The Persian Gulf Pro League (, ''Lig-e Bartar-e Xalij-e Fârs''), formerly known as the Iran Premier League (, ''Lig-e bartar-e Irân''), is a professional

association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

league 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 ...

and the highest level of the

Iranian football league system The Iranian football league system is a series of interconnected leagues for soccer, football clubs in Iran. Structure The current structure has been in place since 2001. The Iran's Premier Football League, Pro League is the highest level of cl ...

. It is controlled by the

FFIRI The Football Federation Islamic Republic of Iran (FFIRI; , ''Fadrasion fotbal Jamehori Eslami Iran'') is the governing body for football in Iran. It was founded in 1920. The federation has been a member of FIFA since 1948 and a member of the Asian ...

and is contested by 16 teams over a 30-matchday period. Each year, its top team becomes the Iranian football champion, and the two lowest finishers are relegated to 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 ...

. Since 2013, the league comprises 16 teams. The winner of the Persian Gulf Pro League along with the

Hazfi Cup Hazfi Cup (, ) formerly known as Pahlavi Cup () is an Iranian knockout football competition held annually by the Football Federation Islamic Republic of Iran. The Iranian Football League, Iranian football league was not held during the 1980s, h ...

champion automatically qualify for the

AFC Champions League Elite The AFC Champions League Elite (abbreviated as the ACL Elite) is an annual continental club association football, football competition organised by the Asian Football Confederation, and contested by Asia's List of top-division football clubs i ...

group stages. The third of the Persian Gulf Pro League is qualified for the AFC Champions League Elite Play-off round. The bottom two teams in the league are relegated to Azadegan League. In the past, the format and number of teams were changed for various times.

History

To the turn of the millennium the Iranian Football Federation decided to create a new professional football league. In 2001, the ''Iran Pro League'' was founded as the new top-level football league in Iran. After the Iran Pro League was established as the professional football league of Iran, Azadegan League was declared as the second-highest league in the

. The Iran Pro League comprised 14 clubs until the 2003–04 season. The first winner of the Iran Pro League was

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 ...

, who beat Esteghlal by one point on the final match day. Esteghlal Rasht 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 ...

's 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 ...

had been relegated to the Azadegan League. Tractor took eight years to return to Iran's highest division The runner-up of the 2002–03 season, PAS Tehran, became the Iranian football champion of the

2003–04 Iran Pro League The following is the standings of the Persian Gulf Cup's 2003–04 football season. This was the third season since the establishment of the Iran Pro League (Persian Gulf Cup). Pas Tehran F.C. were defending champions. Final classification Re ...

. It was the last Iranian championship for PAS Tehran. PAS Tehran's professional football team was dissolved in 2007. In 2004, the number of teams was increased from 14 to 16 teams. Foolad of

Ahvaz Ahvaz (; ) is a city in the Central District of Ahvaz County, Khuzestan province, Iran, serving as capital of the province, the county, and the district. It is home to Persians, Arabs and other groups such as Qashqai and Kurds. Languages spok ...

became the first champion from

Khuzestan Province Khuzestan province () is one of the 31 Provinces of Iran. Located in the southwest of the country, the province borders Iraq and the Persian Gulf, covering an area of . Its capital is the city of Ahvaz. Since 2014, it has been part of Iran's R ...

. In the

2005–06 Iran Pro League The 2005–06 Iran Pro League was the 23rd season of Persian Gulf Pro League, Iran's Football League and fifth as Persian Gulf Pro League, Iran Pro League since its establishment in 2001. Foolad F.C., Foolad were the 2004–05 Iran Pro League, def ...

Esteghlal celebrated their first championship since 2001. Shamoushak Noshahr and Shahid Ghandi (today known as Tarbiat Yazd) relegated to Azadegan League.

Persian Gulf Cup

On 12 August 2006, the Iranian Football Federation decided to give the league another name. Since then, the league had been primarily known in Iran as ''Persian Gulf Cup'' (PGC). The Football Federation decided this to promote the Persian naming. The name of the

Persian Gulf The Persian Gulf, sometimes called the Arabian Gulf, is a Mediterranean seas, mediterranean sea in West Asia. The body of water is an extension of the Arabian Sea and the larger Indian Ocean located between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula.Un ...

has been disputed by some Arab countries since the 1960s due to political and ethnic differences between Iran and Arab countries. The football Federation decided also to change the logo of the league. The final logo was selected from over 130 designs and unveiled on 14 November 2006.

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

2006–07 Persian Gulf Cup The 2006–07 Persian Gulf Cup (also known as Iran Pro League) was the 24th season of Iran's Football League and sixth season of Iran Pro League since its establishment in 2001. Esteghlal were the defending champions. The season featured 14 tea ...

. Until 2007, six different teams won the league title successively. A foreign player became the league's top goal scorer. Nigerian striker Daniel Olerum scored 17 goals in 27 matches for

Aboomoslem Football Club Abu Muslim (, ''Bashgah-e Futbal-e Abumislâm-e Xorasan''), commonly known as Abu Muslim, is an Iranian football club based in Mashhad, Razavi Khorasan, that competes in the League 3. The club was founded in 1970 and is named aft ...

. The winner of only two seasons before, Foolad, had to relegated to

. Before the start of the 2007–08 season the number of teams was increased from 16 to 18 teams. The professional football team of PAS Tehran was also dissolved before the start of the season. Instead of PAS Tehran a new club was founded in

Hamadan Hamadan ( ; , ) is a mountainous city in western Iran. It is located in the Central District of Hamadan County in Hamadan province, serving as the capital of the province, county, and district. As of the 2016 Iranian census, it had a po ...

and named

PAS Hamedan PAS Hamedan Football Club (, ''Bashgag-e Futbal-e Pas Hemidan'') is an Iranian football club based in Hamedan, Iran and compete in the Azadegan League. The club was formed after the dissolution of Pas Tehran in 2007. History Establishment PAS H ...

. In 2008, Saba Battery was also moved from Tehran to

Qom Qom (; ) is a city in the Central District of Qom County, Qom province, Iran, serving as capital of the province, the county, and the district. It is the seventh largest metropolis and also the seventh largest city in Iran. The city is ...

. Since then, the club is known as Saba Qom. The championship of the 2007–08 season was decided on the last matchday.

defeated

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 ...

. Sanat Naft and

Shirin Faraz Rahiyan Kermanshah Football Club () (formerly named ''Shirin Faraz'') is an Iranian Football (soccer), football club based in Kermanshah, Iran and compete in the Azadegan League. The club is in the private ownership of Farman Karimi. History Es ...

(today known as Rahian Kermanshah) relegated to

. The next

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 ...

was dominated by Esteghlal and the two surprising teams Zob Ahan and

Mes Kerman Mes Kerman Football Club (, ''Bashgah-e Futbal-e Sân't-e Mes Kârman'') is an Iranian professional association football, football team based in Kerman, Iran. They were promoted to Iran's top league, the Iran Pro League, in the 2005–06 season. ...

. Zob Ahan was the leading team after 75 minutes on matchday 34, before they lost their match against Foolad due to three conceded goals in the last 15 minutes with 1–4. Payam Mashhad had to relegated alongside Bargh Shiraz and Damash. The

2009–10 Persian Gulf Cup The 2009–10 Persian Gulf Cup (also known as Iran Pro League) was the 27th season of Iran's Football League and ninth as Iran Pro League since its establishment in 2001. Esteghlal were the defending champions. The season featured 15 teams from ...

was dominated by the two

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 ...

based clubs

and Zob Ahan. Ultimately Sepahan won the league. Sepahan repeated their success by winning the

2010–11 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...

and

2011–12 Persian Gulf Cup The 2011–12 Persian Gulf Cup (also known as Iran Pro League) was the 29th season of Iran's Football League and 11th as Iran Pro League since its establishment in 2001. Sepahan were the defending champions. The season featured 15 teams from th ...

. Esteghlal won the

2012–13 Persian Gulf Cup The 2012–13 Persian Gulf Cup (also known as Iran Pro League) was the 30th season of Persian Gulf Pro League, Iran's Football League and 12th as Persian Gulf Pro League, Iran Pro League since its establishment in 2001. Sepahan F.C., Sepahan were ...

and became for the eight time in their history the Iranian champion. The League was scaled down from 18 to 16 teams before the beginning of the next season. Foolad won the

2013–14 Persian Gulf Cup The 2013–14 Persian Gulf Cup (also known as Iran Pro League) was the 31st season of Persian Gulf Pro League, Iran's Football League and 13th as Persian Gulf Pro League, Iran Pro League since its establishment in 2001. Esteghlal F.C., Esteghlal ...

. Foolad saved their championship after they defeated Gostaresh Foulad away .

Persian Gulf Pro League

The league changed its name from ''Persian Gulf Cup'' to ''Persian Gulf Pro League'' in 2014. The Iranian Football Federation decided also to change the logos of the Persian Gulf Pro League and of the

. The

2014–15 Persian Gulf Pro League The 2014–15 Persian Gulf Pro League (formerly known as Iran Pro League) was the 32nd season of Persian Gulf Pro League, Iran's Football League and 14th as Persian Gulf Pro League since its establishment in 2001. Foolad F.C., Foolad were the 2 ...

was embossed by a championship battle between

and Naft Tehran. Furthermore, there were strange events in the stadium, including a lot of misinformation and disturbed telecommunication. Although Sepahan secured their title with a 2–0 victory over Saipa, thousands of Tractor supporters celebrated on the pitch, believing that they won the league for the first time in club's history. Also the

2015–16 Persian Gulf Pro League The 2015–16 Persian Gulf Pro League (formerly known as Iran Pro League) was the 33rd season of Persian Gulf Pro League, Iran's Football League and 15th as Persian Gulf Pro League since its establishment in 2001. Sepahan F.C., Sepahan were the 20 ...

was not decided until the last matchday.

Esteghlal Khuzestan Esteghlal Khuzestan Football Club (, ''Bašgâh-e Futbâl-e Esteqlâl-e Xuzestân''), commonly known as Esteghlal Khuzestan, is an Iranian Football (soccer), football club based in Ahvaz, Iran. The club currently competes in the Persian Gulf Pr ...

won the league in front of

and Esteghlal. Persepolis missed their opportunity winning the league after eight years. However, Persepolis dominated the next season and won the

2016–17 Persian Gulf Pro League The 2016–17 Persian Gulf Pro League (formerly known as Iran Pro League) was the 34th season of Persian Gulf Pro League, Iran's Football League and 16th as Persian Gulf Pro League since its establishment in 2001. Esteghlal Khuzestan F.C., Esteghl ...

. Persepolis football team claimed the Iran Professional League (IPL) and repeated the title in 2017-18 Season. The Following Season Persepolis again were champion for three times in a row.

Format

In the past, the number of teams was changed at various times. Since 2013, the league comprises 16 teams. Over the course of a season, which runs annually from July to the following May, each team plays twice against the others in the league, once at home and once away, resulting in each team competing in 30 games in total. Three points are awarded for a win, one for a draw and zero for a loss. The teams are ranked in the league table by points gained, then goal difference, then goals scored and then their head-to-head record for that season. At the end of the season, the club with the most points becomes the Iranian champion. Currently, the Champions, the Runners Up and the

champions qualify automatically for the group phase of the

AFC Champions League The AFC Champions League Elite (abbreviated as the ACL Elite) is an annual continental club association football, football competition organised by the Asian Football Confederation, and contested by Asia's List of top-division football clubs i ...

, while the third-place team enters the AFC Champions League at the Play-off round. The bottom two teams are relegated to

. Furthermore, all teams in the Persian Gulf Pro League can participate in the

Logo

Ranking

Clubs (2024–25)

Champions

Persian Gulf Pro League Total

All-time Pro League table

Source
iplstats.com
''
Notes:
Only league matches; play-offs are not included in the all-time table.

Attendances

Average league attendances

Notes:
Matches with spectator bans are not included in average attendances.
The official game reports can be found under the match schedule on iranleague.ir. The viewer numbers are noted in these. This results in average attendance.

Highest attended season matches

Records

All-Time Persian Gulf League Top Scorers

''Players in bold are still active in the league.'' *GPGR: Goals Per Game Ratio

All-time top appearances in Iran league

Broadcasting and sponsorship

Broadcasting

The state-owned television channel

IRIB The Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB; ) or Seda va Sima () for short, formerly called National Iranian Radio and Television until the Iranian revolution of 1979, is an Iranian state-controlled media corporation that holds a monopo ...

has the

broadcasting rights Broadcasting rights (often also called media rights) are rights which a broadcasting organization negotiates with a commercial concern - such as a sports governing body or film distributor - in order to show that company's products on television o ...

for the most matches of the Persian Gulf Pro League,

and

. Each match of Esteghlal and

is broadcasting by

IRIB TV3 IRIB TV3 () is one of the 32 national television channels in Iran. It is the third television channel created by the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting, and started broadcasting on 4 December 1993. The channel is often referred to as the ' ...

, IRIB's channel. After 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 ...

, the right to broadcast the Iranian leagues was exclusively given to

. The organization broadcast matches throughout the decades in SD

240p Low-definition television (LDTV) refers to TV systems that have a lower screen resolution than standard-definition television systems. The term is usually used in reference to digital television, in particular when broadcasting at the same (or s ...

and below, drawing criticism from the sports media. It was announced in 2024 that the image quality will be upgraded to HD in the coming years.

Sponsorship

The Persian Gulf Pro League has been sponsored since 2005. There have been four sponsors since the league's formation. * 2001–2005: no sponsor * 2005–2007: Zamzam * 2007–2009: Padideh * 2009–2014: Irancell * 2014–2016: Sun Star * 2016–present: Fanap

Ownership

Awards

Trophy

The league championship trophy is made up of two parts, the main part is shiny Chrome and the smaller part shiny golden in color. The sides of the trophy are taken from the armour of two Persian

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 ...

soldiers. This trophy also has references to the Persian Gulf. Every season, a new copy of this trophy, which takes about one and a half months to make, is made by artisans to be presented to the champions. Medals are also distributed. The medals and the championship trophy are made of brass metal, the medals and the championship trophy are both

gold plated Gold plating is a method of depositing a thin layer of gold onto the surface of another metal, most often copper or silver (to make silver-gilt), by a chemical or electrochemical (electroplating) process. Plating refers to modern coating meth ...

Notes

References

External links

Persian Gulf Pro League
– official website (archived)
Persian Gulf Pro League
at Soccerway.com

at RSSSF {{Articles Related to Persian Gulf 1

2001 establishments in Iran Sports leagues established in 2001 Professional sports leagues in Iran