Iran National Paintball League: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 05:59, 4 November 2026

The Iran National Paintball League (INPL) is a domestic paintball competition in Iran. Archived Iran Paintball Association records document men's divisions, women's competition, league regulations and national-team selection, while later league publications record national rounds during the 2020s.[1][2][3]

The league has used different divisional arrangements over time. Its records distinguish individual round results from overall season championships.[4][5][23][28]

History

Early documented competition

An association report described the opening event of the Iranian calendar year 1390 as the first round of the league's third year. Held in Gilan Province, it included eight teams in the premier division and twelve in the lower division. Datam defeated Datis Tehran in the premier final on 18 Shahrivar 1390 (9 September 2011).[1]

The report's description of a third year establishes an earlier competition history but does not identify a precise founding date.[1]

Men's and women's competition in 1390

The second men's round and first women's round took place together in Babolsar, Mazandaran Province, from 14 to 16 December 2011.[2]

Position	Men's first division	Men's second division	Women's competition
1st	Datis	Diako	Datis
2nd	Hype	Soheil	Javidan
3rd	Persian Legend Two	Tornado	Roham Babolsar

Source: Iran Paintball Association.[2]

The women's entry conditions required registration, identification cards and compliance with INPL Division 2 rules. This specified the rules used for the women's competition rather than placing its teams within the men's second-division standings.[6]

In February 2012, the Datis website identified its first team as the overall INPL champion for 1390 and named Hype as its opponent in the final.[4]

A Planet Eclipse report published on 27 February independently recorded Datis securing the overall championship. It also reported Diako winning Division 2 and promotion to Division 1, while Datis Girls won the women's cup and the women's 1390 title. The report described 26 teams across three divisions at the combined event.[5]

Financial difficulties in 2012

On 25 August 2012, the association announced that it could not stage the league under its existing financial arrangements. The notice cited losses in previous years, operating costs and exchange-rate increases.[7]

It published projected income and expenditure and proposed changes to entry fees and paintball prices as a possible means of balancing the competition's finances.[7]

Restart proposals and the 1393 programme

A September 2013 announcement proposed restarting INPL after reviewing its earlier difficulties. The proposed structure used an iBall format, weekly competition and a maximum of two games on each match day. It also stated that leading players would be invited to a national-team training camp.[8]

For 1393, the association announced that eight approved teams would enter the premier league. It stated that it would not initially operate Division 2 that year and would consider further arrangements during the second half of the year.[9]

An association report preserved in November 2014 described seven rounds over seven months, involving eight teams from Tehran, Alborz, Qazvin, Kerman, Isfahan and Khorasan Razavi provinces. It named Datis as champion, Ariaman as runner-up and Griffin third.[10]

2023 season

The 2023 INPL season corresponded to the Iranian calendar year 1402. Four rounds took place in Bandar Abbas, the Aras Free Zone and Rasht.[25][26][27][28]

Event	Dates or programme	Venue	Men's winner	Women's winner
2023 INPL Round 1	May 2023; women's matches scheduled for 3 May and men's matches for 4–5 May	Singo Paintball Club, Bandar Abbas	Datis Tehran	Singo Elite
2023 INPL Round 2	4–7 July 2023	Aras Free Zone	Datis Tehran	Belona Rasht
2023 INPL Round 3	17–20 October 2023, as reported by ILNA	Belona Paintball Club, Rasht	Tehran 02	Singo Bandar Abbas
2023 INPL Round 4	Women's competition concluded on 27 December; men's competition held on 28–29 December 2023	Singo Paintball Club, Bandar Abbas	Datis Tehran	Singo Elite

Sources: the league's schedules and results, ILNA, IRIB and contemporary final-round reporting.[25][26][27][28][29][30]

For Round 3, ILNA reported a combined programme of 25–28 Mehr 1402 (17–20 October). IRIB described two days of competition without identifying their individual dates.[27][30]

Datis won three men's rounds and finished second to Tehran 02 in Rasht. Singo's final-round results graphic distinguished the men's event podium—Datis, Tehran 02 and Persian Gulf One—from the overall season podium of Datis, Persian Gulf One and Spad.[25][26][28][30]

The documented leading final season standings were:[28][29]

Competition	Position	Team	Points
Men's	1st	Datis Tehran	393
	2nd	Persian Gulf One	339
	3rd	Spad Mashhad	267
Women's	1st	Singo Elite	377
	2nd	Belona Rasht	315
	3rd	Singo Persian Gulf	215

The men's season-conclusion report also recorded Singo fifth with 245 points and Singo BND ninth with 135 points.[28]

For round podiums, participation figures and further documented standings, see 2023 INPL season.

2024 season

The 2024 INPL season corresponded to the Iranian calendar year 1403. Three rounds were completed in Bandar Abbas, Rasht and Mashhad. Each round's results report recorded sixteen men's teams and five women's teams.[3][20][21]

Event	Dates	Venue	Men's premier winner	Men's second-division winner	Women's winner
2024 INPL Round 1	May 2024; scheduled for 7–10 May	Singo Paintball Club, Bandar Abbas	Datis Tehran	Singo BND	Singo Bandar Abbas
2024 INPL Round 2	18–21 June 2024	Belona Paintball Club, Rasht	Datis Tehran	Singo BND	Datis Tehran
2024 INPL Round 3	24–27 September 2024	Spad Paintball Club, Mashhad	Datis Tehran	Datis veterans	Datis Tehran

Sources: contemporary first-round reporting and the league's second- and third-round results announcements.[3][20][21] The opening round's advertised dates were 7–10 May; the contemporary results report confirms that it took place in May.[20][22]

Datis won all three completed men's premier rounds. Sajjad Patoui of Mashhad won the men's individual ranking competition at each round.[3][20][21]

The league published its final men's standings on 25 February 2025.[23]

Division	Position	Team	Points
Men's premier	1st	Datis Tehran	300
	2nd	Spad	248
	3rd	Amertat	210
Men's second division	1st	Singo Bandar	285
	2nd	Datis Old School	270
	3rd	Singo Persian Gulf	195

Singo BND and Datis Old School earned promotion to the premier division. Datis Shemiranat and Persian Gulf Two, seventh and eighth respectively in the premier standings, were relegated.[23]

The second- and third-round reports described the Datis second-division entry as the veterans team; the final standings used the name Datis Old School.[3][21][23]

A fourth round had been proposed for Bafq from 19 to 22 November 2024, conditional on suitable tournament paintballs being available. The February 2025 announcement confirmed that the season had ended after three rounds because suitable paintballs were unavailable. Trophies, medals and certificates would be sent to the leading teams' managers.[3][23]

For the complete published men's tables and round podiums, see 2024 INPL season.

2025 season

The 2025 INPL season corresponded to the Iranian calendar year 1404. Documented rounds took place in Mashhad in May and October 2025.[11][12][13]

The organiser scheduled the opening round for 13–16 May at Spad Paintball Club, Saran Sports Complex. An IRIB report published on 15 May confirmed that the women's and individual events had concluded while men's divisional competition continued until 16 May.[11][12]

Datis Tehran won the opening men's premier competition, with Phoenix Tehran second. The women's podium was Datis Tehran, Spad Mashhad and Arya Mashhad. Shahrad Sharifi won the men's individual event.[12][14]

The second round took place from 21 to 24 October 2025. The federation reported twenty teams across three team divisions, comprising fifteen men's teams and five women's teams.[13][15]

Datis Tehran again won the men's premier and women's competitions. Maxfit Bandar Abbas won the men's second division, while Milad Rashidi won the men's individual event.[13]

These are verified round results rather than an aggregate season championship table.

Organisation and competition structure

Historical INPL notices and results were published by the Iran Paintball Association. The association administered entry requirements and published league schedules, rules and financial notices.[1][6][7][9]

The divisional structure has changed. Records from 1390 describe two men's divisions and a separate women's competition, while the initial 1393 programme provided for eight premier teams without an association-run Division 2 at that stage.[2][9]

The 2023 final-round programme specified men's five-player and women's three-player electronic competition.[31]

The 1403 programme specified five-player electronic team competition for both men and women. The men's premier format used a fifteen-minute limit and six-point mercy rule; the second division and women's competition used ten-minute limits and four-point mercy rules.[22]

At the conclusion of 1403, the league announced that the following season's premier division would retain eight teams, while the second division would accept new entries alongside returning teams.[23]

The 2025 opening programme announced a closed men's premier division of eight teams and an open-entry second division. It provided for the bottom two premier teams to be relegated and the leading two second-division teams to be promoted at the end of the season. The announced time limits and mercy rules matched those specified in the 1403 programme.[11][22]

National-team selection

The September 2013 restart announcement proposed inviting leading league players to a national-team camp.[8]

The association's 2014 report described assessing players across the eight premier teams, inviting twenty to a camp and selecting ten for the national squad.[10]

Following the final 2023 men's round, leading competitors were invited to a national-team camp in Bandar Abbas. The camp took place from 30 December 2023 to 1 January 2024 (9–11 Dey 1402).[28][32]

The federation's October 2025 event report also described the technical committee identifying leading competitors for invitations to national-team training camps.[13]

Women's competition

The first women's league round recorded in the association's recovered 1390 results took place in Babolsar in December 2011. Datis won, followed by Javidan and Roham Babolsar.[2]

Datis Girls subsequently received the women's championship for 1390, as reported by Planet Eclipse in February 2012.[5]

The opening women's league round of 1391 took place in Tehran on 17 May 2012. Seven teams represented five provinces. Datis Alborz finished first, Javidan Tehran second and Titan Qazvin third.[16]

In 2023, Singo Elite won the opening women's round, Belona Rasht won Round 2 and Singo Bandar Abbas won Round 3. Singo Elite won the final round and the overall championship. Belona finished second overall, followed by Singo Persian Gulf.[25][26][29][30]

Five women's teams participated at each completed round of the 2024 season. Singo Bandar Abbas won the opening round, while Datis Tehran won the second and third rounds.[3][20][21]

In a retrospective published on 23 September 2025, the Datis organisation described its women's team as the overall champions for 2024.[24]

Five women's teams also participated at the second national round in October 2025, which Datis Tehran won.[13]

For the broader history of women's leagues, provincial events and international participation, see Women's paintball in Iran.

Documented season championships

Season	Competition	Champion	Runner-up	Third
1390 (2011–2012)	Men's first division	Datis	—	—
1390 (2011–2012)	Women's championship	Datis Girls	—	—
1393 (2014–2015)	Premier league	Datis	Ariaman	Griffin
1402 (2023)	Men's championship	Datis Tehran	Persian Gulf One	Spad Mashhad
1402 (2023)	Women's championship	Singo Elite	Belona Rasht	Singo Persian Gulf
1403 (2024)	Men's premier division	Datis Tehran	Spad	Amertat
1403 (2024)	Men's second division	Singo Bandar	Datis Old School	Singo Persian Gulf

Sources: Datis, Planet Eclipse, association records and contemporary season standings.[4][5][10][23][28][29] Dashes indicate that the cited season reports do not establish those placings.

Datis's claim to the women's 2024 overall title is attributed separately above; the cited final 1403 league table covers the two men's divisions.[23][24]

Season and event articles

2023

2024

2025

Media coverage

The league has published announcements and results through Instagram and Telegram. Its public channel also preserves television reports and links to recorded matches.[17][25]

YouTube coverage of the 2025 opening round includes Division 1 preliminary matches dated 15 May and Division 2 preliminary matches dated 14 May.[18][19]

References

External links