Persian Gulf Pro League
top men's professional football division of the Iranian football league system
The Persian Gulf Pro League, branded as the Persian Gulf Pro League (Persian: لیگ برتر خلیج فارس, romanized: Lig-e Bartar-e Xalij-e Fârs), formerly known as the Iran Pro League (Persian: لیگ برتر ایران, Lig-e bartar-e Irân), is a professional association football league in Iran and the highest level of the Iranian football league system. It is controlled by the FFIRI and is contested by 18 teams over a 34-matchday period.
Each year, its top team becomes the Iranian football champion, and the two lowest finishers are relegated to the Azadegan League.
Since 2013, the league comprises 16 teams. The winner of the Persian Gulf Pro League along with the Hazfi Cup champion automatically qualify for the AFC Champions League Elite group stages. The third-place team of the Persian Gulf Pro League qualifies for the AFC Champions League Elite Play-off round. The bottom two teams in the league are relegated to Azadegan League. The format and number of teams has varied over the years.
History
At 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.
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Persian Gulf Pro League” is top men's professional football division of the Iranian football league system. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Persian, Gulf and League, not as a finished interpretation.
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Vocabulary and entity names are the principal evidence signals here, because they determine the precision of every later search. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 18, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q194641. 2 of 2 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 2013 and 2001.
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