Esteghlal F.C.
Iranian football club based in Tehran
Esteghlal Football Club (Persian: باشگاه فوتبال استقلال, romanized: Bâšgâh-e Futbâl-e Esteqlâl) is an Iranian professional football club based in Tehran that competes in the Persian Gulf Pro League. The club was founded in 1945 as The Cyclists (دوچرخهسواران, Dočarkhe-Savârân) and was known as Tâj (تاج; meaning 'The Crown') between 1949 and 1979. The club is part of the multisport club Esteghlal Athletic and Cultural Company of Iran. They were the first team to reach 1,000 points in the Persian Gulf Pro League. Esteghlal has won 39 official championship titles in provincial, national and continental cups, making them one of Iran's most decorated clubs.
After the 1979 revolution, the club's women's teams were dissolved and the progress of women's football in Iran was tied to new regime politics. Since the 1973–74 season, Esteghlal has played its home games at the Azadi, which has a seating capacity of 78,116, though it can hold more people during important matches.
History
1945–69: early years, The Crown
On 20 September 1945, some young athletes and students including a 23-year-old military officer Parviz Khosravani (first manager of the club), Asghar Navaab (Bicycle Mechanic), Enayat Jananpour (National Sports Organisation staff member), Mirzaee (carpenter) and Khashaaei (bank guard) established a sports club on Ferdowsi Street, Tehran. Since the founders of the club were mostly interested in cycling, the club's original name was Docharkheh Savaran (Persian: دوچرخه سواران; meaning 'The Cyclists'), in 1945. Esteghlal football club played its first official match in 1946.
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Named sources, stable identifiers and responsible institutions provide the strongest route from overview to verifiable evidence. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 14, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q455971. VIAF identifies the subject as 167814916. The Library of Congress control number is n2010217575. 1 of 4 selected statements include explicit references; 1 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1945, 1949, 1979 and 1973.
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