Persepolis FC

Shahin F.C. (1942–1967)

Shahin was established in 1942 by Dr. Abbas Ekrami, a teacher. Ekrami founded the club with the help of his young students and adopted the motto: "اول اخلاق، دوم درس، سوم ورزش" (transl. "Ethics first, education second, sports third").

Shahin produced many talented players, including Parviz Dehdari, Masoud Boroumand, Homayoun Behzadi, Jafar Kashani, Hossein Kalani and Hamid Shirzadegan, as well as players who played for the Iran national football team. Shahin was popular in the 1960s, but the Football Federation Islamic Republic of Iran (FFIRI) and Keihan Varzeshi (Iran's most important sports publication at the time) viewed that popularity as a threat. The conflict between FFIRI and the team grew to a head on 9 July 1967—two days after Shahin's 3–0 win against Tehranjavan F.C.—when the FFIRI dissolved the clubm. League attendance dropped and other clubs, including Pas, Rah Ahan and Oghab, attempted to sign Shahin players.

Establishment early years (1963–1969)

Persepolis Athletic and Cultural Club was established in 1963 by Ali Abdo. Abdo had returned to Iran from the United States and was a championship boxer.

Persepolis F.C. started the 1968 season with Dehdari as manager. Under Dehdari, the club signed many of Shahin's former players, thereby retaining its popularity. The team was initially quite weak, and participated in Iran's second division. The best player on the team then was Mahmoud Khordbin.

The club, using four Shahin players, had a friendly match with Jam Abadan, a respected team at the time. After the match, the remainder of the Shahin players joined Persepolis. That year, no league competition was held, as many teams had been dissolved, so a 44-team tournament was held. Persepolis, along with Pas, Taj and Oghab, finished top of the group.

The next year Persepolis was the first Iranian club to compete at the Asian Champion Club Tournament held in Thailand, where they were eliminated in the group stage.

Takht Jamshid Cup (1969–1979)

In 1969, Mahmoud Khayami, one of the founders of automobile company Iran National, negotiated with Persepolis and signed all former Shahin players, except for Aziz Asli and Mahmoud Khordbin, to his new team, Paykan Tehran F.C. Paykan won the championship that year, but the new players moved back to Persepolis at the end of the season.

In 1971, Persepolis won its first ever championship in the Iranian League; Persepolis had ended the season with 13 wins and 1 draw in 14 weeks. In 1972, Abdo announced Persepolis as the first professional football club in Iran. The club did not enter the domestic league and only played against foreign clubs; a few months later, it became amateur again. In 1973, the Takht Jamshid Cup was established. Persepolis won the inaugural Cup and again in 1975. That year, Persepolis lost just two matches of thirty matches. Persepolis is the most successful club in the Takht Jamshid Cup league, clinching two championship titles and finishing three times as runner-up.

Success under tough conditions (1979–1990)

With the Iranian Revolution in 1979, Abdo returned to United States. Although Persepolis won the Espandi Cup, the club fell apart and many of its old players did not return. The club's property was sequestered by the government-run Oppressed and Veterans Foundation (Persian: بنیاد مستضعفان و جانبازان) and the club was placed under the management of the Physical Education Organization (Persian: سازمان تربیت بدنی).

In 1981, the Physical Education Organization declared that the name of the club would change, but club officials, players and fans opposed the move. In protest, the team did not appear in a match against Homa in the Tehran league, losing 3–0 by default and handing Homa the championship. In 1986, the club was taken over by the Oppressed and Veterans Foundation and renamed Azadi (transl. freedom; Persian: آزادی). Players declared that they would not play for the club if the name change went through. After a brief period, the Foundation handed control back to the Physical Education Organization. On 16 February 1987, the Physical Education Organization renamed the club Pirouzi (transl. victory; Persian: پیروزی) with the players' agreement; fans still called the name Persepolis, however. On 10 April 2012, club chairman Mohammad Rouyanian announced that the club's official name was Persepolis.

In the 1980s, the club only played in the Tehran League and various elimination tournaments. Persepolis was successful and maintained its popularity, winning the Tehran League five seasons in a row. During that time, Ali Parvin served as player-manager.

Revitalization (1990–2001)

The 1990s were a successful decade for the team, with four league championships, two Hazfi Cups, a strong roster and renewed support. At one point, more than six Persepolis players were starters on Iran's national team. The team won the national championship in the 1995–96 season, coming back from being 10 points behind Bahman to be 6 points ahead of the league runner-up. They won the league again the next season, again finishing ahead of the runner up by 6 points. In the same year they were stopped by the Korean Pohang Steelers in the semi-finals of the Asian Champions' Cup.Persepolis finished third, defeating Iraq's Al-Zawraa in the third place match in 1996–97 ACC.