Football Online (IFO) All Statistics - Daily News- Entertainment and MultiMedia - Live Sports Radio
• Iranian Football Page (est. 1996) The oldest Iranian Football Discussion Board on the web.
• IRIFF - Islamic Republic of Iran Football Federation
• Iran Pro League Statistics
• Iran Goals
• Iran Kicks
• Iran Sports Press
• Pars Football
• Persian Football League
• PFDC - Persian Football Dot Com
• RSSSF database about Iranian league football.
• TMDC - Team Melli Dot Com
• IRFO - Iranian FIFA Online
• An Online Survey on Iranian Premiere Football League
• (Persian) Directory of Iranian Football Websites - Links

Persian Gulf Cup • 2006-07 clubs v • d • e
Aboomoslem | Bargh Shiraz | Esteghlal Ahvaz | Esteghlal | Fajr Sepasi Foolad | Malavan | Mes Kerman | Pas | Paykan | Persepolis Rah Ahan | Saba Battery | Saipa | Sepahan | Zob Ahan
Azadegan League seasons (Post 2001)
1991-92 | 1992-93 | 1993-94 | 1994-95 | 1995-96 1996-97 | 1997-98 | 1998-99 | 1999-2000 | 2000-01
IPL seasons
2001-02 | 2002-03 | 2003-04 | 2004-05 | 2005-06
Persian Gulf Cup season
2006-07
Football in Iran v • d • e
League competitions IRIFF Cup competitions Persian Gulf Cup Iran Hazfi Cup Azadegan League (2 groups) U-23 Iranian Super Cup 2nd Division (2 groups) League system 3rd Division (8 groups) List of clubs List of venues Top Goalscorers (season-by-season) Top Goalscorers (all-time)

Top level football leagues of Asia (AFC) v • d • e

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