Esteghlal Shahrdari Rasht Football Club () commonly known as Esteghlal Rasht, is a

football club A football team is a group of players selected to play together in the various team sports known as football. Such teams could be selected to play in a match against an opposing team, to represent a football club, group, state or nation, an all- ...

, based in

Rasht Rasht ( fa, رشت, Rašt ; glk, Rəšt, script=Latn; also romanized as Resht and Rast, and often spelt ''Recht'' in French and older German manuscripts) is the capital city of Gilan Province, Iran. Also known as the "City of Rain" (, ''Ŝahre B ...

, Gilan, Iran. The club was founded in 1983. First dissolved in 2002, the club was refounded later. The club plays currently in the

Gilan Province League Gilan Provincial League is the premier football league of Gilan Province, Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to th ...

History

Establishment

The club was known as Esteghlal Gaz Rasht in

1992–93 Iran Football's 2nd Division Year 199 ( CXCIX) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was sometimes known as year 952 ''Ab urbe condita''. The denomination 199 for this year has been used since the ...

due to sponsorship. After playing many years in

Iran Football's 2nd Division Iranian football's 2nd division ( fa, ليگ دسته دوم ایران) is the third-highest football division overall in the Iranian football league system. Before 2001, the 2nd division league was the second-highest division in Iranian football ...

, they were promoted to

Azadegan League The Azadegan League ( fa, ليگ آزادگان, ''Lig-e Âzâdegân''), also known as League 1 ( fa, لیگ یک, ''Lig-e Yek''), is the second highest division of professional football in Iran. It was the top-level football league in Iran from ...

in 2000. They finished 10th in 2000–01 season. But only one year later they were relegated again. They finished 13th in that season.

Dissolution

Due to financial problems and relegation, Esteghlal Rasht sold their licence to ''Pegah Dairy Company''. The new club was named as Pegah Gilan. Many players and their coach

Majid Jahanpour Majid Jahanpour ( fa, مجید جهانپور, ) is a former Iranian Football player and coach who played for Rah Ahan and Sepidrood Rasht. Jahanpour currently coaches club S.C. Damash Sport Club Damash Gilan ( fa, باشگاه ورزشی د� ...

moved to

Pegah Gilan Pegah Gilan Football Club ( fa, باشگاه فوتبال پگاه گیلان) was an Iranian football club based in Rasht, Iran that participated in the Iran Pro League and Azadegan League from 2002 to 2008. Club history The club began its life ...

. On 5 August 2002, Esteghlal Rasht was officially dissolvedand it is known as Damashguilan sc

Refounding

However Esteghlal Rasht was refounded years later and able to play in

Stadium

Dr. Azodi Stadium is the home stadium of Esteghlal Rasht since 1990. It has a current capacity of 11,000 spectators. The stadium is named after Dr. Hassan Azodi who was killed on June 28, 1982, in an explosion at the central office of the

Islamic Republican Party The Islamic Republican Party (IRP; fa, حزب جمهوری اسلامی, Ḥezb-e Jomhūrī-e Eslāmī, also translated Islamic Republic Party) formed in 1979 to assist the Iranian Revolution and Ayatollah Khomeini establish theocracy in Iran. ...

. It is also the home venue of local rivals Damash and Sepidrood.

Seasons

The table below chronicles the achievements of Esteghlal Rasht in various competitions since 1990.

Club managers

(1990) *

Farhad Kazemi Farhad Kazemi ( fa, فرهاد کاظمی; born 1 July 1959 in Tehran) is an Iranian football coach With many professional clubs in his résumé, Kazemi has established himself as one of the top coaches in a country which has many enthusiastic f ...

(2000) *

(2000–2001) *

Nasser Hejazi Nasser Hejazi (Persian: ناصر حجازی ''nāser hejāzi''; 14 December 1949 – 23 May 2011), nicknamed "the legendary Iranian goalkeeper", was an Iranian football player and coach who most notably played for Esteghlal (Taj). Considered a ...

(2001–2002) *

(2002)

References

Association football clubs established in 1983 Association football clubs disestablished in 2002 Defunct football clubs in Iran Sport in Gilan Province 1983 establishments in Iran 2002 disestablishments in Iran {{Iran-footyclub-stub