Iran National Paintball League

The Iran National Paintball League (INPL) is a domestic paintball competition in Iran, documented from at least 2009. Its records include professional and lower divisions, women's competition and national-team selection.[1][2][3]

The league has used different divisional arrangements over time. Individual round results and overall season championships are recorded separately.[1][4][5]

History

2009 season

The opening event of the 2009 INPL season took place from 13 to 15 May 2009. Two surviving video descriptions identify these playing dates.[2][3]

An account reproduced on the paintball forum pbhub on 18 June 2010 listed eight professional division teams: Datis, Persian Legend, Datis 2, Ariana, SWAT, Giv, Tigers and Persian Stars. It reported Datis as overall champion, having won every tournament, followed by Persian Legend and Datis 2.[1]

2011 season and the 1390 finals

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).[4]

The second men's round and first women's round took place together in Babolsar, Mazandaran Province, from 14 to 16 December 2011.[5]

The association reported the following leading results:[5]

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

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.[7]

A Planet Eclipse report published on 27 February 2012 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.[8]

These February 2012 finals concluded the 1390 season associated with the 2011 INPL season.[7][8]

Women's competition and financial difficulties in 2012

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.[9]

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.[10]

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.[10]

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.[11]

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.[12]

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.[13]

Competition in 2024

The third national league round of 1403 took place at Spad in Mashhad from 3 to 6 Mehr 1403 (24–27 September 2024). The league's published report recorded sixteen men's teams and five women's teams.[14]

Datis Tehran won the men's premier division, followed by Spad Mashhad and Amertat Mashhad. Datis veterans won the second division, ahead of Singo BND and Singo Persian Gulf. In the women's professional electronic competition, Datis Tehran finished first, Persian Gulf Tehran second and Spad Mashhad third.[14]

The same report recorded a men's individual ranking competition, won by Sajjad Patoui of Mashhad, followed by Mostafa Rahimi of Bandar Abbas and Bahram Vaziri of Tehran.[14]

2025 season

The 2025 INPL season corresponded to the Iranian calendar year 1404. Documented rounds took place in Mashhad in May and October 2025.[15][16][17]

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.[15][16]

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.[16][18]

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.[17][19]

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.[17]

These are 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.[4][6][10][12]

Eight professional division teams were reported for the 2009 season.[1] 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.[5][12]

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 promoted at the end of the season.[15]

The programme specified five-player men's premier competition with a fifteen-minute limit and six-point mercy rule. The men's second division and women's competition were scheduled with ten-minute limits and four-point mercy rules.[15]

National-team selection

The September 2013 restart announcement proposed inviting leading league players to a national-team camp.[11]

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.[13]

The federation's October 2025 event report also described the technical committee identifying leading competitors for invitations to national-team training camps.[17]

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.[5]

Datis Girls subsequently received the women's championship for 1390, as reported by Planet Eclipse in February 2012.[8]

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.[9]

Five women's teams participated at the third round in Mashhad in September 2024 and at the second round in October 2025.[14][17]

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
2009	Professional division	Datis	Persian Legend	Datis 2
1390 (2011–2012)	Men's first division	Datis	—	—
1390 (2011–2012)	Women's championship	Datis Girls	—	—
1393 (2014–2015)	Premier league	Datis	Ariaman	Griffin

The 2009 overall podium was reported in the June 2010 pbhub account.[1] Later championship entries are supported by Datis, Planet Eclipse and association reports.[7][8][13] Dashes indicate placings not established by those sources.

Season and event articles

Media coverage

Two surviving YouTube videos document the opening event of the 2009 season. Their descriptions identify the playing dates as 13–15 May 2009, and both were linked in the June 2010 pbhub discussion.[1][2][3]

The league has published later announcements and results through Instagram and Telegram. Its public channel also links to recorded matches.[15][20]

YouTube coverage of the 2025 opening round includes Division 1 preliminary matches dated 15 May and Division 2 preliminary matches dated 14 May.[21][22]

References

External links