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| Full name | Esteghlal Sport Club | ||
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| Nickname(s) | Capital Blues Blue Boys Tâj SS Blue Giant | ||
| Founded | 26 September 1945 as Docharkheh Savaran Football Club | ||
| Ground | Azadi Stadium | ||
| Capacity | 78,116[1] | ||
| Owner | Esteghlal of Iran Athletic and Cultural Company (Pars Petrochemical Co: 20% BSPC: 20% BIPC: 20% STPC: 20% PGPIC: 5% MSY: 3.54% Public Shareholders: 11.46% - IFB: ESLP1) | ||
| President | Farshid Samiei | ||
| Head coach | Pitso Mosimane | ||
| League | Persian Gulf Pro League | ||
| 2023–24 | Persian Gulf Pro League, 2nd | ||
| Website | http://fcesteghlal.ir | ||
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Esteghlal Football Club (استقلال ; commonly known as Esteghlal (meaning 'The Independence'), is the oldest 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, Dočarxe-Savârân) and was known as Tâj (تاج; meaning 'The Crown') between 1949 and 1979. This club is also known as the giant of Asia. AFC has given this title to this great club. 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 Persian Gulf Pro League.[2][3][4]
After the 1979 revolution, the club's women's team was dissolved and the progress of women's football in Iran was tied to politics. Since the 1973–74 season, Esteghlal has played its home games at the Azadi, which has a seating capacity of 78,116,[1] though it can hold more people during important matches. Esteghlal set an attendance record for an Asian Club Championship match in 1999 when 125,000 supporters watched their final against Júbilo Iwata in Tehran.[5] Esteghlal Club has an average of 3 to 11 million viewers in each of its games on television and cyberspace.[citation needed]
- ^ a b "22". varzesh3.com. Archived from the original on 13 July 2019. Retrieved 30 December 2019.
- ^ "1000 points". Archived from the original on 7 February 2023. Retrieved 28 February 2021.
- ^ +1000 points
- ^ "+1000 points". Archived from the original on 4 November 2019. Retrieved 28 February 2021.
- ^ "در تهران | ورزش 11" [Esteghlal the Iranian Crown]. www.varzesh11.com. FIFA. Archived from the original on 19 January 2019. Retrieved 6 September 2019.