Iranian Hazfi Cup
Hazfi Cup (Persian: جام حذفی, romanized: Jām-e Hazfi, lit. 'knockout cup') is an Iranian knockout football competition held annually by the Football Federation Islamic Republic of Iran.
| Founded | 1975 |
|---|---|
| Region | Iran |
| Number of teams | 100 |
| Current champions | Persepolis (7th title) |
| Most successful club(s) | Esteghlal (7 titles and 7 Runners Up) |
| Television broadcasters |
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| 2023–24 Hazfi Cup | |
The Iranian football league was not held during the 1980s, hence the winner of Hazfi Cup represented Iran in the Asian Club Championship. After the revival of the league system, the champion of Iranian league qualified for Asian Club Championship and the winner of Hazfi Cup for Asian Cup Winners' Cup. The Asian Cup Winners' Cup merged with the Asian Champions Cup in 2002–03 to form the AFC Champions League and Iran was initially given two (and later four) slots in this competitions. The IRIFF decided to award one of Iran's AFC Champions League spots to the winner of the Hazfi Cup, and since then, the winners of Hazfi Cup have always been allocated a spot in the AFC Champions League.
The competition was founded in 1975 as Pahlavi Cup but after the revolution continued as Hazfi Cup. Esteghal and Persepolis are the most successful clubs with seven titles each.