Esteghlal Cultural and Athletic Club (Persian: باشگاه فرهنگی ورزشی استقلال ایران) is an Iranian sports club most widely known for its professional football team based in Tehran. It was founded as Taj (Persian: تاج), meaning 'Crown' in Persian and renamed after the Islamic Revoloution in 1979. Founded in 1945, they play in the IPL and have spent almost all of their history in the top tier in Iranian football; they spent one season in Iran's second division in 1993-1994. The club also had a similarly successful futsal section.