Jump to content

Persian Gulf Pro League

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by 47.248.0.45 (talk) at 21:43, 14 May 2008 (→‎Alltime Premier League standings). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Persian Gulf Cup
File:Persian Gulf Cup logo.jpg
Founded2001
CountryIran
ConfederationAFC
Divisions1
Number of teams18
Level on pyramid1
Relegation toAzadegan League
Domestic cup(s)Hazfi Cup
International cup(s)AFC Champions League
Current championsSaipa
(2006–07)
Most championshipsEsteghlal
TV partnersIRIB
Current: 2007–08 season

The Iran Pro League (IPL) (Template:PerB, currently known as the Persian Gulf Cup (جام خلیج فارس) is a professional football league competition for clubs located at the highest level of the Iranian football league system.

The league system resembles the system being used in England currently. The Premier League is the top tier of an extensive pyramid-like structure, above the Azadegan League (or 1st Division), the 2nd division, the 3rd Division and the lower local leagues.

History

Pre-1970s

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.

Takht Jamshid Cup

Main article: Takht Jamshid Cup

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.

1980s

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.

Azadegan League

In 1991 the Qods league was renamed the Azadegan League. 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.

File:Ipl200.png
IPL Logo (2001-2006)

Iran Pro League

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 significantly 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, Zob Ahan FC and Esteghlal Ahvaz 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.

Persian Gulf Cup

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 being selected from over 130 designs and unveiled on November 14, 2006.[2]

Alltime Premier League standings

Since the 2001-2002 season, IPL/Persian Gulf Cup has had 6 seasons completed. The table below shows alltime statistics of all teams attended in the 6 seasons held.

Rank Team Years P W D L FG AG GD Points Best Rank Points+2007-08 (till Week 33)
1 Esteghlal 6 168 81 57 30 249 163 +86 300 Champions 343
2 Persepolis 6 168 73 59 36 239 173 +66 278 Champions 334
3 Pas Tehran 6 168 72 58 38 263 181 +82 274 Champions NA
4 Foolad 6 168 69 52 47 198 175 +23 259 Champions NA
5 Zob Ahan 6 168 70 45 53 202 168 +34 255 2nd 300
6 Sepahan 6 168 67 49 52 224 178 +46 250 Champions 308
7 Aboomoslem 6 168 54 60 54 188 172 +16 222 5th 269
8 Saipa 6 168 53 63 52 186 182 +4 222 Champions 264
9 Fajr Sepasi 6 168 47 62 59 150 172 -22 203 4th 245
10 Esteghlal Ahvaz 5 142 50 42 50 175 179 -4 192 2nd 238
11 Bargh Shiraz 6 168 44 55 69 172 234 -62 187 8th 234
12 Paykan 5 138 45 37 56 138 148 -10 172 5th 218
13 Malavan 5 142 39 45 58 121 165 -44 162 7th 197
14 Saba Battery 3 90 28 33 29 100 102 -2 117 4th 169
15 Shamooshack 3 86 16 26 44 64 121 -57 74 14th NA
16 Rah Ahan 2 60 11 21 28 57 88 -31 54 13th 95
17 Pegah Gilan 2 56 11 17 28 44 87 -43 50 9th 85
18 Mes Kerman 1 30 8 11 10 34 38 -4 35 9th 77
19 Sanat Naft 1 26 6 8 12 25 34 -9 26 13th 58
20 Shahid Ghandi 1 30 4 7 19 21 43 -22 19 16th NA
21 Esteghlal Rasht 1 26 3 7 16 18 44 -26 16 13th NA
22 Teraktor Sazi 1 26 2 9 15 12 36 -24 15 14th NA
23 Pas Hamedan 48
23 Shirin Faraz 21

In the 7th league currently running (IPL 2007/08), Pas Hamedan and Shirin Faraz Kermanshah are attending for the first time.

Successful Teams

Team Champions Second-place Third-place Fourth-place
Esteghlal 1 (2005-2006) 2 (2001-2002,2003-2004) 1 (2004-2005) 1 (2006-2007)
Pas Tehran 1 (2003-2004) 2 (2002-2003,2005-2006) - 1 (2001-2002)
Persepolis 1 (2001-2002) - 2 (2002-2003,2006-2007) 1 (2004-2005)
Foolad 1 (2004-2005 ) - 2 (2001-2002,2003-2004) -
Saipa 1 (2006-2007) - 1 (2005-2006) -
Sepahan 1 (2002-2003) - - -
Zob Ahan - 1 (2004-2005) - 1 (2003-2004)
Esteghlal Ahvaz - 1 (2006-2007) - -
Fajr Sepasi - - - 1 (2002-2003)
Saba Battery FC - - - 1 (2005-2006)

Competition format and sponsorship

Competition

There are 18 clubs in the league. The season lasts from August to May, each club plays the others twice, once at their home stadium and once at that of their opponents for a total of 34 games for each club, with a total of 306 games in each season. Teams receive three points for a win and one point for a draw. No points are awarded for a loss. Teams are ranked by total points, then goal difference and then goals scored. At the end of each season, the club with the most points is crowned as champion. The two teams at the bottom of the IPL and top of the Azadegan League play in a series of playoffs with return legs, the two teams out of the four that come out of those games victorious will be promoted or remain (if previously there) in the IPL.

Qualification for Asian competitions

Two teams from Iran are entered for the AFC Asian Champions League annually, the winner of the IPL and the winner of the Hazfi Cup. If the winner of the league is the same as the winner of the national cup then the team that comes second in the league will go to the Champions League although this is yet to occur.

Sponsorship

Since the founding of the IPL in 2001 the league has had no private sector sponsorship, but rather the league has been fully funded by the Iranian government.

Media coverage

Channel 3 broadcasted nationally and IRIB 2 broadcasted internationally both show IPL matches, however due to the immense popularity of Tehran teams Persepolis F.C. and Esteghlal F.C. only these teams' matches are shown on IRIB 2 internationally. Clubs do not receive any income whatsoever from TV rights as both the clubs and IRIB are both government-owned, this is often associated with the poor profitability of football clubs in Iran.

Players

Transfer season

  • The summer transfer season for teams in the Persian Gulf Cup lasts from June 25 to 12pm on August 8.
  • The winter transfer season for teams in the Persian Gulf Cup lasts from December 31 to 12pm on January 20.

Foreigner cap

Each team is allowed as many foreign players in their squad as they desire, however there is a rule that only permits 3 foreign players the pitch at any one time for each side. In the past there have been breaches of this rule and in the 2006/07 season PAS Tehran F.C. were deducted 1 point for fielding 4 foreigners on one occasion and handed a 3-0 loss.

Suspensions

Players receive a one match suspension when they receive 3 yellow cards at any point of the season.

Persian Gulf Cup clubs

Persian Gulf Cup members for 2007-08

The following eighteen clubs will be competing in the Persian Gulf Cup during the 2007-08 season.

Club
 Finishing position
in 2006-07 		First season in
IPL 		First season of
current spell in
IPL
Aboomoslem 6th 2001–02 2001–02
Bargh Shiraz 12th 2001–02 2001–02
Esteghlal Ahvaz 2nd 2002–03 2002–03
Esteghlal Tehran 4th 2001–02 2001–02
Malavan 14th 2001–02 2004–05
Mes Kerman 9th 2006–07 2006–07
Moghavemat Shiraz 10th 2001–02 2001–02
PAS Hamedan N/A 2007–08 2007–08
Paykan 7th 2001–02 2006–07
Pegah 1st in Azadegan League (play-off winner) 2003–04 2007–08
Persepolis 3rd 2001–02 2001–02
Rah Ahan 16th 2005–06 2005–06
Saba Battery 13th 2004–05 2004–05
Saipa 1st 2001–02 2001–02
Sanat Naft Azadegan League (automatic promotion) 2007–08 2007–08
Sepahan 5th 2001–02 2001–02
Shirin Faraz Azadegan League (play-off winner) 2007–08 2007–08
Zob Ahan 8th 2001–02 2001–02

League champions

Local Leagues

Takht Jamshid Cup

1980s

  • 1979-1989 No national League Competition only Espandi Cup in 1979 and provincial leagues throughout the 1980s.


Qods League

Azadegan League

IPL

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.

Total Championships

The number of national championships that clubs in Iran have attained. (Since 1973)

Club
 Number of Championships
Persepolis F.C. 7
Esteghlal F.C. 5
Pas F.C. 5
Saipa F.C. 3
Sepahan F.C. 1
Foolad F.C. 1

Top scorers

See also: Iranian Club Football Season by Season Top Goalscorers

All-time top scorers in Iranian Top Division

Rank Player Goals
1 Iran Edmond Bezik 84
2 Iran Ali Asghar Modir Roosta 82
3 Iran Reza Enayati 80
4 Iran Ali Daei 72
5 Iran Reza Sahebi 67
6 Iran Rasoul Khatibi 66
Includes when Azadegan League and Takht Jamshid Cup were Top Division[3]

All-time top scorers in Iran Pro League

See main article:Iranian Club Football Top All-time Goal Scorers (Only IPL)
Rank Player Goals
1 Iran Reza Enayati 80
2 Iran Fereydoon Fazli 60
3 Iran Mehdi Rajabzadeh 51
4 Iran Ali Daei 48
5 Iran Abbas Aghaei 44
6 Iran Rasoul Khatibi 42
7 Iran Arash Borhani 35
8 Iran Mohsen Bayatinia 34
9 Iran Javad Kazemian 34
10 Iran Javad Nekounam 33
Includes only Iran Pro League since its establishment in 2001 as Top Division

See also

Notes

  1. ^ "[[:Template:Fa icon]] برنامه‌ي كامل دور رفت ششمين دوره‌ي ليگ برتر فوتبال؛ ليگ برتر به «خليج فارس» تغيير نام داد". ISNA. Retrieved 2006-08-14. {{cite web}}: URL–wikilink conflict (help)
  2. ^ "[[:Template:Fa icon]]برترين طرح ارائه شده براي ليگ برتر انتخاب شد". IRIFF Official Website. Retrieved 2006-11-24. {{cite web}}: URL–wikilink conflict (help)
  3. ^ "[[:Template:Fa icon]]شهريار به‌ بزيک، مديرروستا و عنايتى‌ نرسيد على‌ دايى‌ در 72 متوقف‌ شد". Khabar Varzeshi Official Website. Retrieved 2007-05-30. {{cite web}}: External link in |publisher= (help); URL–wikilink conflict (help)

External links


Template:Fb start {{IPL}} may refer to:

{{Template disambiguation}} should never be transcluded in the main namespace.

Template:Fb end Template:Fb start

Template:Fb end

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Persian_Gulf_Pro_League&oldid=212453344"