Bargh Shiraz F.C.


Bargh Shiraz Football Club is an Iranian football club based in Shiraz, Iran. The club is currently in the Iran Football's 3rd Division after they were relegated from Iran Football's 2nd Division due to financial problems.
Its main sponsor is the municipal electrical company.

History

Establishment

In 1946, a group of youngsters under the leadership of Ebrahim Nematollahi, who worked in the Cheragh Bargh factory and loved football, decided to create a football club. The factory sponsored their team, but for the first few years the team always had financial problems. For a brief period the club was sponsored by the city council, but after a couple of years the team's current sponsor, Shiraz Electrical Company, came along.
Bargh Shiraz club is documented as the oldest Iranian football club that is still on the list of FIFA "active clubs" and one of the oldest football clubs in Asia. Esteghlal Tehran club was founded a few months earlier, but its football club was founded four years later than Bargh Shiraz football club.

Fairplay ambassador

Little if any record of corruption, collusion and darkness is available from 7 decades of activity of this football club, in Iranian leagues that face hundreds of collusion attempts each year; making this club representative of "fairplay" in Iran. In contrast, the club has been victimized by others in Iranian football; some examples over the last 15 years are listed below:
In 2001, Bargh Shiraz team was relegated from the first division to the second division. But for the first time in Iranian football history, the team was kept in the first division by the Iranian Football Federation because 22 points were unfairly taken from the team as a result of what was called "non-fair judgements". The number of teams in the first division was only 12 at that time.
Bargh Shiraz vs. Sepahan Isfahan 2004: In the mentioned match held in Isfahan, five clear offsides occurred in a period of half an hour with judges closing eyes to them. Finally one of them was charged against Sepahan F.C. Details of the misjudgement are available on the TV show 90..
In 2010 Bargh Shiraz could not achieve promotion to the Iran Pro League because they scored fewer goals than Damash Gilan. Their matches in the last week were required to start simultaneously, but Damash's match started with a delay of 15 minutes. Being aware of Bargh's victory in Arak, Damash managed to score in the last minute of its match and were promoted to the Iran Pro League. In the same year, 22 players of Damash were condemned for doping, but it did not lead to any penalty for the club.

Success

Bargh's success is limited; however, in its own right they emerged as Shiraz's top team, participating in the Takht Jamshid Cup, as well as the Azadegan League and the IPL. The club has struggled at times, and over the years has had spells in the lower divisions. The club's highest honor is winning the Hazfi Cup in 1997. They have always been in the mid-table or avoiding relegation in recent years. The 2007–08 season was their best season, as they challenged strong teams with Mahmoud Yavari as manager and finished 7th in the league. But they were relegated in the 2008–09 season when they changed coaches three times.

Dark years

In the 2011–12 Azadegan League season, Bargh experienced a poor season while the organization had a huge conflict over who should take authority over the club. In this year, the club's legal owner organization declined to continue sponsoring the club. Consequently, two volunteer businessmen called Shekari and Abehesht took responsibility for the football team and brought about the darkest year in the club's history ever. The football team was relegated to the second division. In 2012, the new owner of the club exchanged the legitimacy of the club with another club in the Azadegan League so the club could again participate in this division.
In the same year, the futsal team of the club was promoted to the first division, winning the second division's cup with an impressive performance during the season.

rivalries

Shiraz Derby

The Shiraz derby is a football derby match between the two biggest clubs of Shiraz: Bargh Shiraz and Fajr Sepasi.

Players

First-team squad

Personnel

Club managers

Current technical staff

Season-by-season

The table below chronicles the achievements of Bargh Shiraz in various competitions:
SeasonLeaguePositionHazfi Cup
1975–76Takht Jamshid Cup14th1/8 Final
1976–77Takht Jamshid Cup11th1/8 Final
1977–78Takht Jamshid Cup7thNot held
1978–79Takht Jamshid Cupdid not finishNot held
1990–91Not heldN/A1/8 Final
1991–922nd Division1st Not held
1992–93Azadegan League6thNot held
1993–94Azadegan League12th1/8 Final
1994–95Azadegan League3rd1/16 Final
1995–96Azadegan League6thFinal
1996–97Azadegan League8thCup
1997–98Azadegan League15th Not held
1998–992nd Division3rd1/16 Final
1999-002nd Division1st 1/16 Final
2000–01Azadegan League11th1/8 Final
2001–02Pro League8th1/8 Final
2002–03Pro League10th
2003–04Pro League12th1/8 Final
2004–05Pro League12th
2005–06Pro League14th1/16 Final
2006–07Pro League12th1/8 Final
2007–08Pro League7thSemifinal
2008–09Pro League18th 1/8 Final
2009–10Division 13rd1/8 Final
2010–11Division 19th2nd Round
2011–12Division 114th2nd Round
2012–13Division 113th 1/16 Final
2013–14Division 212th Third Round
2014–15Division 34th Did not qualify
2015–16Division 34th Did not qualify
2016–17Division 37th Did not qualify
2017–18–––
2018–19–––
2019–20 *
Division 3TBDDid not qualify

Club managers

Official