Iranian football returns in the shadow of war and with row over last league title

Three months ago, Iran was one of the biggest stories in football. The Iran team arrived at the World Cup to play in the United States. The US had been bombing and firing missiles at Tehran and other targets. In the final group match against Egypt, a goal was disallowed and a late shot hit the bar. This meant Iran was knocked out of the group stage by the smallest possible margin. Some US officials were pleased about this result. It also marked the sudden end of international attention on the team.

There was a return to international action this week as Esteghlal and Tractor SC started out in the AFC Champions League Elite. It comes after the Persian Gulf League kicked off in mid-August, almost six months after it was postponed at the end of February, and subsequently abandoned, as the war continued.

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“The most important impact of the war on Iranian football was the prolonged suspension of competition,” the Esteghlal head coach, Sohrab Bakhtiarizadeh, says. “For months, we were deprived of club football. Not only were the players and teams unable to train, but the fans also had nothing to talk about, engage in, banter over, and so on. It was sad that football was suspended for such a long period and it will certainly weaken the sport and its passionate supporters.”

Esteghlal were especially unhappy as the Tehran giants were top of the league when it stopped with 22 games of the 30 played, two points clear of Tractor. It soon became clear the season was never going to be completed, with the 10-time winners feeling they should be given number 11.

“Esteghlal should be declared the champions of the previous season,” Bakhtiarizadeh says. “Being at the top of the table is a suitable criterion for determining the most successful team in a tournament at any given time. This is also what Esteghlal fans want.”

A decision is to be made soon. The majority of the other clubs seem to be against such a presentation, especially those owned by industrial companies such as the steel-backed pair Sepahan FC and Foolad, which have suffered during the war. Whatever happens, Esteghlal have started pretty well in the new campaign.

As has the league in general. There had been talk in the buildup that games would be behind closed doors, but most matches have had fans, with some decent crowds. At the Tehran derby between Persepolis and Esteghlal, the biggest game in Iran (and many would argue the biggest in Asia), 50,000 fans turned out in the second city of Isfahan.

The two teams usually play at the well-known Azadi Stadium in the capital. It cannot be used right now. This is not because of bomb or missile damage, though the wider sports complex has been hit. It is because repairs are still going on. The cost of these repairs has become a big talking point. It seems nothing is ever simple in Iranian football, even in calmer times.

Esteghlal have not won the trophy yet, but they are representing the country in the AFC Champions League Elite. They started with an impressive 3-0 win against the strong Qatari club Al-Sadd on Monday. It was even more impressive because the home game was played in the southern Iraqi city of Basra. Iranian clubs are used to playing their home games in another country.

“Being deprived of home advantage has been one of the biggest problems Iranian football has faced in recent years,” Bakhtiarizadeh says. “Nevertheless, it makes us happy to host Al-Sadd in Basra, close to Iran … with the presence of some of our supporters who live in southern Iran.” The 8,000 fans did their best to create a Tehran-like atmosphere in the massive Basra International Stadium.

Iran and the United Arab Emirates do not have friendly relations. Because of this, Tractor may have been glad that only 1,300 people watched their 1-0 loss to Shabab Al-Ahli in Dubai. However, the AFC has copied Uefa's big-league style group stage for some reason. This means there is still a lot of time to recover from a poor start.

At least Saudi Arabian clubs were avoided, useful on and off the pitch. Even before 2023, when Riyadh and Jeddah sides started spending big, Iranian clubs were unable to compete. Years of international sanctions have had huge economic effects and football – closely connected to the state – has not escaped. Salaries have stagnated, facilities are often neglected and training camps and overseas friendlies are harder to arrange here than in most other countries.

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But Iran is not alone in this situation. No team in Asia can match the more than $200 million that Al-Hilal paid last summer for Ollie Watkins, Gabriel Martinelli, and Crysencio Summerville. Saudi Arabia and Japan each have five teams in the 32-team tournament. Saudi Arabia has hosted the Champions League from the quarter-finals onward for the past two editions, and this arrangement has now been extended to 2029. Iran, a leading power in Asian football, has only two teams in the tournament.

The Champions League is not a level playing field in many ways, but Bakhtiarizadeh is hopeful his team, Asian champions in 1970 and 1991, can compete. “It is impossible for any team in Asia to match the Saudi spending power,” the former Iran defender says.

“Nevertheless, I still believe that football is a game in which, over 90 minutes, you may be able to overcome this financial gap through effort, determination and teamwork. Competing against Asian teams is certainly difficult, especially since we have entered the competition without having participated in the summer transfer market but Esteghlal’s history compels us to try.”