# 2011–12 Azadegan League

The 2011–12 Azadegan League was the 21st season of the Azadegan League and 11th as the second highest division since its establishment in 1991. The season featured 21 teams from the 2010–11 Azadegan League, three new teams relegated from the 2010–11 Persian Gulf Cup: PAS Hamedan, Paykan and Steel Azin and three new teams promoted from the 2010–11 2nd Division: Saipa Shomal as champions, Niroye Zamini and Parseh Tehran. Esteghlal Khuzestan replaced Esteghlal Jonoub Tehran. Damash Lorestan changed their name into Gahar Zagros while Hamyari Arak changed their name into Shahrdari Arak. The league started on 14 September 2011 and ended on 19 April 2012. Paykan won the Azadegan League title for the first time in their history. Paykan, Aluminium Hormozgan and Gahar Zagros promoted to the Persian Gulf Cup.

## Teams

The league featured three clubs relegated from Iran Pro League: Steel Azin and Paykan both returned to the Azadegan League after two seasons in the top division. The third team Pas Hamedan, were relegated for the first time in that club's history to a lower league.

### Group A

| Team | City | Venue | Capacity | Head Coach | Note |
| Aboomoslem | Mashhad | Samen | 35,000 | Khodadad Azizi | |
| Parseh Tehran | Tehran | Kargaran | 5,000 | Mehdi Dinvarzadeh | Changed name from Damash |
| Etka | Gorgan | Karim Abad | 15,000 | Hamid Kolalifard | |
| Foolad Yazd | Yazd | Nassiri | 6,000 | Zoran Smilevski | |
| Iranjavan | Bushehr | Shahid Beheshti | 15,000 | Abdolrahim Kharazmi | |
| Gostaresh Foolad | Tabriz | Bagh Shomal | 20,000 | Mohammad H Ziaei | |
| Mes Rafsanjan | Rafsanjan | Noushabad | 10,000 | Akbar Zabardast | |
| Payam Mokhaberat | Shiraz | Hafezieh | 20,000 | Asghar Akbari | |
| Paykan | Tehran | Iran Khodro | 5,000 | Farhad Kazemi | |
| Saipa Shomal | Qa'em-Shahr | Vatani | 15,000 | Samvel Darbinyan | |
| Sanat Sari | Sari | Shohada Stadium | 15,000 | Nader Dastneshan | |
| Shahrdari Arak | Arak | Imam Khomeini | 15,000 | Hamid Kolalifard | Replaced for Hamyari Arak |
| Shahrdari Bandar Abbas | Bandar Abbas | Takhti | 10,000 | Acácio Casimiro | |
| Steel Azin | Semnan | Takhti | 10,000 | Faraz Kamalvand | |

### Group B

| Team | City | Venue | Capacity | Head Coach | Note |
| Aluminium Hormozgan | Bandar Abbas | Takhti | 10,000 | Akbar Misaghian | |
| Bargh Shiraz | Shiraz | Hafezieh | 20,000 | Mehrdad Shekari | |
| Esteghlal Khuzestan | Ahvaz | Takhti Ahvaz | 30,000 | Majid Bagherinia | Replaced for Esteghlal Jonub |
| Gahar Zagros | Dorood | Takhti | 10,000 | Davoud Mahabadi | |
| Gol Gohar | Sirjan | Imam Ali | 2,000 | Mehdi Mohammadi | |
| Machine Sazi | Tabriz | Bagh Shomal | 20,000 | Rasoul Khatibi | |
| Naft Masjed Soleyman | Masjed Soleyman | Takhti Ahvaz | 30,000 | Siavash Bakhtiarizade | |
| Nassaji | Qa'em-Shahr | Vatani | 15,000 | Davoud Mahabadi | |
| Nirooye Zamini | Tehran | Jey Stadium | | Ali Rouzbahani | |
| PAS Hamedan | Hamedan | Shahid Mofatteh | 10,000 | Vinko Begović | |
| Sanati Kaveh | Tehran | Aliaf Stadium | 5,000 | Majid Namjoo-Motlagh | |
| Shahrdari Yasuj | Yasuj | Takhti Yasuj | 5,000 | Abdollah Chamanian | |
| Shirin Faraz | Kermanshah | Azadi Stadium | 7,000 | Majid Aghajari | |
| Tarbiat Yazd | Yazd | Nassiri | 6,000 | Hadi Bargizar | |

## Managerial changes

| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Position in table | Replaced by | Date of appointment |
| Aboomoslem | Ali Hanteh | Resigned | 2011 | | Kazem Ghiasian | 2011 |
| Sanati Kaveh | Saket Elhami | Resigned | 20 October 2011 | 14 | Ahmad Sanjari | 29 October 2011 |
| Aboomoslem | Kazem Ghiasian | Sacked | 19 November 2011 | 8 | Khodadad Azizi | 19 November 2011 |
| Sanati Kaveh | Ahmad Sanjari | Resigned | November 2011 | 14 | Morteza Yekeh | Nov 2011 |
| Sanati Kaveh | Morteza Yekeh | | 17 November 2011 | 14 | Mehdi Dinvarzadeh | Nov 2011 |
| Sanati Kaveh | Mehdi Dinvarzadeh | Resigned | 1 December 2011 | 14 | Ali Nazarzadeh | 1 December 2012 |
| Sanati Kaveh | Ali Nazarzadeh | End of caretaker spell | 2 December 2011 | 14 | Majid Namjoo-Motlagh | 3 December 2011 |
| Pas Hamedan | Faraz Kamalvand | Resigned | 12 January 2012 | 5 | Jalal Cheraghpour | 12 January 2012 |
| Parseh | Hossein Peyrovani | Resigned | 19 January 2012 | | Edmond Yunanpour | 25 January 2012 |
| Pas Hamedan | Jalal Cheraghpour | End of caretaker spell | 22 January 2012 | | Vinko Begović | 22 January 2012 |
| Gostaresh | Hossein Ziaei | Sacked | 31 January 2012 | 12 | Hadi Bargizar | 31 January 2012 |
| Parseh | Edmond Yunanpour | | Feb 2012 | | Mehdi Dinvarzadeh | 5 February 2012 |
| Steel Azin | Human Afazeli | Resigned | 18 February 2012 | 11 | Faraz Kamalvand | 18 February 2012 |
| Sanat Sari | Reza Taghavi | Sacked | 18 February 2012 | 14 | Farshad Pious | 19 February 2012 |
| Shahrdari Arak | Nader Dastneshan | Sacked | 27 February 2012 | 7 | Ali Hanteh | 27 February 2012 |

## Standings
### Group A

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion or relegation |
| 1 | Paykan (P) | 26 | 14 | 8 | 4 | 44 | 26 | +18 | 50 | Promotion to 2012–13 Persian Gulf Cup |
| 2 | Iranjavan (Q) | 26 | 13 | 9 | 4 | 31 | 16 | +15 | 48 | Azadegan League 2011–12 Play Off |
| 3 | Sh. Bandar Abbas | 26 | 10 | 8 | 8 | 26 | 27 | −1 | 38 | |
| 4 | Sh. Arak | 26 | 9 | 10 | 7 | 19 | 17 | +2 | 37 | |
| 5 | Foolad Yazd | 26 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 25 | 23 | +2 | 36 | |
| 6 | Aboumoslem | 26 | 8 | 10 | 8 | 21 | 18 | +3 | 34 | |
| 7 | Etka Gorgan | 26 | 9 | 7 | 10 | 21 | 20 | +1 | 34 | |
| 8 | Saipa Shomal | 26 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 26 | 26 | 0 | 33 | |
| 9 | Gostaresh | 26 | 7 | 11 | 8 | 25 | 30 | −5 | 32 | |
| 10 | Steel Azin | 26 | 10 | 10 | 6 | 29 | 22 | +7 | 28 | |
| 11 | Parseh Tehran | 26 | 8 | 4 | 14 | 20 | 29 | −9 | 28 | |
| 12 | Mes Rafsanjan | 26 | 6 | 8 | 12 | 22 | 28 | −6 | 26 | |
| 13 | Sanat Sari (R) | 26 | 7 | 5 | 14 | 20 | 34 | −14 | 26 | Relegation to 2012–13 Iran Football's 2nd Division |
| 14 | Payam Mokhaberat (R) | 26 | 5 | 10 | 11 | 15 | 28 | −13 | 25 | Relegation to 2012–13 Iran Football's 2nd Division |
* ↑ Steel Azin was docked 12 points by FIFA.

### Group B

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion or relegation |
| 1 | Aluminium Hormozgan (P) | 26 | 15 | 7 | 4 | 28 | 12 | +16 | 52 | Promotion to 2012–13 Persian Gulf Cup |
| 2 | Gahar Zagros (P, Q) | 26 | 11 | 9 | 6 | 23 | 16 | +7 | 42 | Azadegan League 2011–12 Play Off |
| 3 | Machine Sazi | 26 | 11 | 8 | 7 | 32 | 25 | +7 | 41 | |
| 4 | PAS Hamedan | 26 | 10 | 9 | 7 | 29 | 25 | +4 | 39 | |
| 5 | Nassaji Mazandaran | 26 | 10 | 7 | 9 | 26 | 26 | 0 | 37 | |
| 6 | Est. Khuzestan | 26 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 28 | 23 | +5 | 35 | |
| 7 | Sh. Yasouj | 26 | 10 | 5 | 11 | 24 | 27 | −3 | 35 | |
| 8 | Naft Masjed Soleyman | 26 | 8 | 10 | 8 | 25 | 26 | −1 | 34 | |
| 9 | Gol Gohar | 26 | 9 | 6 | 11 | 28 | 28 | 0 | 33 | |
| 10 | Niroye Zamini | 26 | 7 | 11 | 8 | 23 | 24 | −1 | 32 | |
| 11 | Shirin Faraz | 26 | 7 | 11 | 8 | 22 | 27 | −5 | 32 | |
| 12 | Tarbiat Yazd | 26 | 7 | 9 | 10 | 21 | 26 | −5 | 30 | |
| 13 | Sanati Kaveh (R) | 26 | 7 | 8 | 11 | 24 | 23 | +1 | 29 | Relegation to 2012–13 Iran Football's 2nd Division |
| 14 | Bargh Shiraz (R) | 26 | 4 | 6 | 16 | 12 | 37 | −25 | 18 | Relegation to 2012–13 Iran Football's 2nd Division |

## Results table
### Group A

| Home \ Away | ABU | PAT | ETK | FOY | GOS | IRJ | MSR | PMS | PAY | SAI | SAN | SHA | SHB | STL |
| Aboumoslem | | 1–0 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 3–0 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 2–2 |
| Parseh Tehran | 0–0 | | 0–0 | 3–0 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 1–4 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 1–2 |
| Etka Gorgan | 0–0 | 3–0 | | 0–1 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 1–2 |
| Foolad Yazd | 2–1 | 2–1 | 2–0 | | 0–0 | 2–2 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 0–0 |
| Gostaresh | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–4 | | 0–0 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 2–0 |
| Iranjavan | 1–0 | 0–2 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 2–0 | | 4–0 | 3–1 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 0–2 |
| Mes Rafsanjan | 1–1 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 1–2 | | 0–0 | 1–2 | 4–1 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 0–0 | 1–2 |
| Payam Mokhaberat | 0–1 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 | | 1–7 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 1–0 |
| Paykan | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 3–2 | 1–0 | | 2–1 | 4–2 | 0–0 | 4–1 | 2–1 |
| Saipa Shomal | 0–1 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 2–1 | | 2–2 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 1–2 |
| Sanat Sari | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 1–3 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 0–3 | | 1–0 | 0–0 | 1–0 |
| Sh. Arak | 1–0 | 2–1 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 0–0 | | 0–1 | 0–0 |
| Sh. Bandar Abbas | 1–1 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 4–3 | 2–1 | 3–1 | 1–0 | 2–3 | 2–1 | 0–0 | 0–1 | | 1–1 |
| Steel Azin | 0–2 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 4–2 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 3–0 | 1–1 | 2–1 | |

### Group B

| Home \ Away | ALH | BGH | ESK | GZA | GOL | MST | NFT | NSJ | NRO | PAS | KAV | SHY | SFZ | TAR |
| Aluminium Hormozgan | | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 0–0 | | | | 2–0 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 0–0 | |
| Bargh Shiraz | | | | 0–1 | | | 0–0 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 0–3 | 1–2 | 1–0 | 0–1 |
| Est. Khuzestan | | 1–1 | | | | | 2–0 | | 1–1 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 3–1 | 1–1 |
| Gahar Zagros | 0–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | | | 3–1 | 1–1 | 0–0 | | | 1–1 | | 3–1 | 3–1 |
| Gol Gohar | 1–2 | 3–0 | 3–1 | 0–0 | | 2–2 | 3–0 | | | | 3–2 | 0–1 | | 2–1 |
| Machine Sazi | | 1–1 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 2–0 | | 2–2 | | | | 3–2 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 1–2 |
| Naft Masjed Soleyman | 1–1 | | | | | 1–0 | | 2–3 | 1–1 | 1–2 | | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 |
| Nassaji Mazandaran | 0–1 | | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–3 | | | 0–0 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | | |
| Niroye Zamini | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | | 1–0 | | | 1–0 | 2–2 | | |
| PAS Hamedan | 1–1 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 0–1 | | 2–1 | 2–1 | | | | | 1–1 |
| Sanati Kaveh | 1–2 | 0–1 | 0–0 | | | | 0–1 | 2–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | | | 2–0 | 1–1 |
| Sh. Yasouj | | | 2–0 | 0–0 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 1–0 | | 1–3 | 2–0 | 1–0 | | 2–2 | |
| Shirin Faraz | 1–1 | 1–0 | | | 0–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 1–1 | | | | 1–0 |
| Tarbiat Yazd | 0–2 | | | 2–0 | 2–0 | | 2–1 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 1–3 | | 0–0 | 2–1 | |

## Play Off

    First leg played on 1 May 2012; return leg to be played on 8 May 2012
| Team 1 | Agg.Tooltip Aggregate score | Team 2 | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
| Iranjavan | 1–1 | Gahar Zagros | 1-1 | 0-0 |
Winner is promoted to the Persian Gulf Cup

## Final

    The Final scheduled to play on 2 May 2012
| Team 1 | Score | Team 2 | Notes |
| Paykan | (w/o) | Aluminum Hormozgan | |

## Attendance
### Average home attendance

| Pos | Team | Total | High | Low | Average | Change |
| 1 | Naft MIS | 100,000 | 10,000 | 0 | 9,091 | +1.0%$^†$ |
| 2 | Gahar Zagros | 80,000 | 10,000 | 2,000 | 6,154 | +79.7%$^†$ |
| 3 | Nassaji | 69,500 | 15,000 | 0 | 5,792 | −54.6%$^†$ |
| 4 | Aluminium Hormozgan | 55,600 | 10,000 | 0 | 5,055 | +66.4%$^†$ |
| 5 | Sh. Yasouj | 52,500 | 7,000 | 2,000 | 4,038 | −27.1%$^†$ |
| 6 | Sh. Arak | 47,000 | 7,000 | 1,000 | 3,615 | +151.4%$^†$ |
| 7 | Machine Sazi | 42,500 | 5,000 | 1,000 | 3,269 | +312.8%$^†$ |
| 8 | Sh. Bandar Abbas | 41,200 | 7,000 | 200 | 3,169 | +75.3%$^†$ |
| 9 | Steel Azin | 36,000 | 4,000 | 1,000 | 2,769 | −29.7%$^†$ |
| 10 | Mes Rafsanjan | 30,500 | 3,000 | 500 | 2,346 | −9.0%$^†$ |
| 11 | Gol Gohar | 27,500 | 3,000 | 1,500 | 2,115 | −6.8%$^†$ |
| 12 | Iranjavan | 27,000 | 5,000 | 1,000 | 2,077 | +7.0%$^†$ |
| 13 | PAS Hamedan | 25,500 | 3,000 | 1,000 | 1,962 | −56.7%$^†$ |
| 14 | Saipa Shomal | 24,300 | 3,500 | 100 | 1,869 | n/a$^†$ |
| 15 | Shirin Faraz | 22,500 | 3,000 | 0 | 1,875 | −28.3%$^†$ |
| 16 | Foolad Yazd | 23,400 | 4,000 | 100 | 1,800 | −33.1%$^†$ |
| 17 | Sanat Sari | 16,200 | 3,000 | 0 | 1,350 | −67.5%$^†$ |
| 18 | Etka Gorgan | 17,000 | 2,300 | 100 | 1,308 | +0.3%$^†$ |
| 19 | Est. Khuzestan | 15,500 | 2,000 | 0 | 1,292 | n/a$^†$ |
| 20 | Aboumoslem | 11,150 | 2,500 | 0 | 929 | −31.2%$^†$ |
| 21 | Tarbiat Yazd | 11,700 | 2,000 | 200 | 900 | −78.8%$^†$ |
| 22 | Paykan | 11,650 | 3,000 | 100 | 896 | −53.8%$^†$ |
| 23 | Bargh Shiraz | 11,000 | 2,000 | 100 | 846 | −26.7%$^†$ |
| 24 | Gostaresh | 10,950 | 2,000 | 50 | 842 | −83.1%$^†$ |
| 25 | Niroye Zamini | 7,800 | 3,000 | 100 | 600 | n/a$^†$ |
| 25 | Payam Mokhaberat | 7,800 | 1,500 | 100 | 600 | +29.9%$^†$ |
| 27 | Parseh Tehran | 3,450 | 1,000 | 0 | 288 | n/a$^†$ |
| 28 | Sanati Kaveh | 2,600 | 1,000 | 100 | 200 | +6.4%$^†$ |
| | League total | 831,800 | 15,000 | 0 | 2,350 | −14.0%$^†$ |
Updated to games played on 19 April 2012 Source: iplstats.com Notes: Matches with spectator bans are not included in average attendances PAS Hamedan, Paykan and Steel Azin played last season in Persian Gulf Cup Niroye Zamini, Parseh Tehran and Saipa Shomal played last season in Iran 2nd Division Esteghlal Khuzestan replaced Esteghlal Jonoub Tehran Damash Lorestan changed their name into Gahar Zagros Hamyari Arak changed their name into Shahrdari Arak

### Highest attendance

| Rank | Home team | Score | Away team | Attendance | Date | Week | Stadium |
| 1 | Nassaji | 0–0 | Naft MIS | 15,000 | 5 April 2012 (2012-04-05) | 24 | Vatani |
| 2 | Naft MIS | 1–2 | PAS Hamadan | 10,000 | 17 November 2011 (2011-11-17) | 7 | Behnam Mohammadi |
| 2 | Naft MIS | 2–3 | Nassaji | 10,000 | 16 December 2011 (2011-12-16) | 11 | Behnam Mohammadi |
| 2 | Naft MIS | 1–1 | Aluminium Hormozgan | 10,000 | 27 December 2011 (2011-12-27) | 13 | Behnam Mohammadi |
| 2 | Naft MIS | 1–0 | Tarbiat Yazd | 10,000 | 12 January 2012 (2012-01-12) | 14 | Behnam Mohammadi |
| 2 | Gahar Zagros | 0–1 | Aluminium Hormozgan | 10,000 | 27 January 2012 (2012-01-27) | 16 | Takhti Doroud |
| 2 | Naft MIS | 0–0 | Gol Gohar | 10,000 | 3 February 2012 (2012-02-03) | 17 | Behnam Mohammadi |
| 2 | Naft MIS | 1–0 | Gahar Zagros | 10,000 | 16 February 2012 (2012-02-16) | 19 | Behnam Mohammadi |
| 2 | Aluminium Hormozgan | 1–0 | Niroye Zamini | 10,000 | 16 February 2012 (2012-02-16) | 19 | Khalij-e Fars |
| 2 | Naft MIS | 2–1 | Sanati Kaveh | 10,000 | 29 February 2012 (2012-02-29) | 21 | Behnam Mohammadi |
Notes: Updated to games played on 19 April 2012. Source: iplstats.com