The deadline for interested MAs to submit their EoI to host the AFC Asian Cup 2023™ is June 30, 2022.
Tag: AFC
Humiliations and shame.
Controversy, disciplinary actions, sanctions are never very far from Iranian football scenes although thankfully in the past few years, marked improvements have been noticed with less negative news and punitive actions taken against the Iranians.
Iran football at its roots is a bipartisan system based on two teams Persepolis and Esteghlal. Although the accurate figure is impossible to determine, an estimate of more than 90% of the fans in Iran supports one of the two Tehrani teams, has been mentioned. Persepolis probably has more fans than the population of many Asian countries members of AFC .
The whole system is also geared towards the welfare of the two iconic clubs. From journalists, the media, Radio & TV all the way to the Majlis. Sometimes the affairs of the two clubs are topics of discussion in the assembly as if there are no other more pertinent problems to discuss.
The Aura that has been created by the two clubs has also led to corruption, lobbying, and nepotism in a big way thus affecting the livelihood of the many and causing pain and distress to others. If we have failed to mention it, the owners of the two clubs are none other than the government of the Islamic republic!
Imagine that Manchester City and Manchester United are owned by the same company. To start with, that is a huge conflict of interest, against the spirit of clean competition and something that is not acceptable anywhere in the civilized world. The question that many would ask though, is what is the government doing running a football club or two, in this case?
In Iran’s case, it is simple. Political propaganda and ensuring the big brother keep an eye on the massive force of the youth. Governments do not own and run football clubs, there are much more important businesses to take care of, however, success, winning trophies, and titles would have alleviated the peculiar structure and ownership of the clubs by a long shot. The reality is otherwise as this regime has failed miserably in running the two football teams. Not only they have not won any Champions League titles, but they are also both on the brink of bankruptcy and being sued for millions of dollars in courts for breaches of contracts with their staff, suppliers, and partners.
For over 40 years, not a single Iranian club has won the coveted continental trophy under the Islamic Republic’s control. That is an incredible sign of failure for a proud nation.
If that is not bad enough, the humiliation of both Persepolis and Esteghlal being kicked out of the Asian Champions League due to a countless number of irregularities tops every shame that Iran’s football has been subjected to in the last four decades. This one is the absolute disaster that touches the feeling and the pride of the people and the country. And there is one and one culprit only. The regime of the Islamic Republic has been promising since Khatemi’s days to hand over the clubs to private sectors and failed to do so for decades.
This is the result….the anger and disgust felt by Iranians and Iran football supporters outside the country touch beyond sport, it is an insult that could be quite costly for the regime.
The honorable thing to do for the Islamic Republic is to admit that it is not geared for running football teams and being engaged in their quarrels, hand over the teams to the public and refrain from using these clubs as propaganda tools.
We have been critical of AFC on many occasions, but this time the Asian Football Confederation has done Iran’s football a favor that only the intelligent and the more mature audience would appreciate.
Esteghlal, Persepolis and Gol Gohar are out of the AFC Champions League.
The professional status of three Iranian clubs Esteghlal, Persepolis, and Gol Gohar Sirjan was referred to the AFC Disciplinary and Ethics Committee.
The Asian Football Confederation, after 20 inciting days for Iranian teams, finally decided to revoke the professional licenses of Esteghlal, Persepolis, and Gol Gohar Sirjan. As a result, these three teams, due to not obtaining a professional-grade A are prohibited from participation in Asian Club competitions. All three teams have already qualified for the AFC premier club competition, the AFC Champions League but the decision to revoke their professional licenses means they are banned from playing the next season’s edition.
The case of these three Iranian teams was also referred to the AFC Disciplinary and Ethics Committee by the decision of this confederation, so that, if it so chooses, further actions regarding the issuance of professional licenses of these three teams in Iran can be made.
It was crystal clear that under the present rules and regulations of the AFC professional clubs’ requirements, the most popular teams in Iran and arguably in the whole of Asia, will not make the grade. Both Persepolis and Esteghlal are owned, controlled, and managed by the government, in itself a major drawback in maintaining their license as a professional club. There are loads of other reasons, including failure to regulate and control their finances, mounting debts, failure to produce balance sheets, legal cases against the clubs in FIFA committees and CAS plus failure to respect contracts of foreign players with non-payment and illegal reduction of wages being the main points.
The fact that both Persepolis and Esteghlal managed to operate for years in such shambolic status is a miracle, however, their luck has run out and Iran as a proud footballing nation has received a humiliation which we might not have heard the end of it yet.
Why is the match tomorrow in Azadi closed to the fans?
If you have been following the events of Iran’s football lately, you must have heard the good news of Azadi being opened for a limited percentage of its capacity for fans under the strict protocols. The requirement of AFC includes 2 shots of COVID19 vaccinations amongst a list of other requirements. The opening of the Azadi gate was given by FFIRI President Aziz Khadem and the Minister of Youth and Sports, Sajjadi.
48 hours before the match, there was a U-turn as FFIRI announced that Azadi will not be open to the fans after all. The football federation did not specifically mention the reason for the change of heart but leaks from FFIRI headquarters insinuated that due to some administrative difficulties, the FFIRI is not in full compliance and therefore no fans can be allowed to enter the stadium for the match against Korea Rep which has to be conducted behind closed doors.
in a matter of minutes, accusations of incompetence, lying, and downright ineptitude were thrown at the football federation in social media plus some semi-official media outlets leading the masses to believe that the failure to adhere to the AFC health protocol is the direct responsibility of the federation with their late application for authorization being one of the main reasons.
Somehow, this account of administrative failure did not make sense. Many sources, including the FFIRI itself, have declared that the application was sent ahead of time, so there was no question of delay. Like always in Iran, one has to dig quite deep to get to the truth and this one is no exception.
ISNA sport corrospondance said
“While Team Melli fans were rejoicing and preparing to buy tickets to enter Azadi Stadium and celebrate the end of the two-year absence from the stadium, the Football Federation, after two months of storytelling, was finally unable to exercise its full right of hosting, and now Team Melli will be deprived of the support of the fans in one of the major Asian classic encounters.”
“It seems that mismanagement and lack of planning have taken root in Iranian football and this football is not going to breathe new life by changing its management. In the absence of infrastructure and financial resources, the fans are the only important and reliable assets of Iranian football. Thanks to the shortcomings and empty promises of the managers of the Football Federation, Team Melli will be deprived of this valuable capital in the match against South Korea. In the World Cup qualifiers, Iran is only host on paper.”
There is no argument about the incompetence of the federations managers, as the ISNA reporter rightly stated, but after some in-depth inquiry and insiders info, this time it seems that the federation was not that incompetent to be unable to get the process right for a straight forward authorization application from AFC. It is not rocket science after all as even FFIRI can complete it!.
So, what is the real reason for preventing the fans?
There are several theories but the one that is closet to reality in our opinion is the FIFA pressure on Iran to allow women entry into the stadium.
It was only in June that FIFA applied pressure to ensure that Iran allows female fans and expected the authorities to comply, or else. Under Rouhani women were allowed for a couple of matches, but now with Ebrahim Raisi in power, a hardline cleric who was previously head of the country’s judiciary, and has ultra-conservative political views the situation has changed, to the worst. Images of Iranian females waving flogs, taking selfies, wearing lipsticks, or cheering their national team, do not fit the bill. It could also be due to pressure from his hardliner peers’ which has forced the authorities from rescinding the agreement or the promise given to FIFA.
Allowing women in stadiums in Iran in 2019 for the first time since the revolution. was a personal triumph for the Chief of FIFA after a strong reminder from the World Football governing body that Iran would face expulsion from the World Cup if they do not follow the FIFA rules. “Fifa’s stance on the access of women to the stadiums in Iran has been firm and clear: women have to be allowed into football stadiums in Iran. For all football matches,” Fifa had said in a statement at the time.
So, Covid is one great convenient and timely excuse for the authorities to dodge the issue and close the great Azadi for everyone. Technically speaking, Iran has not broken FIFA rules on women in stadiums.
It can be easily said that Iran has outfoxed FIFA, AFC, Infantino, and everyone else by this simple step. Iran cannot be sanctioned because this step does not target women only but everybody.
After all, the west has experienced firsthand the cunning and skills of the Iranian while negotiating the JCPOA. The Iranians managed to settle everything and agree on terms in 2015 only for one not-so-smart Donald Trump, a shallow person, an inexperienced politician, to tear it off thinking that he can outsmart the Iranians by quitting the pact and exerting more pressure demanding more strict terms.
History says Iranians did not budge and did not accept the blackmail while it witnessed Trump’s failure. The businessman President of the USA could not outdo the Iranians and it seems like FIFA, a much less of an adversary to the Americans, will see the same fate. After all, they are dealing with carpet merchants with a tradition dating thousands of years.
Taremi the hero as Iran edge UAE
A Mehdi Taremi strike with 20 minutes remaining proved decisive, keeping Dragan Skočić’s side on top of Group A with their third win from as many matches in the Final Round.
Unable to end their long winless run against Team Melli, the result leaves the United Arab Emirates stranded on two points from their three outings, considerably raising the stakes ahead of their clash with Iraq on Tuesday, the same day Iran will meet Korea Republic in a top of the table tie.
It had been billed as a showcase of some of the continent’s best strikers, but, with three crucial points on offer, clear goal-scoring chances were at a premium in a keenly contested first half.
An early delivery from the industrious Sadegh Moharrami provided one of those opportunities for Sardar Azmoun, but the Zenit star missed the target with his header, while the Emiratis might have wished it was Ali Mabkhout and not Khalil Ibrahim on the end of their brightest chance, with the latter also heading wide after a burst of speed from Fabio Lima had stretched the otherwise solid Iranian defense.
Scoreless at half-time, Azmoun threatened once again to provide the game’s first goal five minutes after the break, but again failed to test goalkeeper Ali Khaseif, while the other member of Iran’s two-pronged strike-force, Taremi, found himself well contained by the Emirati defense.
Iran had seized the initiative and Khasief was finally called into meaningful action when Jahanbakhsh forced him into a low save, but the pendulum looked to have swung sharply in the UAE’s favour when Shojae Khalilzadeh – exemplary until then – was shown a straight red card for fouling a goalbound Mabkhout, only for the Iranian defender to escape punishment after the Video Assistant Referee spotted an offside earlier in the move.
The turnaround in Iran’s fortunes was complete in the 70th minute when Taremi played a superb give-and-go with Azmoun to get behind the Emirati defense before easily beating the questionably positioned Khaseif from just outside the penalty to break the deadlock.
The visitors had a golden chance to add to the scoring when they were awarded a penalty after Taremi was impeded by Abdullah Ramadan in the dying minutes, but Khaseif saved brilliantly to deny Azmoun from the penalty spot.
That gave Bert van Marwijk’s side a glimmer of hope, but the last gasp equalizer didn’t materialize making Tuesday’s clash against Iraq one of the utmost importance for the UAE.
Iran regains top Asian FIFA ranking
With the continuous victories of Team Melli in the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, Iran regained its top ranking in Asia which Japan has occupied since Marc Wilmots took over Team Melli.
With 11538 points, Iran sets at the top and climbed 4 places up in the FIFA ranking issued by the world governing body on Thursday 16th September 2021.
In the AFC Ranking, both Iran and Australia managed a 16 points increase as a result of their perfect third-round performances in the Qualifiers.
Under the Croat Dragan Skocic, Team Melli has won all its games a perfect 100% record.
RanK
|
Team
|
Total Points
|
Previous Points
|
+/-
|
|
---|---|---|---|---|---|
22 |
|
Iran |
1538.08
|
1522.04 | 16.04 |
26 |
|
Japan |
1520.46
|
1529.45 | -8.99 |
32 |
|
Australia |
1493.99
|
1477.21 | 16.78 |
36 |
|
Korea Republic |
1479.41
|
1474.96 | 4.45 |
43 |
|
Qatar |
1445.83
|
1455.23 | -9.40 |
Iran sets behind Senegal (20th) and Peru (21st) while renowned teams such as Chile, Poland, Ukraine, Serbia, and Austria are behind in the ranking.
FIFA World Ranking
20 |
|
Senegal |
1555.37
|
1545.38 | 9.99 |
|
21 |
|
Peru |
1548.78
|
1543.16 | 5.62 |
|
22 |
|
IR Iran |
1538.08
|
1522.04 | 16.04 |
|
23 |
|
Chile |
1536.53
|
1557.81 | -21.28 |
|
24 |
|
Poland |
1531.82
|
1516.27 | 15.55 |
|
25 |
|
Tunisia |
1526.87
|
1515.3 | 11.57 |
|
Mehdi Mahdavikia appointed as Head Coach of Omid team
Mehdi Mahdavikia was officially appointed as the head coach of Iran U23 (Omid team) and received his ordination from Shahabuddin Azizi Khazem, President of the Football Federation.
Mehdi Mahdavikia, who is working in Germany where he is based, arrived in Iran to complete the formalities of his appointment.
Meanwhile, in addition to the coaching appointment, the former Team Melli player will also work as the technical advisor of the Football Federation. He will advise the federation president and various committees on technical issues for the improvement of the national teams and football league.
Mehdi Mahdavikia was working with Hamburger SV as a youth coach, and also manages his own youth academy, FC KIA.
Mahdavikia currently represents Asian Football Confederation (AFC) in the Football Advisory Panel of the International Football Association Board (IFAB), joining the body in 2019. On 15 May 2013, Mahdavikia was appointed as AFC Grassroots Ambassador.
Apart from being an icon of Iranian football, Mahdavikia is the first recognized Iranian coach wh is actually qualified by attending FIFA and German FA recognized courses.
His appointment as Head Coach of Omid Team is remarkable progress by FFIRI after a series of disastrous haphazard appointments of coaches, the result of which was total humiliation of Iran’s Omid Team and failure to qualify for the Olympics once again.
Azadi is confirmed as the venue for the Syria game, without the fans!
After several years of struggles and follow-ups, Tehran is finally confirmed as the host of Iran’s home matches in the FIFA World Cup 2022 Qatar in the qualifying round.
Shahabuddin Azizi Khadem, said about the plans of the national football team: “an important event just happened after years as we finally gained our right to host the first game against Syria in Tehran, which can help Team Melli a lot.”
Azizi Khadem, then went on to brief the reporters about the preparation plans for the game He added: “With intensive and scientific planning in the new management of the federation and the official support that we have realized, it is now possible for our fans to watch their national team in a competitive match. A lot of effort has been made in this regard. I would also like to thank the Radio and Television Organization for its excellent cooperation with us in this regard. We have set up a special staff to prepare for the World Cup, and Mr. Foroughi is present on behalf of the IRIB. We hope that other government officials will be added to the committee in our headquarters. Football is the manifestation of our national unity.”
The president of the federation said ” all the work of the issue of visa to attend for the Syrian delegation has been carried out and handed over to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The Syrian team will arrive on Monday, August 28th. Observers and the refereeing team will also travel to Tehran. Everything is well planned and we are all ready for the game in Azadi against Syria.”
Azizi Khadem then carried on praising the effort of his management is arranging the match in Azadi, suggesting that many countries have been deprived of hosting due to Covid19.
Regarding fans’ attendance, Azizi Khadem stated regarding the presence of spectators in the matches hosted by Iran: in consultation with AFC, which has its own restrictions, in order to comply with the regulations and satisfy the public opinion, it is unlikely that the fans will be allowed.
“After that, we have to travel to Doha, and the third game is in the UAE and the fourth game is here against South Korea, we will probably be able to allow those who were vaccinated with a special card to gain entry. “
The president of the FFIRI substituted the fans who are customarily considered as the 12 players at home games, with the Head of IRIB!!!
He said: “The twelfth friend was the emphasis of the president of the Radio and Television Organization”
Aziz Khadem’s praise to the head of IRIB that has never paid a single dollar for TV broadcast rights and practically owes football tens of millions of dollars in back pay is a true sound of desperation in a country where the one and only broadcaster considers itself above the law.
This time, there was no other option. It was either IRIB pays for the broadcast to AFC and FIFA or Iran will not be granted any rights to play its home game in Tehran. It is not clear if FIFA is compensated by IRIB for illegally broadcasting official matches without paying the right.
Iran granted hosting World Cup qualifiers matches.
Team Melli will host its home matches in the third qualifying round of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 in Tehran.
According to the FIFA website, the venue for Iran’s first match against Syria is Azadi Stadium. FIFA has chosen Azadi to put an end to the speculations over the past few days and weeks about the hosting being taken away from Iran. Thus, Team Melli will play all five home matches in Tehran if the matches are played are to be played on Home and Away format rather than a round-robin tournament in a single country.
FIFA prefers home and away because it has always been played in this format since the inception of the tournament. There have been the odd times that teams played in a single venue, especially in Aisa due to logistics, but Home and Away is the standard that FIFA likes to adhere to.
The scenario of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) is different, which has always been to deprive Iran of hosting its matches. These politically motivated moves are the results of Gulf Arab countries lead by Saudi Arabia, both to uphold its hostility towards Iran and also to gain an unfair advantage on the pitch!
In the second qualifying round of the World Cup, Bahrain was chosen as a host. FIFA also agreed to approve Jordan to host Syrian national matches, but the venue for the Iraq Games has not yet been determined yet and it is not clear in which country Iraq will host its opponent in the qualifiers including the Iranian national team.
This arrangement could be nullified if FIFA or the governments of the participating teams apply strict entry conditions as a result of COVID19.