The Persian Gulf Pro League, branded as the Persian Gulf Pro League (), formerly known as the Iran Pro League (, 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. After the Iran Pro League was established as the professional football league of Iran, the Azadegan League was declared as the second-highest league in the Iranian football league system. The Iran Pro League comprised 14 clubs until the 2003–04 season.
+ Persian Gulf Pro League champions Season Champions Runners-up 2001–02 Persepolis Esteghlal 2002–03 Sepahan PAS Tehran 2003–04 PAS Tehran Esteghlal 2004–05 Foolad Zob Ahan 2005–06 Esteghlal PAS Tehran 2006–07 Saipa Esteghlal Ahvaz 2007–08 Persepolis Sepahan 2008–09 Esteghlal Zob Ahan 2009–10 Sepahan 2010–11 Esteghlal 2011–12 Tractor 2012–13 Esteghlal 2013–14 Foolad Persepolis 2014–15 Sepahan Tractor 2015–16 Esteghlal Khuzestan Persepolis 2016–17 Persepolis Esteghlal 2017–18 Zob Ahan 2018–19 Sepahan 2019–20 Esteghlal 2020–21 Sepahan 2021–22 Esteghlal Persepolis 2022–23Persepolis Sepahan 2023–24 Esteghlal 2024–25Tractor Sepahan 2025–26— 2026–27
The first winner of the Iran Pro League was Persepolis, who beat Esteghlal by one point on the final match day. Esteghlal Rasht and East Azerbaijan's club Tractor had been relegated to the Azadegan League. Tractor took eight years to return to Iran's highest division
The runner-up of the 2002–03 season, PAS Tehran, became the Iranian football champion of the 2003–04 Iran Pro League. It was the last Iranian championship for PAS Tehran. PAS Tehran's professional football team was dissolved in 2007.
In 2004, the number of teams was increased from 14 to 16 teams. Foolad of Ahvaz became the first champion from Khuzestan Province. In the 2005–06 Iran Pro League Esteghlal celebrated their first championship since 2001. Shamoushak Noshahr and Shahid Ghandi (today known as Tarbiat Yazd) relegated to Azadegan League.
Persian Gulf Cup
On 12 August 2006, the Iranian Football Federation decided to give the league another name. Since then, the league had been primarily known in Iran as Persian Gulf Cup (PGC). The Football Federation decided this to promote the Persian naming. The name of the Persian Gulf has been disputed by some Arab countries since the 1960s due to political and ethnic differences between Iran and Arab countries. The football Federation decided also to change the logo of the league. The final logo was selected from over 130 designs and unveiled on 14 November 2006. Saipa won the 2006–07 Persian Gulf Cup. Until 2007, six different teams won the league title successively. A foreign player became the league's top goal scorer. Nigerian striker Daniel Olerum scored 17 goals in 27 matches for Aboomoslem. The winner of only two seasons before, Foolad, had to relegated to Azadegan League.
Before the start of the 2007–08 season, the number of teams was increased from 16 to 18 teams. The professional football team of PAS Tehran was also dissolved before the start of the season. Instead of PAS Tehran a new club was founded in Hamadan and named PAS Hamedan. In 2008, Saba Battery was moved from Tehran to Qom and renamed Saba Qom F.C.. The championship of the 2007–08 season was decided on the last matchday. Persepolis defeated Sepahan. Sanat Naft and Shirin Faraz (today known as Rahian Kermanshah) relegated to Azadegan League. The next season was dominated by Esteghlal and the two surprising teams Zob Ahan and Mes Kerman. Zob Ahan was the leading team after 75 minutes on matchday 34, before they lost their match against Foolad due to three conceded goals in the last 15 minutes with 1–4. Payam Mashhad was relegated, alongside Bargh Shiraz and Damash.
The 2009–10 Persian Gulf Cup was dominated by the two Isfahan-based clubs, Sepahan and Zob Ahan. Ultimately Sepahan won the league. Sepahan repeated their success by winning the 2010–11 and 2011–12 Persian Gulf Cup. Esteghlal won the 2012–13 Persian Gulf Cup and became for the eight time in their history the Iranian champion.
The League was scaled down from 18 to 16 teams before the beginning of the next season. Foolad won the 2013–14 Persian Gulf Cup. Foolad saved their championship after they defeated Gostaresh Foulad away .
Persian Gulf Pro League
The league changed its name from "Persian Gulf Cup" to "Persian Gulf Pro League" in 2014. The Iranian Football Federation decided also to change the logos of the Persian Gulf Pro League and of the Azadegan League.
The 2014–15 Persian Gulf Pro League was dominated by a championship battle between Sepahan, Tractor, and Naft Tehran. Sepahan secured their title with a 2–0 victory over Saipa, but thousands of Tractor supporters celebrated on the pitch, mistakenly believing that they won the league for the first time in club's history.
The 2015–16 Persian Gulf Pro League was not decided until the last matchday. Esteghlal Khuzestan won the league in front of Persepolis and Esteghlal. Persepolis dominated the next season and won the 2016–17 Persian Gulf Pro League.
From the 2016–17 season onwards Persepolis entered a period of sustained dominance. Under manager Branko Ivanković (and later Golmohammadi) the club won the record of consecutive league titles between 2016–17 and 2020–21, the longest championship streak in the professional era. The 2016–17 title was secured with relative comfort, while the following campaigns often went down to the final weeks, with Persepolis repeatedly fending off challenges from Esteghlal and Sepahan.
Esteghlal finally broke the sequence in 2021–22, completing an unbeaten season under Farhad Majidi and claiming their first league title since 2012–13. Persepolis responded by reclaiming the championship in 2022–23 and successfully defending it in 2023–24. The 2024–25 season produced a historic breakthrough: Tractor (Tractor Sazi) of Tabriz won their first-ever Persian Gulf Pro League title. Finishing with 68 points, they ended the long-standing dominance of the traditional Tehran and Isfahan clubs and became only the eighth different side to be crowned champions since the new league era from 2001.
The 2025–26 campaign began in August 2025 but was suspended indefinitely in early 2026 due to the outbreak of war and the ensuing instability in Iran. No champion was declared for that season. As a result of the unfinished competition, no teams were relegated, and the league was expanded to 18 clubs for the 2026–27 season with the addition of two promoted sides from the Azadegan League.
Format In the past, the number of teams was changed at various times. Since 2026, the league comprises 18 teams. Over the course of a season, which runs annually from July to the following May, each team plays twice against the others in the league, once at home and once away, resulting in each team competing in 34 games in total. Three points are awarded for a win, one for a draw and zero for a loss. The teams are ranked in the league table by points gained, then goal difference, then goals scored and then their head-to-head record for that season.
At the end of the season, the club with the most points becomes the Iranian champion. Currently, the Champions, the Runners Up and the Hazfi Cup champions qualify automatically for the group phase of the AFC Champions League, while the third-place team enters the AFC Champions League at the Play-off round. The bottom two teams are relegated to Azadegan League. Furthermore, all teams in the Persian Gulf Pro League can participate in the Hazfi Cup.
Number of teams Period 14 2001–02 until 2003–04 16 2004–05 until 2006–07, 2013–14 until 2025–26 18 2007–08 until 2012–13, since 2026–27
Logo
Ranking
Ranking Member association Club points Total 2026–27 Competition2023–24 2016201720182019202120222023–242024–25ACL EliteACL TwoChallenge11 — W 1 Saudi Arabia 9.50018.60010.00026.35020.95019.07527.10034.542119.9573+01+0022 — E 1 Japan 10.50021.85013.85021.80017.87520.08821.35027.970107.6633+01+0033 — E 2 South Korea 20.7509.95018.35013.60022.75015.80022.35014.76290.9822+11+0044 — W 2 United Arab Emirates 18.00011.3508.1007.63314.4008.08325.50016.40074.4662+11+0055 — W 3 Qatar 22.00013.40019.85015.9007.30013.5008.10014.70169.3262+11+0066 — W 4 Iran 13.00016.20018.85011.50014.22513.2509.30013.27468.9071+11+00
Clubs TeamLocationStadiumCapacity Aluminium ArakImam Khomeini12,500ChadormaluYazdShahid Nasiri15,000 EsteghlalTehranAzadi78,116 Esteghlal KhuzestanAhvazGhadir38,900FooladFoolad Arena30,655 Gol Gohar SirjanSirjanQassem Soleimani8,000 HavadarTehranShahid Dastgerdi8,250KheybarKhorramabadTakhti10,000 MalavanBandar-e AnzaliSirous Ghayeghran9,000 Mes RafsanjanRafsanjanShohadaye Mes10,000 Nassaji MazandaranGhaemshahrVatani27,700 PersepolisTehranAzadi78,116 SepahanIsfahanNaghsh-e-Jahan75,000 Shams AzarQazvinSardar Azadegan15,000 TractorTabrizYadegar-e Emam66,833 Zob AhanFooladshahrFooladshahr20,000Sanat Naft Abadan F.C.AbadanTakhti Stadium (Abadan)15,000Paykan F.C.TehranShohada-ye Shahr-e Qods Stadium8,000
Champions
Persian Gulf Pro League Club Winners Runners-up Winning seasons Persepolis 2001–02, 2007–08, 2016–17, 2017–18, 2018–19, 2019–20, 2020–21, 2022–23, 2023–24 Sepahan 2002–03, 2009–10, 2010–11, 2011–12, 2014–15 Esteghlal 2005–06, 2008–09, 2012–13, 2021–22 Foolad 2004–05, 2013–14Tractor 2024–25 PAS Tehran 2003–04 Saipa 2006–07 Esteghlal Khuzestan 2015–16Zob Ahan –Esteghlal Ahvaz
Total Club Winners Runners-up Winning seasons Persepolis 1971–72, 1973–74, 1975–76, 1995–96, 1996–97, 1998–99, 1999–2000, 2001–02, 2007–08, 2016–17, 2017–18, 2018–19, 2019–20, 2020–21, 2022–23, 2023–24 Esteghlal 1970–71, 1974–75, 1989–90, 1997–98, 2000–01, 2005–06, 2008–09, 2012–13, 2021–22 PAS Tehran 1976–77, 1977–78, 1991–92, 1992–93, 2003–04 Sepahan 2002–03, 2009–10, 2010–11, 2011–12, 2014–15 Saipa 1993–94, 1994–95, 2006–07 Foolad 2004–05, 2013–14Tractor 2024–25 Esteghlal Khuzestan 2015–16Zob Ahan –Bahman Homa Esteghlal Ahvaz
All-time Pro League table