| Full name | Football Club Ararat Tehran | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Founded | 1944 | ||
| Dissolved | 2009 | ||
| Ground | Ararat Stadium Vanak Tehran Iran (Capacity: 15,000) |
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| Owner | Ararat Cultural Organization | ||
| League | 2nd Division | ||
| 2008-09 |
2nd Division Group A, 9th |
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Ararat FC (Persian: آرارات تهران) was a popular football team based in Tehran, Iran. Ararat FC was the football club of the multisport Ararat Club in Iran.
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The club was established in 1944 by a group of Armenian-Iranians. They named the club after the famous mountain of the same name. The club was run by an Armenian athletic organization and was one of few clubs in Iranian football to have its own private stadium and training facilities. The club has never had spectacular results, but has always provided talented players for Iranian football. It was heavily supported by the Armenian minority in Iran, but was also loved by many non-Armenian Iranians. The last time the club played in the top level of Iranian football was the 1995-96 season of the Azadegan League (current IPL). Due to the poor decisions of the club management, Ararat FC has spent most of the past few years playing in the 1st Division and 2nd Division of Iran's football leagues. Until recently the club had a policy of only employing Armenian staff and players, but with the team's poor form in the past few years, this decision has been overturned and non-Armenians have coached the team. The players though are all Armenian-Iranians. In the 2005-06 season the club came very close to promotion into the Azadegan League, but fell short in the last few weeks of the season. In 2007-08 season they took the last place in their group and relegated to 3rd division but in July 2008 Iran Football Federation Number of teams 2nd Division increased to 28 teams and Ararat still remain in 2nd Division.
2008 heralded major changes for Ararat , as the terrible state of the club's finances was revealed: they were unable to pay wages and had debts. The club's owner, Armenian-Iranians, were able to raise some more money, but even this soon proved to be insufficient resources to sustain the club.They finished last in the 2nd Division (group A) standings of the 2008-2009 season. Thus, being relegated to 3rd Division.According to the News papers of Iran The Iran Football Federation Gives a Two Year Break To Ararat Fc For Preparing the Players and Team Members For Next Year Attending in the championship of Iran in the 3rd Division.
The table below chronicles the achievements of Ararat in various competitions since 2001.
| Season | League | Position | Hazfi Cup | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001-2002 | Azadegan League | 7th | Frist Round | Relegated |
| 2005-2006 | 2nd Division | 3rd | Second Round | |
| 2006-2007 | 2nd Division | 7th | First Round | |
| 2007-2008 | 2nd Division | 14th | First Round | |
| 2008-2009 | 2nd Division | 9th | Did not qualify | Relegated |