F.C. Nassaji Mazandaran

Nassaji Mazandaran
Full nameFootball Club Nassaji Mazandaran
NicknamesMazandaran Tigers (Persian: ببرهای مازندران, Babrhay-e Mazandaran)
FoundedMay 3, 1959; 66 years ago (1959-05-03)
GroundVatani Stadium
Capacity15,000
OwnerReza Haddadian
ChairmanShahab Zandi
ManagerFaraz Kamalvand
LeagueAzadegan League
2024–25Persian Gulf Pro League, 15th (relegated)
Websitefcnassaji.ir
Current season

Football Club Nassaji Mazandaran (Persian: باشگاه فوتبال نساجی مازندران, Bāšgāh-e Futbāl-e Nassāji-ye Māzandarān) is an Iranian football club based in Qaem Shahr, Mazandaran. They currently compete in the Azadegan League.[1]

Nassaji has one of the highest average attendances in Iran. Nassaji is also the oldest club from the Caspian region of Iran and one of the oldest in all of Iran. One of the most important honors of Nassaji Mazandaran is a championship title in Iranian Hazfi Cup and a runner-up title in Iranian Super Cup.[2]

History

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Establishment

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Nassaji lineup in 1959, which is considered the first lineup of this team.

Nassaji Mazandaran Company established the club in Qaem Shahr in 1959. In 1986, the team won the 1986 Pakistan President's Gold Cup in Pakistan, the tournament including selected teams from China, Pakistan, and Bangladesh, and Nader Dastneshan was named the tournament's top scorer.[3][4][5][6] Nassaji entered the Qods Cup in 1988 and soon after they entered the top division Azadegan League in 1991 and remained a strong competitor in that division until 1995.

Recent years

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Nassaji stayed in 2nd division until 2001 and when Iranian Football Federation decided to start a professional league, the Azadegan league became the second highest league in Iran. In 2004 Nassaji was relegated to 2nd Division but they were promoted back to the Azadegan League at the end of the 2005–06 season. On 3 August 2006 Nasser Hejazi signed as head-coach of Nassaji on a one-year deal for the 2006–07 season.

In the 2013–14 season, Nassaji had their closest call with promotion to the Persian Gulf Pro League since their relegation from the top flight in 1995, the team finished third in Group A which was one place out of a promotion play-off spot. The following season Nassaji again finished third and was two points out of a promotion play-off spot.

Persian Gulf Pro League

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Nassaji team in League 2018-19
Nassaji team Supported fans

On 29 April 2018, after a win against Rah Ahan, Nassaji finished in second place in the Azadegan League and were promoted to the Persian Gulf Pro League for the first time.[7]

AFC Champions League debut

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On 27 October 2022, Nassaji won the 2021–22 Hazfi Cup which saw them qualified to their first ever AFC Champions League appearance. On 18 September 2023 in their debut 2023–24 AFC Champions League group stage fixtures, Nassaji won 2–0 against Mumbai City of India with goals coming from Ehsan Hosseini and Mohammad Reza Azadi.

Facilities

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Since the club was created, Nassaji has trained and played its home games at Vatani Stadium, which was built in the 1940s. After the Islamic Revolution of 1979, the stadium was expanded to hold 15,000 people.

Stadium

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Vatani Stadium

Since its establishment in 1959, the Nassaji Mazandaran has conducted its training sessions and home matches at the Vatani Stadium. The stadium was inaugurated in 1946 in the city of Qaem Shahr, and employees of the Nassaji Mazandaran Factory would play football there after their work shifts.

Currently, Shahid Vatani Stadium has a capacity of 15,000 spectators. For many matches, even the walls around the stands and the corridors are filled with fans. Due to the limited seating, several thousand spectators are often unable to attend. This stadium is considered one of the oldest in Iran.[8][9]

Seasons

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FC Nassaji Mazandaran (2022)

The table below chronicles the achievements of Nassaji Mazandaran since 1989.

Year Division Position Hazfi Cup
1989–90 Qods 3rd Not held
1990–91 2nd Division 3rd Promoted to the Azadegan League 1/16 Final
1991–92 Azadegan 7th First round
1992–93 Not held
1993–94 6th 1/8 Final
1994–95 10th Relegated to the Iran Football's 2nd Division First round
1995–96 2nd Division 4th Second round
1996–97 8th
1997–98 7th Not held
1998–99 5th 1/4 Final
1999–00 6th Third round
2000–01 4th 1/4 Final
2001–02 Azadegan Third round
2002–03 13th Second round
2003–04 16th Relegated to the Iran Football's 2nd Division
2004–05 3rd First round
2005–06 2nd Promoted to the Azadegan League 1/16 Final
2006–07 6th First round
2007–08 5th 1/16 Final
2008–09 12th
2009–10 7th
2010–11 4th Third round
2011–12 5th Second round
2012–13 8th First round
2013–14 3rd Third round
2014–15 Fourth round
2015–16 8th did not contest
2016–17 10th 1/16 Final
2017–18 2nd Promoted to the Persian Gulf Pro League 1/8 Final
2018–19 PGPL 10th
2019–20 9th 1/16 Final
2020–21 12th 1/8 Final
2021–22 12th Winner
2022–23 13th Semifinal
2023–24 12th 1/16 Final
2024–25 15th Relegated to the Azadegan League 1/4 Final

Honours

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League Mazandaran 1 cup wins

Players

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First-team squad

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As of 2 August 2025[10]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK  IRN Omid Amiri U23
2 DF  IRN Amir Hossein Kalbasi
3 DF  IRN Meysam Tohidast
4 DF  IRN Rouzbeh Arvaneh
5 DF  IRN Mohammad Hossein Rafiei U23
6 MF  IRN Ali Nabizadeh
8 MF  IRN Mehran Amiri
9 FW  IRN Morteza Khorasani
10 MF  IRN Hossein Shenani
11 FW  IRN Saeed Bagherpasand
14 MF  IRN Pourya Rezazadeh U23
16 DF  IRN Aboufazl Kazemi U21
17 MF  IRN Behrouz Barani
18 DF  IRN Mojtaba Lotfi (captain)
No. Pos. Nation Player
20 MF  IRN Mohammad Dindar U21
21 FW  IRN Morteza Ashgani U21
22 GK  IRN Koroush Maleki
23 MF  IRN Ahmad Reza Mohammdadnejad
24 MF  IRN Ali Nasiri
25 MF  IRN Afshin Khati U21
30 GK  IRN Abolfazl Boveiri U21
44 DF  IRN Farshad Mohammadi Mehr
66 MF  IRN Mohammad Soltani Mehr
68 DF  IRN Payam Rezania
69 FW  IRN Amin Khosravi U21
77 DF  IRN Davoud Rajabi
78 DF  IRN Matin Karimzadeh
86 DF  IRN Payam Rezania U23
87 MF  IRN Amirreza Sheikhirad U23
88 MF  IRN Hassan Emdadi
97 MF  IRN Moayed Eimery U21
99 FW  IRN Ali Reza Maleki

Loan list

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Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
DF  IRN Amir Hossein Samdaliri (
at United Arab Emirates Ittihad Kalba until 30 June 2026)

Staff

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Current coach staff

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Position Staff
Head coach Iran Faraz Kamalvand
Assistant coach Iran Hamid Abdollahi
Iran Davoud Seyed-Abbasi
Iran Issa Parto
Iran Sina Dastneshan
Goalkeeper coach Iran Mehdi Sabeti
Fitness coach Iran Amin Mirzaei
Tactical analyst Iran Babak Moradi
Iran Amir Mohebbi
Team Manager Iran Pouya Seifpanahi

Head coaches

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Sponsorship

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Shirt sponsors and manufacturers

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Period Kit Manufacturer Shirt Sponsor
2014–15 Germany Uhlsport Samsung Group
Kosar FCI
MCI
Yamaha Corporation/
Varesh Airlines
Dariush Grand Hotel
2016–17
2018– Iran Majid

Managers

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Owners

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  • Iran Kourosh Rahmani (2007–2009)
  • Iran Mehdi Parham (2009–2013)
  • Iran Hossein Ghasemnejhad (2013–2014)
  • Iran Mehdi Parham (2014–2017)
  • Iran Mehdi Parham, Iran Farhad Sanieifar (2017)
  • Iran Farhad Sanieifar (2017–2018)
  • Iran Farhad Sanieifar, Iran Reza Haddadian (2018–2019)
  • Iran Reza Haddadian (2019–Present)

Chairmans

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  • Iran Kourosh Rahmani (2004–2007)
  • Iran Abed Mahzoun (2007)
  • Iran Kourosh Rahmani (2007–2009)
  • Iran Mohammad Ali Ghanbari (2009)
  • Iran Mehdi Parham (2009–2010)
  • Iran Mohammad Hassan Heydarzadeh (2010)
  • Iran Saeed Azari (2010–2011)
  • Iran Mohammad Hassan Heydarzadeh (2011)
  • Iran Yousef Daftari (2011)
  • Iran Mohammad Hassan Heydarzadeh (2011)
  • Iran Ahmad Sahadatmand (2011–2013)
  • Iran Mohammad Hassan Heydarzadeh (2013)
  • Iran Mohammad Ali Ghanbari (2013)
  • Iran Mohammad Reza Ranjbar (2013)
  • Iran Mohammad Ali Ghanbari (2013–2014)
  • Iran Sadegh Dorudgar (2014–2015)
  • Iran Mohammad Hassan Heydarzadeh (2015–2016)
  • Iran Hamed Ebrahimi (2016)
  • Iran Abdolhamid Ramezani (2016–2017)
  • Iran Ali Amiri (2017–2019)
  • Iran Mohammad Kazemi (2019–2019)
  • Iran Mohammad Ali Ghanbari (2019)
  • Iran Ali Reza Asadi (2019)
  • Iran Izad Seyfollahpour (2019–2020)
  • Iran Ali Amiri (2020–2021)
  • Iran Izad Seyfollahpour (2021–2023)
  • Iran Sadegh Dorudgar (2023)
  • Iran Hamid Reza Bayandorian (2023–2024)
  • Iran Ali Khatir (2024–2025)
  • Iran Hamid Reza Bayandorian (2025)
  • Iran Shahab Zandi (2025–Present)

Individual records

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All Top Appearances

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# Name Nationality Position Apps
1 Hamed Shiri Iran Iran Defender 185
2 Hossein Zamehran Midfielder 164
3 Mehrdad Abdi Midfielder 128
4 Saeid Gholamalibeygi 123
5 Mohammad Abbaszadeh Striker 122
6 Ayoub Kalantari Midfielder 109
7 Hassan Najafi Defender 106
8 Amir Mehdi Janmaleki Defender 100
9 Karim Eslami Striker 91
10 Mojtaba Mamashli Midfielder 91
11 Alireza Haghighi Goalkeeper 88
12 Saber Hardani Midfielder 86
13 Mohammad Mehdi Nazari Forward 84
14 Mohammad Ghaseminejad Midfielder 72
15 Ali Shojaei 71

All Top Scorers

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# Name Nationality Position Goals
1 Mohammad Abbaszadeh Iran Iran Striker 66
2 Hamed Shiri Defender 26
3 Hamid Kazemi Forward 16
4 Karim Eslami Striker 15
5 Mojtaba Ramezani Midfielder 14
6 Mojtaba Mamashli Defender 14
7 Ayoub Kalantari Midfielder 12
8 Mohammad Mehdi Nazari Midfielder 12
9 Mohammad Reza Azadi Forward 12
10 Hassan Najafi Defender 10
11 Hossein Zamehran Midfielder 10
12 Rahman Jafari Forward 9
13 Mehrdad Abdi Midfielder 9
14 Shahin Majidi 7
15 Mohammad Ghaseminejad 7

Club captains

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Name Nat Position Captaincy
Nader Dastneshan Iran Midfielder 1986–1999
Aziz Zare Midfielder 1999–2002
Morteza Arabnejad Defender 2002–2003
Nasrollah Nourbakhsh Midfielder 2003–2004
Farid Yaghoubnia Defender 2004–2009
Hadi Khodadadi Forward 2009–2010
Mohsen Pourhaji Midfielder 2009–2012
Fereydoon Fazli Forward 2011
Meysam Khodashenas Midfielder 2012–2013
Mohsen Rahimi Midfielder 2013–2014
Mohsen Hosseini Defender 2014
Issa Parto Defender 2014–2015
Meysam Baou Midfielder 2015–2016
Meysam Khodashenas Midfielder 2016
Mohammad Abbaszadeh Forward 2016–2017
Morteza Gholamalitabar Defender 2017
Mohammad Abbaszadeh Forward 2017–2020
Hamed Shiri Defender 2020–2023
Masoud Shojaei Midfielder 2021–2022
Mehrdad Abdi Midfielder 2023–2024
Mohammad Abbaszadeh Forward 2024
Hossein Zamehran Midfielder 2024–2025
Mojtaba Lotfi Defender 2025–
Matin Karimzadeh Defender 2025–

Supporters

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ "FC Nassaji Mazandaran - Soccer - Team Profile - Results, fixtures, squad, statistics - Global Sports Archive". Archived from the original on 2022-09-23. Retrieved 2021-11-02.
  2. ^ "Naft Masjed Soleyman, Nassaji Mazandaran win promotion to IPL". 29 April 2018. Archived from the original on 13 June 2023. Retrieved 2 November 2021.
  3. ^ "پیشینه باشگاه – باشگاه فرهنگی ورزشی نساجی مازندران" (in Persian). Retrieved 2025-02-03.
  4. ^ "در مورد نادر دست نشان در ویکی تابناک بیشتر بخوانید". www.tabnak.ir. Retrieved 2025-02-03.
  5. ^ "نادر دست نشان در اثر کرونا درگذشت". iranpress.com. Retrieved 2025-02-03.
  6. ^ "نادر دست نشان که بود؟ از نساجی تا بیشترین گل متوالی تا نبرد با کرونا + عکس و علت فوت". ایمنا (in Persian). 2021-04-16. Retrieved 2025-02-03.
  7. ^ "Javad Nekounam Steps Down as Nassaji Coach - Sports news". Archived from the original on 2021-11-05. Retrieved 2021-11-02.
  8. ^ "A Look at the History of Shahid Vatani Stadium in Qaem Shahr". Qaem Khabar website. Archived from the original on 29 May 2017. Retrieved 1 October 2019.
  9. ^ "An Exciting Day for Nassaji on the Verge of Entering the Premier League". Archived from the original on 28 May 2018. Retrieved 27 May 2018.
  10. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2019-08-15. Retrieved 2021-09-27.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  11. ^ "سليمي: طرفدار سرسخت نساجي هستم". Archived from the original on 2023-08-24. Retrieved 2015-07-20.
  12. ^ Fars News [dead link]
  13. ^ "محسن بنگر: با قرارداد صفر تومان دوست دارم یک روز در نساجی حضور داشته باشم". 31 May 2020. Archived from the original on 16 November 2021. Retrieved 22 December 2021.
  14. ^ خلیل‌زاده: از صعود نساجی خوشحالم Archived 2022-10-31 at the Wayback Machine Dana
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