No matter what name it goes by – football or soccer – it is simple to say that it is truly the only global game. Millions of fans and players from around the world come together to enjoy “the beautiful game,” a unique combination of skill, strategy, and athleticism that cannot be beat.
The Persian Gulf Pro League is one of the many professional leagues in the world. Fans and bettors alike, using 1xbet and other platforms, are learning more about this league than ever before. Read on to delve into the history of the Persian Gulf Pro League, its humble beginnings, and its growth as the premier league in Iran for football action.
Humble Beginnings
In order to learn more about the Persian Gulf Pro League, we must go all the way back to 1970. Back then, there was no Pro League. It was simply a local league as Iran didn’t have an official national football league prior to that. The local league would bring together teams from other provinces and cities to play for a championship.
The Takht Jamshid Cup created as the national league in 1972, and the Iranian Football Federation decided to create a league in response, naming its Cup after the ancient Achaemenid capital Takht-e Jamshid. Persepolis, a team that is still going today, would win the first Cup and has since become one of the most dominant clubs in the storied and varied history of the Pro League.
The Iran Pro League
Ahead of the 2001-02 season, Iran saw the creation of its first professional league. It would take time for the league to gain traction, missing many of the components that results in a unified league. Teams came and went, with a few remaining as staples of what would eventually become the league that we know today.
Player salaries have risen exponentially over the last two decades. With the development of the league has come the emergence of raw talent and provincial teams, something that every major Pro League boasts. Teams like Zob Ahan FC, Esteghlal Ahvaz, Foolad Khouzestan, and Foolad Sepahan have all emerged and shown that they can compete despite not being based out of Tehran.
In recent years, teams have shown promising development, the league as a whole continues to improve, and many are hoping that it will equate to a stronger foothold on the global scale for Iran in terms of reputation and quality.
Persian Gulf Cup
In August 2006, the Iranian Football Federation was looking for another name. It started going by the “Persian Gulf Cup” and the Football Federation began promoting it as such. It is a somewhat controversial move given the dispute among Arab nations among what constitutes the “Persian Gulf,” but the name stuck beginning with the 2006-07 season.
The following season, the league expanded from 16 to 18 clubs. PAS Tehran was dissolved and eventually became a new club named PAS Hamedan. Eventually, the league was eventually scaled back down to 16 clubs ahead of the 2013-14 season, marking yet another critical evolution in the league.
Persian Gulf Pro League
In 2014, the league once again changed its name to the current Persian Gulf Pro League. The federation changed its logo and prepared for another rebrand. It has remained under that branding since then, featuring exciting and sometimes controversial results, plus dominance from Persepolis.
The league has featured dominant players like Jalal Hosseini and its all-time leading scorer Reza Enayati (149 goals). With television deals across the country, it remains Iran’s premier football organization, a destination for sports fans each season.
