F.C. Nassaji Mazandaran

Nassaji Mazandaran Football Club (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 Persian Gulf Pro League.^[1]

Nassaji Mazandaran

Full name	Nassaji Mazandaran Football Club
Nickname(s)	Mazandaran Tigers (Persian: ببرهای مازندران, Babrhay-e Mazandaran)
Founded	May 3, 1959; 66 years ago (1959-05-03)
Ground	Vatani Stadium
Capacity	15,000
Owner	Reza Haddadian
Chairman	Hamid Reza Bayandorian
Manager	Mohammad Reza Mohajeri
League	Azadegan League
2024–25	Persian Gulf Pro League, 15th (relegated)
Website	fcnassaji.ir
Home colours Away colours
Current season

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

Establishment

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

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

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

On 27 October 2022, Nassaji won the 2021–22 Hazfi Cup cup which see 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

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

Vatani Stadium

Main article: 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 Mazandaran Textile 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

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	1/16 Final
1991–92	Azadegan	7th	First round
1992–93			Not held
1993–94		6th	1/8 Final
1994–95		10th	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
2004–05		3rd	First round
2005–06		2nd	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	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			1/4 Final

Honours

• Hazfi Cup
  • Winners (1): 2021–22
• Iranian Super Cup
  • Runners-up (1): 2022
• Azadegan League
  • Runners-up (1): 2017–18

League Mazandaran 1 cup wins

Players

First-team squad

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 2 DF  IRN Saeid Aghaei 3 DF  IRN Vahid Mohammadzadeh 6 MF  IRN Mansour Bagheri 8 MF  IRN Ayoub Kalantari 10 MF  IRN Hossein Zamehran (captain) 11 MF  IRN Mehrdad Rezaei 14 FW  IRN Hamed Pakdel 18 FW  IRN Mehdi Rezaei U21 21 DF  IRN Mohammadreza Salahi 22 MF  IRN Mehdi Mehdipour 23 FW  IRN Aria Barzegar U23 29 FW  IRN Aref Rostami

No. Pos. Nation Player 31 DF  IRN Seyed Reza Darvishi 32 MF  IRN Saber Hardani 37 FW  IRN Mohammad Hamidi 40 GK  IRN Matin Mahmoudi 66 MF  IRN Mohammad Reza Torabi U21 68 DF  IRN Amir Mohammad Houshmand 70 MF  IRN Amirhossein Mahjoori U23 76 MF  IRN Mohammad Reza Hosseini 87 MF  IRN Amirreza Sheikhirad 88 MF  IRN Siamak Nemati 90 FW  IRN Ahad Jamshidi U21 95 MF  IRN Siavash Hagh Nazari 96 FW  IRN Mohammadreza Abbasi 98 GK  IRN Alireza Rezaei

Loan list

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 Amirhossein Samdaliri ( at Ittihad Kalba until 30 June 2026)

Staff

Current coach staff

Position	Staff
Head coach	Mohammad Reza Mohajeri
Assistant coach	Mostafa Sedaghat Mohammad Mehdi Nazari
Goalkeeper coach	Ashkan Namdari
Fitness coach	Hamid Reza Joudaki Emad Mohajeri
Tactical analyst	Sadegh Moghaddam Payam Kazemi
Team Manager	Izad Seyfollahpour

Head coaches

• Rahim Dastneshan (1983–94)
• Fereydoon Asgarzadeh (1994)
• Abolfazl Mozdastan (1994–95)
• Rahim Dastneshan (1995–96)
• Nader Dastneshan (1996–02)
• Hossein Mesgar Saravi (2002–04)
• Rahim Dastneshan (2004–05)
• Ebrahim Talebi (2005–06)
• Nasser Hejazi (2006– 07)
• Morteza Sadeghi (2007)
• Hossein Ghazal Seflou (2007)
• Ebrahim Talebi (2007–08)
• Morteza Sadeghi (2008)
• Hassan Khourdestan (2008)
• Morteza Sadeghi (2008–2009)
• Rahim Dastneshan (2009)
• Esmaeil Esmaeili (2009)
• Nader Dastneshan (2009–2010)
• Reza Forouzani (2010)
• Farhad Kouchakzadeh (2010)
• Yahya Golmohammadi (2010–11)
• Esmaeil Esmaeili (2011–13)
• Younes Geraeili (2013)
• Nader Dastneshan (2013–15)
• Paulo Alves (2015)
• Kourosh Mousavi (2015–16)
• Mahmoud Fekri (2016)
• Hossein Mesgar Saravi (2016–17)
• Saket Elhami (2017)
• Hossein Mesgar Saravi (2017)
• Mehdi Pashazadeh (2017)
• Davoud Mahabadi (2017–18)
• Javad Nekounam (2018)
• Majid Jalali (2019)
• Mohammad Reza Mohajeri (2019–20)
• Mahmoud Fekri (2020)
• Vahid Fazeli (2020–21)
• Majid Jalali (2021)
• Saket Elhami (2021–22)
• Esmaeil Esmaeili (2022)
• Hamid Motahari (2022–23)
• Carlos Inarejos (2023)
• Mehdi Rahmati (2023)
• Vahid Rezaei (2023)
• Lucas Alcaraz (2023–2024)
• Saket Elhami (2024–2025)
• Mostafa Sedaghat (2025)
• Savo Milosevic (2025)
• Saket Elhami (2025)
• Mohammad Reza Mohajeri (2025–Present)

Sponsorship

Shirt sponsors and manufacturers

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

Managers

Owners

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

Chairmans

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

Individual records

All Top Appearances

#	Name	Nationality	Position	Apps
1	Hamed Shiri	Iran	Defender	185
2	Hossein Zamehran		Midfielder	155
3	Mehrdad Abdi		Midfielder	127
4	Saeid Gholamalibeygi			122
5	Mohammad Abbaszadeh		Striker	122
6	Hassan Najafi		Defender	106
7	Ayoub Kalantari		Midfielder	103
8	Amir Mehdi Janmaleki		Defender	101
9	Karim Eslami		Striker	91
10	Mojtaba Mamashli		Midfielder	91
11	Alireza Haghighi		Goalkeeper	88
12	Mohammad Mehdi Nazari		Forward	84
13	Saber Hardani		Midfielder	85
14	Mohammad Ghaseminejad		Midfielder	72
15	Ali Shojaei			71

All Top Scorers

#	Name	Nationality	Position	Goals
1	Mohammad Abbaszadeh	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

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

Supporters

• Behdad Salimi^[11] (Olympic gold medallist)
• Hanif Omranzadeh^[12] (Footballer)
• Mohsen Bengar^[13] (Footballer)
• Shoja Khalilzadeh^[14] (Footballer)

See also

• Persian Gulf Pro League