Iran National Paintball League
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. Later publications record the Iran Paintball Tour during 1401 and national league seasons during the 2020s.[1][2][3][4]
Individual round victories and overall season championships are distinguished in the documented results. Iranian calendar seasons can extend across two Gregorian calendar years, including the 1390 season concluded in February 2012.[5][6]
History
2011 season and the 1390 finals
The 2011 INPL season covered Iranian calendar year 1390, with documented events in September and December 2011 and a concluding competition reported in February 2012.[1][2][5][6]
The association described the September opening round as the first event of the league's third year. This establishes an earlier competition history but does not identify a precise founding date.[1]
Opening round
2011 INPL Round 1 took place in the Naqleh Bar area of Gilan Province. Teams inspected the field on 7 September, with matches on 8–9 September 2011. The association recorded eight premier teams and twelve lower-division teams.[1]
Datam defeated Datis Tehran in the premier final on 9 September. The report called the lower division “Division One”, alongside a separate premier division.[1]
The advance announcement identified the Shahid Abdi educational and recreational complex near Rasht as the venue and advertised a programme of 7–9 September. Its estimate of sixteen participating teams differed from the twenty recorded in the completed-event report.[50]
Babolsar round
2011 INPL Round 2 took place in Babolsar, Mazandaran Province, from 14 to 16 December 2011. It combined the second men's round with the first women's round.[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.[8]
February 2012 conclusion
A Datis report dated 17 February 2012 stated that its first team had won the last INPL round and received the overall championship trophy for 1390. Hype was its opponent in the final. The report identified Datis defeating Joubin and Hype defeating Persian Legend in the knockout phase.[5]
The report described the final as a repeat of the second-round final, which Datis had won 9–8. That score refers to the earlier match rather than a verified February final score.[5]
Planet Eclipse's report of 27 February confirmed Datis's first-division victory and overall series title. It also recorded Diako winning Division 2 and securing promotion, while Datis Girls won the women's cup and the women's 1390 championship. Twenty-six teams competed across three divisions at the concluding event.[6]
The association had scheduled the second women's round for 15 February 2012 at Shahid Dastgerdi Paintball Club, also identified as PAS, in Tehran. This announced date and venue do not independently establish the entire combined finals programme.[51]
The February championship reports explicitly identify the completed season as 1390. These finals are separate from the following 1391 programme covered in 2012 INPL season.[5][6][9]
2012 season
The 2012 INPL season covers Iranian calendar year 1391. A women's opening round was completed in Tehran, while the proposed men's opening round was cancelled because of insufficient entries and financial difficulties.[9][10]
Women's opening round
2012 INPL Women's Round 1 took place on 17 May 2012. Seven teams represented Tehran, Alborz, Qazvin, Isfahan and East Azerbaijan.[9]
| Position | Team | Province |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | Datis Alborz | Alborz |
| 2nd | Javidan Tehran | Tehran |
| 3rd | Titan Qazvin | Qazvin |
| 4th | Artemis Isfahan | Isfahan |
The association and contemporary Mehr reporting agree on the leading four teams.[9][11]
The association also listed Javidan Two Tehran, East Azerbaijan and Takavaran Isfahan. Mehr reported Javidan Two and East Azerbaijan jointly fifth and omitted Takavaran, leaving the lower placings unresolved.[9][11]
The association identified this as the first women's round of 1391, although Mehr described it as the second women's league competition.[9][11]
A second women's round was scheduled for 6 September 2012 at Saital Paintball Club in Vilashahr, Najafabad, Isfahan Province. The recovered announcement does not confirm that the competition took place.[12]
Cancelled men's programme
The association initially proposed the men's opening round for 29–31 August 2012 at the former Sepahan football ground in Isfahan, conditional on sufficient registrations.[13]
A registration notice listed Datis, Diako, Amertat, Persian Gulf, Tornado, Arad, Zeytoon Karaj and Atlantis as teams that had expressed interest. These were not a confirmed participating field.[14]
A revised notice identified Saital Paintball Club in Najafabad as the proposed venue. Its surviving text contains both 6 and 7 September as dates for the men's premier competition, alongside an explicit cancellation statement. It also stated that insufficient registrations prevented the second division from being staged.[15]
The association's separate cancellation letter confirmed that the men's opening round had been cancelled. It cited insufficient entries, rising paintball prices linked to exchange rates, operating costs and a lack of sponsors.[10]
A financial notice published projected income and expenditure and proposed increased entry fees and paintball prices as a possible means of covering costs. These proposals do not establish that the cancelled event subsequently took place.[16]
The cancellation letter suggested private organisation under association supervision and proposed separate national competitions for player selection.[10]
No completed men's 1391 league championship or final women's championship table has been established from the recovered records. Datis Alborz's verified result is an opening-round victory.[9][10][12][15]
Restart proposal in 2013
A September 2013 announcement proposed restarting INPL with an iBall format, weekly competition and a maximum of two games on each match day. It also proposed inviting leading players to a national-team training camp.[17]
2014 season
The 2014 INPL season corresponded to Iranian calendar year 1393. Eight approved teams were to enter the premier competition. The initial programme stated that the association would not operate Division 2 at that stage and would consider further arrangements during the second half of the year.[18]
The completed season comprised seven rounds over seven months. The association identified teams from Tehran, Alborz, Qazvin, Kerman, Isfahan and Khorasan Razavi provinces.[19]
| Round | Date information | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 16 May 2014, as identified in the photo-gallery title | Kerman |
| 2 | Announced for 27 June 2014; a conflicting gallery date remains unresolved | Resistance Village, Tehran |
| 3 | Revised date not recovered | Not established |
| 4 | Scheduled for 8 August 2014 | Resistance Village, Tehran |
| 5 | Scheduled for 29 August 2014 | Resistance Village, Tehran |
| 6 | Not established | Not established |
| 7 | Completed before the report published on 1 November 2014; precise date unresolved | Resistance Paintball Club, Tehran |
Sources: contemporary reporting and archived association records.[19][20][21][22][23][24][25]
The final-round association report gives “Friday, 2 Azar”, which conflicts with Hamshahri's report of the completed event on 1 November 2014 and does not match the stated weekday in 1393. The precise final-round date remains unresolved.[19][20]
Datis Tehran won the overall championship, followed by Ariaman Tehran and Griffin Qazvin. These are season standings rather than a separately verified seventh-round podium.[19][20]
The domestic programme was intended to maintain teams' readiness for the Asia-Pacific league, with its final round scheduled approximately two weeks before the concluding Asia-Pacific event.[19][20]
Iran Paintball Tour, 1401
The 2022 Iran Paintball Tour season covers the documented tour beginning in June 2022. An opening round in Rasht and a second round in Bandar Abbas in February 2023 both fell within Iranian calendar year 1401.[3][26]
The INPL Instagram account advertised the Rasht event as the opening round of the Iran Paintball Tour.[4] Tabnak described it as a return following a two-year interruption associated with the COVID-19 pandemic.[3]
| Event | Dates or programme | Venue | First | Second | Third |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Round 1 | 23–24 June 2022 | Belona Paintball Club, Rasht | Datis Tehran | Datis Shemiranat | Singo Two Bandar Abbas |
| Round 2 | February 2023; reported in progress on 2 February, continuing the following day | Singo Paintball Club, Bandar Abbas | Datis Tehran | Datis Shemiranat | Persian Gulf One |
Sources: contemporary tour reporting.[3][26][27]
Eleven teams participated in Rasht. Belona received the fair-play cup, and Reza Shahran served as head referee. The advertised programme was 22–24 June, while the results report identified 23–24 June as the competition days.[3][4]
Ten teams participated in the second round. Singo Persian Gulf A finished fourth; Singo Persian Gulf B also participated.[26][27]
Datis won both documented rounds. The cited reports do not provide cumulative points or establish an overall tour championship.[3][27]
2023 season
The 2023 INPL season corresponded to Iranian calendar year 1402. Four rounds took place in Bandar Abbas, the Aras Free Zone and Rasht.[28][29][30][31]
| 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: league records and contemporary reporting.[28][29][30][31][32][33]
For Round 3, ILNA reported a combined programme of 17–20 October. IRIB described two days of competition without identifying their individual dates.[30][33]
Datis won three men's rounds and finished second to Tehran 02 in Rasht. The final men's championship podium was Datis Tehran with 393 points, Persian Gulf One with 339 and Spad Mashhad with 267.[28][29][31][33]
Singo Elite won the women's championship with 377 points, followed by Belona Rasht with 315 and Singo Persian Gulf with 215.[32]
Singo's contemporary graphic distinguished the fourth-round men's results from the overall championship podium.[7]
2024 season
The 2024 INPL season corresponded to Iranian calendar year 1403. Three rounds were completed, each with sixteen men's teams and five women's teams.[34][35][36]
| 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 results and the opening programme.[34][35][36][37]
Datis won all three men's premier rounds. Sajjad Patoui won the men's individual ranking competition at each round.[34][35][36]
The final premier standings placed Datis first with 300 points, Spad second with 248 and Amertat third with 210. Singo Bandar won the second division with 285 points, followed by Datis Old School with 270 and Singo Persian Gulf with 195.[38]
Singo BND and Datis Old School earned promotion. Datis Shemiranat and Persian Gulf Two, seventh and eighth respectively in the premier standings, were relegated.[38]
The second- and third-round reports described the Datis second-division entry as the veterans team; the final standings used Datis Old School.[35][36][38]
A fourth round had been proposed for Bafq on 19–22 November, conditional on suitable tournament paintballs being available. The league subsequently confirmed that the season ended after three rounds because suitable paintballs were unavailable. Awards would be sent to the leading teams' managers.[36][38]
2025 season
The 2025 INPL season corresponded to Iranian calendar year 1404. Documented rounds took place in Mashhad in May and October 2025.[39][40][41]
The opening round was scheduled 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.[39][40]
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.[40][42]
The second round took place on 21–24 October. The federation reported twenty teams across three team divisions: fifteen men's teams and five women's teams.[41][43]
Datis Tehran 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.[41]
These are verified round results rather than an aggregate season championship table.
Organisation and competition structure
Historical notices and results were published by the Iran Paintball Association, which administered entry requirements and published schedules, rules and financial notices.[1][8][10][18]
Divisional labels and formats have changed. The opening 1390 report distinguished a premier division from a lower “Division One”; December results used first- and second-division labels. The initial 1393 programme provided for eight premier teams without an association-run Division 2 at that stage.[1][2][18]
The 2023 final-round programme specified men's five-player and women's three-player electronic competition.[44]
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.[37]
The 2025 programme announced a closed eight-team men's premier division and an open-entry second division, with the bottom two premier teams relegated and the leading two second-division teams promoted at the end of the season.[39]
National-team selection
The September 2013 restart announcement proposed inviting leading players to a national-team camp.[17]
During the 2014 season, the association assessed players across the eight league teams, invited twenty to a camp and selected ten for the national squad. Its season-conclusion report announced the squad's forthcoming participation in the 2014 Nations Cup in Langkawi, Malaysia.[19][20]
Following the final 2023 men's round, leading competitors were invited to a camp in Bandar Abbas, held from 30 December 2023 to 1 January 2024.[31][45]
The federation's October 2025 report also described the technical committee identifying competitors for invitations to national-team camps.[41]
Women's competition
The first women's round recorded in the recovered 1390 results took place in Babolsar in December 2011. Datis won, followed by Javidan and Roham Babolsar. Datis Girls subsequently won the women's cup and overall 1390 championship at the concluding competition reported in February 2012.[2][6]
The following season's confirmed opening round took place in Tehran on 17 May 2012. Datis Alborz finished first, Javidan Tehran second and Titan Qazvin third. The proposed September second round remains unverified as a completed event.[9][12]
Singo Elite won the 2023 overall women's championship, followed by Belona Rasht and Singo Persian Gulf.[32]
Five women's teams participated at each completed 2024 round. Singo Bandar Abbas won the opening round, while Datis Tehran won the second and third.[34][35][36] In a retrospective published on 23 September 2025, Datis described its women's team as the overall champions for 2024.[46]
Five women's teams participated at the second national round in October 2025, which Datis Tehran won.[41]
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) | 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: contemporary championship reports and final standings.[5][6][19][20][31][32][38] Dashes indicate that the cited reports do not establish those overall placings.
Diako's documented February 2012 Division 2 victory and promotion are recorded in the season narrative; they are not presented here as a separately verified aggregate championship.[6]
The 1391 programme and 1401 tour are omitted from this championship table because their recovered records do not establish aggregate championship standings. Datis's women's 2024 title claim is attributed separately above.[9][10][27][46]
Season and event articles
1390 season, 2011–2012
2012
2014
- 2014 INPL season
- 2014 INPL Round 1
- 2014 INPL Round 2
- 2014 INPL Round 4
- 2014 INPL Round 5
- 2014 INPL Round 7
1401 tour, 2022–2023
2023
2024
2025
Media coverage
The league has published announcements and results through Instagram and Telegram. Its public channel preserves television reports and links to recorded matches.[28][47]
YouTube coverage of the 2025 opening round includes Division 1 preliminary matches dated 15 May and Division 2 preliminary matches dated 14 May.[48][49]
See also
- Iranian paintball
- Paintball in Iran
- Iran Paintball Association
- Women's paintball in Iran
- Datis (Iran Paintball Team)
- Datis Girls (Iran Paintball Team)
- Paintball League Middle East
- Paintball Asia League Series
References
- Iran Paintball Association, opening round of the third national league year, 1390, archived 10 October 2011. Persian.
- Iran Paintball Association, Azar 1390 league results, archived 19 January 2012. Persian.
- Tabnak Sport, opening Iran Paintball Tour results, 28 June 2022. Persian.
- INPL, opening Iran Paintball Tour announcement, 1 June 2022. Persian.
- Datis Paintball, “And again, Datis, the INPL overall Champion”, 17 February 2012, archived 8 April 2012.
- Planet Eclipse, “Datis make it a clean sweep!”, 27 February 2012.
- Singo, fourth-round and overall 1402 men's podiums, December 2023. Persian.
- Iran Paintball Association, women's participation conditions, archived 5 February 2012. Persian.
- Iran Paintball Association, first women's round of 1391, archived 24 May 2012. Persian.
- Iran Paintball Association, men's league cancellation letter, archived 20 September 2012. Persian.
- Mehr News Agency, sports bulletin including women's paintball results, 23 May 2012. Persian.
- Iran Paintball Association, proposed second women's round at Najafabad, archived 12 April 2013. Persian.
- Iran Paintball Association, proposed opening round at the former Sepahan football ground, archived 22 August 2012. Persian.
- Iran Paintball Association, 1391 opening-round registration notice, archived 28 August 2013. Persian.
- Iran Paintball Association, revised men's programme and cancellation statements, archived 3 September 2012. Persian.
- Iran Paintball Association, cancellation and financial notice, archived 30 August 2012. Persian.
- Team Antimatter, reproduction of the association's restart announcement, September 2013. Persian.
- Iran Paintball Association, 1393 programme, archived 7 April 2014. Persian.
- Iran Paintball Association, season conclusion and national-team report, archived 15 November 2014. Persian.
- Hamshahri Online, Datis wins the premier league, 1 November 2014. Persian.
- Iran Paintball Association, first-round Kerman gallery title, archived 3 August 2014. Persian.
- IRNA, second round announced for 6 Tir, 10 June 2014. Persian; details recovered from the search index.
- Iran Paintball Association, second-round results-page title, archived 3 August 2014. Persian.
- Iran Paintball Association, fourth-round announcement, archived 27 September 2014. Persian.
- Iran Paintball Association, fifth-round announcement, archived 27 September 2014. Persian.
- Young Journalists Club, second tour round in Bandar Abbas, 2 February 2023. Persian.
- IRIB, second tour round results, 6 February 2023. Persian.
- INPL, opening-round schedules and results, April–May 2023. Persian.
- INPL, second-round results, 9 July 2023. Persian.
- ILNA, third round in Rasht, 22 October 2023. Persian.
- Khabar Varzeshi Hormozgan, men's 1402 season conclusion, 29 December 2023. Persian.
- Young Journalists Club, women's championship results, 27 December 2023. Persian.
- IRIB, Rasht results, 21 October 2023. Persian.
- Sobhe Sahel, first-round results, 25 May 2024. Persian.
- INPL, second-round 1403 results, June 2024. Persian.
- INPL, third-round 1403 results, September 2024. Persian.
- INPL, 1403 programme. Persian.
- INPL, final 1403 standings and season conclusion, 25 February 2025. Persian.
- INPL, 1404 opening programme. Persian.
- IRIB, opening women's and individual results, 15 May 2025. Persian.
- Iran Sport for All Federation, second 1404 round results. Persian.
- Tehran Sport for All board, first-round 1404 results. Persian.
- INPL, second-round results and dates, 31 October 2025. Persian.
- INPL, final-round 1402 programme, 29 November 2023. Persian.
- Borna, Gilan women's placing and national-team camp dates, reproduced by Sahebkhabar, 9 January 2024. Persian.
- Datis, women's retrospective captioned “Overall champions 2024”, 23 September 2025. Persian and English.
- INPL, announcements and match coverage. Persian.
- INPL, 2025 opening-round Division 1 preliminary recording, 15 May.
- INPL, 2025 opening-round Division 2 preliminary recording, 14 May.
- Iran Paintball Association, opening-round announcement for Gilan–Rasht, archived 10 October 2011. Persian.
- Iran Paintball Association, second women's round of 1390: February programme and Shahid Dastgerdi venue, archived 4 June 2012. Persian.