Foolad F.C.

Foolad Khuzestan Football Club (Persian: باشگاه فوتبال فولاد خوزستان‎) is an Iranian football club, based in Ahwaz, Khuzestan that plays in Persian Gulf Pro League. Foolad F.C. was founded in 1971 and is owned by Foolad Khuzestan Company. It was named Foolad partially because it is funded by the industry in Khuzestan. The club have won Iran Pro League twice, including a championship in the lower division, Azadegan League. In the 2004–05 season, Foolad became the champion of the fourth newly founded Iran Pro League (IPL), gaining a total of 64 points over 30 league matches that is the highest point for a leader since 2001. After several successful seasons and what at one point seemed to be the emergence of a new pole in Iranian football, Foolad lost many of its key players through transfers and internal problems and also displayed a poor performance in the 2006 AFC Champions League. The club was subsequently relegated to the Azadegan League, second highest division in Iran at the end of the 2006–07. However, Foolad was able to return to the IPL starting from the next season, 2008–09 Iran Pro League and has been turning out relatively well in the current standings. Foolad won its second championship in 2013–14 season.