Why do some major Iranian cities have no good/memorable team(s)?

[The]

Obviously the 5 largest cities have at least 1 team you can name that at some point existed, but there are cities like Urmia, Ardebil, Zahedan, Yazd, Kermanshah, Hamedan, and Zanjan hardly have teams in the Azadegan league every year, let alone the PGPL. It can't be a population thing because Kerman, Arak and Rasht manage to do at least that and have teams most people at least recognize.

I understand that some are inclined to say "IR", and sure yes they suck, but like what are they doing exactly wrong in sense of allocating resources compared to other cities of same relative size?

I really don't know the answer, so I'm curios to see what y'all think.

[irani8perspolis]

not all regions in iran have football as their first sport. the case of urmia is obvious because in west Azerbaijan the most popular sport by far is volleyball. zahedan is the least developed major city in iran so that is the explanation for that.

as for yazd they did actually have a memorable team, shahid ghandi yazd played one season in the pgpl. same thing with kermanshah, shirin faraz also played in the pgpl a while back.

[freak]

While I don't have an answer to your question, I think part of the problem is that football in Iran isn't a communal affair. For example, Persepolis and Esteghlal aren't connected to any neighborhoods in the greater Tehran area. Instead, teams in Iran are and were from the very beginning corporately owned. Zob Ahan, Sepahan, Bargh, PAS, Mes Kerman, Aluminium Arak, etc. were founded by mining, steel, and military companies/organizations and that trend hasn't changed. Ararat is probably one of a handful of exceptions but that's largely due to their Armenian roots.

This is one of the reasons why many teams in Iran don't have a fan base. Paykan, Bank Melli, Saipa, and many others never drew much support from anybody because they didn't/don't represent any distinct geographical area or community. Contrast that with English teams, which are almost exclusively based on the community football club model that exists in many other countries.

Another example: the three big Istanbul-based clubs in Turkey all represent relatively large suburbs; Galatasaray, Besiktas, and Fenerbahce (on the Asian side of the Bosphorus) draw their fans from those places.

[EKBATAN]

Cuz there are no damn stadiums and facilities

Look at where we play for the NT...a stadium built 50yrs ago. Im surprised we even have a team melli honestly. Its so pathetic the lack of stadiums.

[Hadi]

same reason why the continent of Africa does not have a single F1 driver in history

[Rooyintan]

not all regions in iran have football as their first sport. the case of urmia is obvious because in west Azerbaijan the most popular sport by far is volleyball. zahedan is the least developed major city in iran so that is the explanation for that.

as for yazd they did actually have a memorable team, shahid ghandi yazd played one season in the pgpl. same thing with kermanshah, shirin faraz also played in the pgpl a while back.

Zahedan and all cities in Sistan-va-Balouchestan most popular sport since the 1980s has been cricket due to interactions with neighbouring Pakistan.

[Rooyintan]

Even big clubs in big cities no longer exist or now play in city leagues or other low leagues... the likes of Aria-Bargh, Aboumoslem and Payam in Mashhad; Daraei, Pas, Ararat, Payam, Oghab in Tehran; Bargh and Fajr Sepasi in Shiraz, Shahin in Ahvaz. Answer = lack of interest or lack of financial support by sporting administration of the cities and sponsors and club owners.

Example of lack of interest:
In Mashhad, Astan Qods can easily establish a club and register, but they don't want to because they want to spend money elsewhere. Otherwise they built a very modern stadium and it has been a decor so far

[Nokhodi]

Cuz there are no damn stadiums and facilities

Look at where we play for the NT...a stadium built 50yrs ago. Im surprised we even have a team melli honestly. Its so pathetic the lack of stadiums.

Its less that and more just lack of plain professionalism.

Remember Pas Tehran? They were forcibly moved to Hamedan, because the MPs of Hamedan complained about not having a team. As soon as their team got relegated they stopped caring and now the team plays who know where.
They have a nice stadium in Hamedan actually, but they don't understand how to run a club and stop caring if there is no glory.

[Ghermez Agha]

Mes Kerman was one of the best teams in our league a while back they even advanced out of their ACL group. It’s a huge shame that the club crumbled eventually they even had a good fan base

[Paradigm]

Geography determines culture, which in turn determines sporting interests. Coast, mountain, and desert are the primary geographical categories in the Middle East. If you have noticed, most cities or towns in the desert areas don't have good sport teams.

[inarsenewetrust]

Even big clubs in big cities no longer exist or now play in city leagues or other low leagues... the likes of Aria-Bargh, Aboumoslem and Payam in Mashhad; Daraei, Pas, Ararat, Payam, Oghab in Tehran; Bargh and Fajr Sepasi in Shiraz, Shahin in Ahvaz. Answer = lack of interest or lack of financial support by sporting administration of the cities and sponsors and club owners.

Example of lack of interest:
In Mashhad, Astan Qods can easily establish a club and register, but they don't want to because they want to spend money elsewhere. Otherwise they built a very modern stadium and it has been a decor so far

padideh plays in it.

[sedee91]

Its all about the climate.

[Azeem98]

^ This. Even an iconic city like Paris isn't a football city. Never has been, never will be. Their Marseille rivalry is fake; a media creation to drum up interest in the Ligue 1.There is a reason nobody knows who Red Star Paris are, because a fashion designer founded a club in 1970. PSG from day one were closer to a franchise expansion akin to US sports than a club. That is why Euros revolt towards them.

[PSGman#19]

^ This. Even an iconic city like Paris isn't a football city. Never has been, never will be. Their Marseille rivalry is fake; a media creation to drum up interest in the Ligue 1.There is a reason nobody knows who Red Star Paris are, because a fashion designer founded a club in 1970. PSG from day one were closer to a franchise expansion akin to US sports than a club. That is why Euros revolt towards them.

The rivalry with Marseille was pushed by media but the rivalry is real. People from province, specially the south have a real hate for Paris (and that's understable).

France a whole isn't a country of football. Most People see football as a hobbie like theater, cinema. They follow football only if France or a french club win. They aren't passionate like South America, Spain or even Iran.

[O-ZoNe]

Lol this q is a bit bizarre given that 1000 responses could be provided.

Nova Scotia in Canada calls itself the birth place of hockey....never has it had a professional hockey team. In fact, the entire province doesn't even have a team in the NHL or AHL. Yet bar none the they produce some of the most talented players currently playing the game...prob even the best player to ever play the game when he retires!

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