Esteghlal Ahvaz

He is the owner of Iran's Premier Football League

Iran's Premier Football League

The Iran Pro League , is a professional football league competition for clubs located at the highest level of the Iranian football league system.The league system resembles the system being used in England currently...

 club Esteghlal Ahvaz F.C. who he bought in 2002.

Over the years he has bought numerous players for substantial fees, including Adriano Alves

Adriano Alves

Adriano Leonardo Alves is a Brazilian footballer who is currently a Free Agent. Having played 8 Seasons in the Iran's Premier Football League, He is the very first Brazilian to play in the Iranian Football.- Club career :Alves started his career at Brazilian side Central Sport Club where he...

, Abdul-Wahab Abu Al-Hail

Abdul-Wahab Abu Al-Hail

Abdul-Wahab Abu Al-Hail Labid is an Iraqi football midfielder. He currently plays for Al-Talaba.-Info:Abu Al-Hail started his career with Al Talaba. He left the club in 1999, moving to Al-Ahli Saida of Lebanon and then to Al-Shaab of the United Arab Emirates...

 and Saša Ilić, and coaches such as Croatian

Croats

Croats are a South Slavic ethnic group mostly living in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and nearby countries. There are around 4 million Croats living inside Croatia and up to 4.5 million throughout the rest of the world. Responding to political, social and economic pressure, many Croats have...

 Luka Bonačić

Luka Bonacic

Luka Bonačić is a Croatian football coach and former player.-Early life:He was born on March 2, 1955 in Split, Croatia that was part of Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. He began football careers in Split Football Academy...

 and Serbian

Serbs

The Serbs are a South Slavic ethnic group of the Balkans and southern Central Europe. Serbs are located mainly in Serbia, Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina, and form a sizable minority in Croatia, the Republic of Macedonia and Slovenia. Likewise, Serbs are an officially recognized minority in...

 Srđan Gemaljević. In 2004 Shafizadeh put a $5 million dollar unsuccessful bid to bring Brazil

Brazil

Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...

ian superstar Rivaldo

Rivaldo

Rivaldo Vítor Borba Ferreira , commonly known simply as Rivaldo , is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays for São Paulo, on loan from Mogi Mirim, as an attacking midfielder and sometimes as a supporting striker.He most notably played five years with Spanish club FC Barcelona, with whom he...

 to the Takhti Stadium.

Takhti Stadium (Ahvaz)

The Takhti Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in Ahvaz, Iran. It is currently used mostly for football matches. The stadium is able to hold 30,000 people.As of October 2007 only Esteghlal Ahvaz F.C...

.

Shafizadeh sparked much controversy on February 15, 2007 when he announced Esteghlal Ahvaz F.C. were to withdraw from IPL

Iran's Premier Football League

The Iran Pro League , is a professional football league competition for clubs located at the highest level of the Iranian football league system.The league system resembles the system being used in England currently...

. However, the team appeared two days later in a league match against Persepolis F.C. which ended 1-0 to Esteghlal Ahvaz, dismissing these claims and led people to believe it was all tactical games before one the biggest game of their season versus Persepolis.

Esteghlal Kish

Shafizadeh also owned the Azadegan League club Esteghlal Kish F.C., which is based in Kish Island in the Persian Gulf

Persian Gulf

The Persian Gulf, in Southwest Asia, is an extension of the Indian Ocean located between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula.The Persian Gulf was the focus of the 1980–1988 Iran-Iraq War, in which each side attacked the other's oil tankers...

, from 2002 to 2006, until it was bought by Shahrdari Bandar Abbas F.C.

Shahrdari Bandar Abbas F.C.

Shahrdari Bandar Abbas is an Iranian football club based in Bandar Abbas, Iran. They currently compete in the Azadegan League.- Establishment :...

.