Al Sadd SC
He was placed in the starting line up for the season opening match against Naft Tehran. However, due to a FIFA imposed transfer ban which lead to Esteghlal's lack of midfield, team manager Alireza Mansourian, tried Noorafkan in his favorite position as a defensive midfielder. The position which he played with Iran U19 as well. Following his stunning display in that role, he secured his place in the team's starting line up. On 27 January 2017, he scored his first professional goal in a 3–2 home win against Paykan. He scored another goal in a 3–0 win against Machine Sazi the following week. Earlier in that match he assisted Ali Ghorbani's goal. On 2 February 2017, he started the AFC Champions League qualifying play-off match against Al Sadd SC which Esteghlal won in a 4–3 penalty shoot-out following a 0–0 draw after extra time. On 12 February he played his first Tehran derby against city rivals Persepolis assisting Kaveh Rezaei's goal as Esteghlal won 3–2. Noorafkan was lauded by Iranian media for his display against Persepolis, marking-out creative Attacking midfielder Soroush Rafiei as he played an insignificant role in the match against Esteghlal.