Azadegan League
Country | Iran |
---|---|
Confederation | AFC |
Founded |
1991 officially 2001 with current format |
Divisions | 1 |
Number of teams | 18 (since 2016) |
Level on pyramid |
2 (2001–) 1 (1991–2001) |
Promotion to | Persian Gulf Pro League |
Relegation to | League 2 |
Domestic cup(s) | Hazfi Cup |
Current champions |
Paykan (2015–16) |
TV partners | IRIB |
Website | www.lig1.ir |
2016–17 Azadegan League |
The Azadegan League (Persian: ليگ آزادگان) (also called League 1) is one of two fully professional football leagues in Iran,[1] and the second-highest professional league in the Iranian football league system after the Persian Gulf Pro League. The top two teans from the group automatically get promoted to the Persian Gulf Pro League. The three worst teams are directly relegated to the 2nd Division.
In 1991 the league was founded as Iran's top division. But, after the creation of the Persian Gulf Pro League in 2001, the Azadegan League was declared as the second highest football league in the county.
Since the leagues inception as the official second division in 2001, no club has ever won the league title multiple times. Paykan has come the closest to achieving the feat, finishing as runners-up in the 2005–06 season and winning the league in the 2011–12 season.
In the summer of 2015 the format of the league was changed from a two group league to a one group and 20 team league. The format was again changed after the 2015–16 season as the number of teams was reduced to 18.
History
The first national league in Iran after the revolution was founded in 1989 with the name of Qods League. Esteghlal became winners of the first edition of the league.
In 1991, the national league was named to Azadegan League in honor of the Iranian prisoners of war who were released. 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 also able to capture Asian Club Championships in the early 1990s. By the mid-90s Persepolis and Esteghlal regained their dominant form and the league champions in the period of 1995-2001 was either Esteghlal or Persepolis.
Until 2001 the league was the highest division football league in Iran, but that changed when the Iranian Football Federation decided to start a professional league. The Persian Gulf Pro League was created and since then, the Azadegan League became the second-highest division in the Iranian football league system.
In the summer of 2015, before the start of the 2015–16 season, the Iranian Football Federation decided to change the format of the league and make a one group, twenty team league, instead of a two group and twenty-four team league.
Ownership
Hazfi Cup
All teams in the Azadegan League are entered in the Hazfi Cup, if any club from the Azadegan League wins the cup, they participate in the AFC Champions League. Since 2001, when Azadegan League became the second-highest division league, no team from Azadegan League has become Hazfi Cup champion. Gostaresh Foolad is the only club from the Azadegan League that has reached the final of the Hazfi Cup.
Format
The Azadegan League consists of two subdivisions, each having 12 teams. The top teams in each group are automatically promoted to the Persian Gulf Pro League, while the second place teams play each other in a home and away play-off to decide the third and last promotion spot. The eleventh and twelfth placed teams in the groups are automatically relegated to the 2nd division. Sometimes the playoff match format is not used and one match takes place between the teams on a neutral ground instead.
League Champions
Season | Winner | Runner Up |
---|---|---|
As first-highest Iran's football division (1991–2001) | ||
1991–92 | Pas Tehran | Esteghlal Tehran |
1992–93 | Pas Tehran | Persepolis |
1993–94 | Saipa | Persepolis |
1994–95 | Saipa | Esteghlal Tehran |
1995–96 | Persepolis | Bahman |
1996–97 | Persepolis | Bahman |
1997–98 | Esteghlal Tehran | Pas Tehran |
1998–99 | Persepolis | Esteghlal Tehran |
1999–00 | Persepolis | Esteghlal Tehran |
2000–01 | Esteghlal Tehran | Persepolis |
As second-highest Iran's football division (2001–) | ||
2001–02 | Esteghlal Ahvaz | Sanat Naft |
2002–03 | Shamoushak Noshahr | Pegah Gilan |
2003–04 | Saba Battery | Malavan |
2004–05 | Shahid Ghandi Yazd | Rah Ahan |
2005–06 | Mes Kerman | Paykan |
2006–07 | Shirin Faraz | Pegah Gilan |
2007–08 | Payam Mashhad | Sepahan Novin |
2008–09 | Tractor Sazi | Steel Azin |
2009–10 | Naft Tehran | Shahrdari Tabriz |
2010–11 | Damash Gilan[2] | Mes Sarcheshmeh |
2011–12 | Paykan | Aluminium Hormozgan |
2012–13 | Esteghlal Khuzestan | Gostaresh Foolad |
2013–14 | Naft Masjed Soleyman | Padideh |
2014–15 | Foolad Novin | Siah Jamegan |
2015–16 | Paykan | Machine Sazi |
All-time Azadegan League (As second-highest Iran's football division) standings
Since the 2001–02 season, fifteen seasons of the Azadegan League have been completed. The table below shows the total ranking for the all football clubs competing in all 15 seasons. Teams in bold compete in 2016–17 season.
Pos. | Club | Seasons | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Best Rank |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Nassaji Mazandaran | 13 | 336 | 116 | 102 | 118 | 353 | 370 | -17 | 4471 | 3rd |
2 | Mashin Sazi Tabriz | 12 | 313 | 91 | 104 | 115 | 323 | 389 | -66 | 377 | 2nd |
3 | Naft Abadan | 9 | 229 | 101 | 69 | 59 | 294 | 206 | +88 | 372 | 2nd |
4 | Aluminium Arak | 11 | 284 | 88 | 93 | 103 | 300 | 324 | -24 | 357 | 4th |
5 | Mes Rafsanjan | 9 | 235 | 83 | 85 | 67 | 254 | 212 | +42 | 334 | 2nd |
6 | Payam Mashhad | 9 | 218 | 82 | 73 | 63 | 266 | 236 | +30 | 3172 | Champions |
7 | Niroo Zamini | 11 | 260 | 78 | 82 | 100 | 242 | 282 | -40 | 316 | 3rd |
8 | Tarbiat Yazd | 9 | 220 | 81 | 82 | 67 | 251 | 217 | +34 | 315 | Champions |
9 | Gol Gohar | 9 | 235 | 76 | 83 | 76 | 256 | 242 | -14 | 311 | 5th |
10 | Damash Gilan | 7 | 185 | 83 | 49 | 44 | 222 | 150 | +72 | 303 | Champions |
11 | Iranjavan | 9 | 232 | 72 | 83 | 77 | 245 | 257 | -12 | 299 | 2nd |
12 | Tractor Sazi Tabriz | 7 | 172 | 78 | 56 | 38 | 210 | 148 | +62 | 290 | Champions |
13 | Rahian Kermanshah | 8 | 197 | 66 | 76 | 54 | 191 | 172 | +19 | 274 | Champions |
14 | Sh. Bandar Abbas | 10 | 217 | 71 | 70 | 76 | 229 | 216 | +13 | 270 | 2nd |
15 | Aluminium Hormozgan | 7 | 188 | 67 | 67 | 54 | 200 | 177 | +23 | 268 | 2nd |
16 | Mes Kerman | 7 | 184 | 69 | 60 | 55 | 202 | 169 | +31 | 267 | Champions |
17 | Homa | 8 | 194 | 67 | 64 | 63 | 195 | 195 | 0 | 265 | 5th |
18 | Shahrdari Zanjan | 8 | 192 | 59 | 62 | 71 | 197 | 215 | -18 | 239 | 5th |
19 | Etka | 8 | 185 | 60 | 57 | 68 | 196 | 204 | -8 | 237 | 3rd |
20 | Shahrdari Tabriz | 6 | 143 | 61 | 48 | 34 | 170 | 120 | +50 | 231 | 2nd |
21 | Naft Masjed Soleyman | 5 | 140 | 51 | 51 | 37 | 169 | 150 | +19 | 205 | 2nd |
22 | Paykan | 4 | 110 | 55 | 35 | 20 | 157 | 90 | +67 | 200 | Champions |
23 | Pas Hamedan | 5 | 135 | 52 | 36 | 47 | 129 | 124 | +5 | 192 | 3rd |
24 | Shamoushak | 6 | 146 | 47 | 51 | 48 | 134 | 136 | -2 | 192 | Champions |
25 | Foolad Yazd | 6 | 161 | 45 | 56 | 60 | 143 | 164 | -21 | 191 | 5th |
26 | Shahin Bushehr | 6 | 140 | 48 | 40 | 52 | 147 | 160 | -13 | 184 | 2nd |
27 | Padideh | 4 | 102 | 47 | 37 | 18 | 127 | 69 | +58 | 178 | Champions |
28 | Oghab Tehran | 5 | 124 | 46 | 39 | 39 | 151 | 118 | +33 | 177 | 4th |
29 | Gahar Doroud | 6 | 150 | 43 | 47 | 60 | 133 | 169 | -36 | 176 | 3rd |
30 | Bargh Tehran | 5 | 124 | 45 | 38 | 41 | 134 | 120 | +14 | 173 | 4th |
31 | Parseh Tehran | 5 | 135 | 41 | 61 | 43 | 147 | 149 | -2 | 172 | 3rd |
32 | Gostaresh | 4 | 104 | 44 | 32 | 28 | 131 | 111 | +20 | 164 | 2nd |
33 | Moghavemate Mersad | 5 | 114 | 40 | 35 | 39 | 127 | 120 | +7 | 155 | 4th |
34 | Esteghlal Ahvaz | 5 | 118 | 39 | 33 | 46 | 122 | 137 | -15 | 150 | Champions |
35 | Shahrdari Yasuj | 4 | 102 | 39 | 27 | 36 | 104 | 96 | +8 | 144 | 3rd |
36 | Rah Ahan | 4 | 102 | 36 | 29 | 37 | 106 | 110 | -4 | 137 | 2nd |
37 | Aboumoslem | 4 | 102 | 33 | 37 | 32 | 115 | 112 | +3 | 136 | 5th |
38 | Sorkhpooshan | 4 | 86 | 35 | 29 | 22 | 107 | 79 | +28 | 134 | 3rd |
39 | Fajr Sepasi | 3 | 86 | 35 | 26 | 25 | 85 | 63 | +22 | 131 | 2nd |
40 | Sanati Kaveh | 4 | 100 | 31 | 29 | 40 | 106 | 115 | -8 | 122 | 8th |
41 | Steel Azin | 3 | 74 | 38 | 19 | 17 | 119 | 81 | +38 | 1213 | 2nd |
42 | Sepahan Novin | 3 | 74 | 33 | 20 | 21 | 105 | 80 | +25 | 119 | 2nd |
43 | Bargh Shiraz | 4 | 104 | 29 | 30 | 45 | 91 | 129 | -38 | 117 | 3rd |
44 | Payam Mokhaberat | 4 | 104 | 27 | 33 | 44 | 91 | 110 | -19 | 114 | 8th |
45 | Saba Battery | 2 | 60 | 29 | 20 | 11 | 86 | 53 | +33 | 107 | Champions |
46 | Giti Pasand | 3 | 84 | 24 | 31 | 29 | 81 | 91 | -10 | 103 | 5th |
47 | Kowsar | 4 | 94 | 22 | 30 | 42 | 86 | 120 | -34 | 96 | 8th |
48 | Persepolis Shomal | 3 | 76 | 23 | 20 | 33 | 74 | 96 | -22 | 86 | 8th |
49 | Siah Jamegan | 2 | 45 | 23 | 15 | 7 | 52 | 32 | +20 | 84 | 2nd |
50 | Esteghlal Khuzestan | 2 | 52 | 22 | 15 | 15 | 52 | 41 | +11 | 81 | Champions |
51 | Deyhim Ahvaz | 4 | 90 | 18 | 22 | 50 | 84 | 157 | -73 | 76 | 9th |
52 | Petrochimi Tabriz | 2 | 52 | 20 | 15 | 17 | 66 | 63 | +3 | 75 | 3rd |
53 | Foolad Novin | 2 | 48 | 20 | 11 | 17 | 62 | 55 | +7 | 71 | Champions |
54 | Keshto Sannat Shooshtar | 3 | 66 | 16 | 23 | 27 | 65 | 89 | -24 | 71 | 6th |
55 | Shahrdari Ardabil | 2 | 60 | 17 | 19 | 24 | 67 | 72 | -5 | 70 | 6th |
56 | Alvand Hamedan | 2 | 50 | 17 | 14 | 19 | 56 | 57 | -1 | 65 | 4th |
57 | Ekbatan | 3 | 66 | 13 | 21 | 32 | 52 | 92 | -40 | 66 | 9th |
58 | Mehrkam Pars | 2 | 52 | 16 | 15 | 21 | 53 | 62 | -9 | 63 | 9th |
59 | Yazd Louleh | 2 | 50 | 15 | 17 | 18 | 58 | 53 | +5 | 62 | 7th |
60 | Sanat Sari | 2 | 52 | 15 | 16 | 21 | 38 | 58 | -20 | 61 | 7th |
61 | Naft Gachsaran | 2 | 46 | 15 | 15 | 16 | 51 | 56 | -5 | 60 | 7th |
62 | Kheybar Khorramabad | 2 | 60 | 14 | 18 | 28 | 66 | 98 | -35 | 60 | 12th |
63 | Khooneh Be Khooneh | 1 | 38 | 14 | 16 | 8 | 39 | 34 | +5 | 58 | 6th |
64 | Malavan | 1 | 30 | 15 | 10 | 5 | 56 | 21 | +35 | 55 | 2nd |
65 | Fajr Sepah | 2 | 50 | 12 | 19 | 19 | 44 | 56 | -12 | 55 | 5th |
66 | Naft Tehran | 1 | 26 | 13 | 10 | 3 | 33 | 16 | +17 | 49 | Champions |
67 | Shahin Ahvaz | 1 | 22 | 13 | 5 | 4 | 33 | 15 | +18 | 44 | 3rd |
68 | Foolad Khuzestan | 1 | 74 | 10 | 13 | 51 | 51 | 152 | -101 | 43 | 12th |
69 | Pasargad Tehran | 1 | 22 | 11 | 6 | 5 | 41 | 26 | +15 | 39 | 3rd |
70 | Tarbiat Khorasan | 1 | 30 | 7 | 10 | 13 | 26 | 38 | -12 | 31 | 12th |
71 | Foolad Natanz | 1 | 26 | 6 | 10 | 10 | 30 | 36 | -6 | 28 | 14th |
72 | Pegah Shush | 1 | 22 | 5 | 12 | 5 | 24 | 21 | +3 | 27 | 7th |
73 | Esteghlal Dezful | 1 | 22 | 6 | 7 | 9 | 19 | 21 | -2 | 27 | 6th |
74 | Hafari Ahvaz | 1 | 26 | 6 | 8 | 12 | 40 | 42 | -2 | 26 | 12th |
75 | Part Sazan | 1 | 20 | 6 | 5 | 6 | 17 | 26 | -9 | 26 | 8th |
76 | Sanam Tehran | 1 | 20 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 23 | 24 | -1 | 25 | 5th |
77 | Esteghlal Kish | 1 | 22 | 7 | 4 | 11 | 25 | 32 | -7 | 25 | 8th |
78 | Badr Hormozgan | 1 | 24 | 9 | 4 | 11 | 21 | 30 | -9 | 254 | 11th |
79 | Nirou Moharekeh | 1 | 30 | 5 | 10 | 15 | 21 | 43 | -22 | 25 | 15th |
80 | Shahrdari Kerman | 2 | 42 | 6 | 7 | 29 | 28 | 92 | -64 | 25 | 11th |
81 | Ararat Tehran | 1 | 20 | 5 | 7 | 8 | 12 | 18 | -6 | 22 | 9th |
82 | Pas Arak | 1 | 20 | 6 | 4 | 10 | 21 | 33 | -12 | 22 | 9th |
83 | Shahrdari Bushehr | 1 | 20 | 5 | 5 | 10 | 20 | 25 | -5 | 20 | 10th |
84 | Nozhan Mazandaran | 1 | 22 | 4 | 8 | 10 | 12 | 22 | -10 | 20 | 11th |
85 | Sepidrood Rasht | 1 | 26 | 4 | 8 | 14 | 21 | 39 | -18 | 20 | 14th |
86 | Chooka Talesh | 1 | 20 | 4 | 4 | 12 | 17 | 37 | -20 | 16 | 10th |
87 | Yadavaran Shalamcheh | 1 | 26 | 3 | 7 | 16 | 12 | 35 | -23 | 16 | 14th |
88 | Irsotter Noshahr | 1 | 20 | 4 | 3 | 13 | 17 | 42 | -25 | 15 | 11th |
89 | Shahrdari Langarud | 1 | 22 | 2 | 6 | 14 | 17 | 39 | -22 | 12 | 12th |
90 | Pars Jam | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | — |
91 | Oxin Alborz | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | — |
92 | Baadraan Tehran | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | — |
1 Nassaji Mazandaran was docked 3 points in 2012–13 season issued by Iranian Football Federation.
2 Payam Mashhad was docked 3 points in 2010–11 season issued by Iranian Football Federation.
3 Steel Azin was docked 12 points in 2011–12 season issued by FIFA.
4 Badr Hormozgan was docked 6 points in 2013–14 season issued by Iranian Football Federation.
Top Goal Scorer
As second-highest Iran's football division
Current clubs (2015–16)
- Shahrdari Arak
- Aluminium
- Fajr Sepasi
- Damash
- Giti Pasand
- Iranjavan
- Mes Kerman
- Nassaji
- Machine Sazi
- Shahrdari Ardabil
- Paykan
- Khoneh Be Khoneh
- Foolad
- Gol Gohar
- Mes Rafsanjan
- Pas Hamedan
- Parseh
- Naft Masjed Soleyman
- Sanat Naft Abadan
See also
- Hazfi Cup
- Iran Football's 2nd Division
- Iran Football's 3rd Division
- Iran Futsal's 1st Division
- Iran Futsal's 2nd Division
- Iranian Super Cup
- Iranian Futsal Super League
- Persian Gulf Pro League
References
External links
- Official website
- Azadegan League Stats
- Azadegan League Live Score, Player Statistics
- PFDC - Persian Football Dot Com
- Iran Goals
- Iran Sports Press
- Pars Football
- RSSSF database about Iranian league football.