Month: October 2022

Qatar to host AFC Asian Cup 2023

Kuala Lumpur: The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Executive Committee has today confirmed the Qatar Football Association (QFA) as the host association for the AFC Asian Cup 2023™.
Chairing the 11th AFC Executive Committee meeting, AFC President Shaikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa congratulated the QFA on their successful bid and also conveyed the appreciation of the Asian football family to the Football Association of Indonesia (PSSI) and the Korea Football Association (KFA) for their commendable proposals.
He said: “On behalf of the AFC and the Asian football family, I want to congratulate the Qatar Football Association on being awarded the hosting rights of the upcoming edition of the AFC Asian Cup™.
“We must also thank the Football Association of Indonesia and the Korea Football Association for outlining their intentions to stage the tournament.
“Qatar’s capabilities and track record in hosting major international sporting events and their meticulous attention to detail are well admired throughout the globe.
“I must also commend the AFC for showcasing utmost professionalism in conducting a fair and transparent expedited bidding process and I thank all our commercial partners and sponsors for their patience during these unprecedented times.
“Given the short lead time in preparation, we know that the hard work begins immediately but with their existing world-class infrastructure and unrivaled hosting capabilities, we are confident that Qatar will stage a worthy spectacle befitting the prestige and stature of Asia’s crown jewel.”

Qatar are the reigning AFC Asian Cup™ champions and will be hosting the Continent’s most prestigious men’s tournament for the third time after staging the 1988 and 2011 editions.

The AFC Executive Committee also deliberated upon the bidding proposals for the AFC Asian Cup 2027™ and shortlisted the All India Football Federation (AIFF) and the Saudi Arabian Football Federation (SAFF) as the final two bidders with the hosting decision to be taken by the AFC Congress at its next meeting in February 2023.
The decision brings to a close the bid proposal of the QFA who were considered to have withdrawn from the 2027 race following their successful 2023 bid in accordance with the applicable bidding regulations.
Football Australia withdrew from the AFC Asian Cup 2023™ bidding process on September 1, 2022, while the Uzbekistan Football Association and the Football Federation Islamic Republic of Iran officially withdrew their bids to host the AFC Asian Cup 2027™ on December 14, 2020, and October 13, 2022, respectively.
The AFC President added: “Again, we thank our three Member Associations – the All India Football Federation, the Qatar Football Association, and the Saudi Arabian Football Federation – for submitting strong bids to host the AFC Asian Cup 2027™.
“We must also acknowledge the Football Federation Islamic Republic of Iran and the Uzbekistan Football Association for signaling their intent to host the 2027 edition and Football Australia for indicating their interest for the 2023 tournament.
“Across our competitions, we are seeing our digital engagement and TV viewership grow in record numbers and it is our responsibility to ensure that each tournament surpasses the achievements of the previous edition.
“In the All India Football Federation and the Saudi Arabian Football Federation, we have two exemplary bids, and I am confident that the Qatar Football Association will strengthen the foundations for the eventual 2027 hosts to build upon.”
At the outset, heartfelt condolences were offered by the members to the PSSI as well as the families and loved ones of the precious lives lost at the Kanjuruhan Stadium in Malang city, Indonesia, earlier this month.
Rich tributes were also paid to the late Football Association of Singapore President, Mr. Lim Kia Tong, who was also the Chairperson of the AFC Disciplinary and Ethics Committee.
Leading the eulogies, the AFC President said: “It was indeed a painful loss, and our hearts and support go to the families and friends of the victims and the Football Association of Indonesia.
“Last month, we also lost our dear brother and friend, Lim Kia Tong. We will miss him, and Lim will live on in our hearts and continue to inspire us with his legacy of integrity, professionalism, and love for the game.”
Further, Shaikh Salman expressed his gratitude for the overwhelming response received for his candidacy for re-election to the position of the AFC President.
“Let me thank all of you for your incredible support and convey my gratitude for all your contributions as we approach the final stages of this Executive Committee’s term (2019 to 2023),” said the AFC President.
“The rapid development of Asian football would not have been possible without your support and unity of purpose so clearly demonstrated time and again.”
The AFC President also used the occasion to thank FIFA President Gianni Infantino for the unstinted support received by the Asian football family and reiterated the AFC’s support for President Infantino’s re-election to the position of FIFA President.
The AFC Executive Committee also ratified the decisions of all the Standing Committees since its last meeting, most notably the AFC Competitions Committee’s recommendation to award the hosting rights of the AFC U23 Asian Cup 2024™ to the QFA.
Similarly, the AFC Development Committee’s recommendation to introduce the new consolidated AFC Enhance Programme Regulations was also ratified.
The AFC Social Responsibility Committee Chairperson Zaw Zaw was appointed as a member of the Board of Trustees of the Dream Asia Foundation by the Executive Committee who were also apprised of the finalization of the AFC Social Responsibility Strategy.
Continuing in the social responsibility sphere, the AFC’s recently approved membership of the United Nations Football for the Goals initiative was also highlighted and welcomed by the Executive Committee.

Footballers and Athletes increasingly join the mass protests in Iran.

Five weeks after the start of the street protest following the death of Mahsa Amini while she was in the custody of the ill-reputed Morality Police, more and more people are joining the mass protests against the regime in the streets and significantly on social media. Some active footballers have joined ex-players such as Ali Karimi and Ali Daei in voicing their disdain at the regimen and the brutal force it is using against the unarmed protesters, the majority of whom are women.

This is a tribute to those players and celebrities who have added their voices to the people who are demanding the minimum of human rights and freedom from religious zealots ruling the country.

Ali Karimi Pashaki

 

 

 

 

 

Latest call ups to Team Melli

Team Melli’s second technical evaluation camp was held this evening while 17 players were called up to the camp by Carlos Queiroz. In addition to the previous 16 players, the Portuguese coach called up Tractor goalkeeper Mohammad Reza Akhbari to join the squad.

The amended list of the camp is as follows:

Goalkeeper:
Alireza Beiranvand (Persepolis), Seyed Hossein Hosseini (Esteghlal), Payam Niazmand (Sepahan), Mohammad Reza Akhbari (Tractor),

Defenders:
Ramin Rezaian (Sepahan), Omid Nourafken ( Sepahan), Morteza Pouraliganji (Persepolis), Saman Fallah (Peykan), Abolfazl Jalali (Esteghlal), Armin Sohrabian (Gol gohar)

Midfield:
Mehdi Mahdipour (Esteghlal), Rozbe Cheshmi (Esteghlal), Milad Sarlak (Persepolis), Vahid Amiri ( Persepolis), Mohammad Khodabandelou (Gol gohar)

Forwards:
Mohammad Mohebi (Esteghlal), Mehdi Torabi (Persepolis)

The Iranian national football players introduced themselves to Carlos Queiroz and the management staff of the team at noon today to participate in three training sessions this week.  Today’s list of selected players in the domestic Premier League means that some of the former players such as Mehdi Ghayedi, Danial Esmailifar, Soroush Rafiei, and Shahriar Mughanlou, hopes of taking part in the world Cup have ended.

Iran’s national football team will face England, Wales, and the USA in Group B of the 2022 World Cup.

Shamsaei to continue as Futsal head coach!

Iran’s national futsal team returned to Iran on Sunday from Kuwait, after losing to Japan in the finals of the 16th AFC Asian Futsal Cup. Ehsan Usooli, head of Iran’s futsal committee, who was in Kuwait with the national team, was questioned by the media at the airport who were seeking some justifications for the avoidable loss.

in response to reporters’ questions, Usooli said that  Vahid Shamsaei, the head coach, will continue to be employed according to his contract. The contract of Shamsai and his assistants with the national team is until the end of 1401 (March 2023) adding that this contract will probably be extended for another year. Shamsaei has experienced three competitions as Iran’s futsal head coach. First, in the preliminary and qualifying rounds of the AFC Futsal Asian Cup and then the Thailand Continental tournament where Iran lost to Morocco in the final, while the last one was in the appearance  AFC Futsal Asian Cup 2022 where he again tasted defeat in the final match against Japan. Currently, the Iranian national team does not have a special plan after the Asian Championship, and it seems unlikely that the Caspian tournament will be held with the participation of teams such as Russia, Kazakhstan, and Azerbaijan.

Usooli did not indicate if there will be an internal review of Shamsaei’s performance and failures and his suggestion that Shamsei will be continued as a head coach indicates that there will be no performance analysis.

Shamsaei in a bold but not very wise move completely overhauled the national team getting rid of most of the players that were winners of trophies at the Asian level and performed admirably at FIFA competitions. However, that was a major mistake by the relatively inexperienced coach and it meant that Iran lost its title in a match that a more experienced coach and players would have probably won easily.

Arsenal ‘interested in Mehdi Taremi transfer’ with Porto willing to sell Iran striker after World Cup as Jesus back-up

ARSENAL are reportedly interested in signing Mehdi Taremi as back-up for Gabriel Jesus.

And a deal could be on in January with Porto willing to sell the striker after the World Cup. A Bola claims Taremi, 30, has fired his way onto Mikel Arteta’s shortlist with seven goals and six assists in 11 games.

The Iran international is in his third season with Porto. And Taremi, who has a total of 56 strikes for the Portuguese giants, has already been linked with a move to Chelsea.

But it’s Arsenal who are reportedly leading the race this winter.

Sporting director Edu Gaspar usually only targets players under the age of 30.

But he is apparently willing to break his own rule this once in order to sign Taremi for title-chasing Arteta.

The Brazilian has five goals and four assists since his £45million switch from Manchester City.

And Arteta reckons only Taremi would be able to carry the torch in case of a setback in the second half of the campaign.

The striker’s representatives have already told Porto he is considering a change of scenery at the start of 2023. Sergio Conceicao’s side are no strangers to doing business in the winter market, with Luis Diaz joining Liverpool last January. And Porto are open to letting Taremi go for the right price.

But the ace will first strut his stuff for Iran at the World Cup, with their opening match in Group B against none other than Gareth Southgate’s England. Arsenal currently sit top of the table after beating Liverpool 3-2 on Sunday.

Vahid Shamsaei apologizes for the defeat!

Iran’s national futsal team lost its title against fierce rival Japan in a thrilling match in Kuwait.

While Iran’s road to the final was quite smooth, scoring a plethora of goals against its opponent all the way to the finals, Japan had a difficult road and only managed to qualify from the group stages thanks to goal difference. Japan also had difficult matches against its rivals in the Quarter and Semifinals. However, in the final, Japan managed miraculously to beat Iran which had almost 70% possession, and bombarded the Japanese keeper who was the undisputed hero and the man of the game in the final match.

Iran’s head coach Vahid Shamsaei expressed his hope that his players will learn from this defeat at the press conference of this match. Shamsaei said: “I told my players that I am responsible for the defeat. They gave their best with maximum effort.” The head coach of Iran emphasized: “My players did not want to lose the trophy and were crying, but they have to accept the result. If they want to create a good future for themselves, they must understand failure.” Shamsaei continued: “We had a plan for our team, and if something goes wrong, the responsibility is on me and my colleagues. I wanted to present this win to the people of my country and I hope they will accept my apology.

About the sure performance of Iran’s Legionnaire OladGoghbad, Shamsaei said “he (OladGoghbad) was chosen as the best player of the Asian Championship: All my players were great, but he (OladGoghbad) was wonderful as always and like the rest of the players against Japan. Referring to the changes he made in his team, Iran’s head coach said: “After the loss, I don’t want to talk about the past. I have picked 10 new players to replace the 10 legends. In the very near future, these 10 new players will be legends of Iranian futsal. In the end, Shamsai said: “If I continue with the team, I will definitely work on all our weaknesses. I don’t want to make excuses or say it was a missed opportunity. Our program was not supposed to be for today. I am ashamed that I could not present a win to the people of Iran today.”

Shamsaei committed several tactical mistakes during the final game. Although Iran was the better team, the head coach failed to introduce a game plan that could penetrate the compact Japanese defenses. On his own team, the failure in defense was the reason for Iran’s inability to defend its title. It was three out of three defensive mistakes that allowed the Japanese to score two goals while Saeid Ahmad Abbasi gifted them a goal by passing the ball into his own team’s net during the powerplay!

Shamsaei in his first experience as Team Melli coach was doing fine until the final game, where he failed against a formidable defense of Japan and had no solution for their tight defending.

AFC U-17 qualifiers Iran thrash Hong Kong11-1

Bishkek: Iran concluded their AFC U17 Asian Cup™ 2023 Qualifiers Group I campaign with an 11-1 win over Hong Kong on Sunday.
Having already booked their place in the Finals with a match to spare, Iran turned on the power at the Dolen Omurzakov Stadium in Bishkek.

Laos, meanwhile, defeated hosts Hosts Kyrgyz Republic 2-1 to finish second and possibly earn a spot in the Finals as one of the six best runners-up.

Iran 11-1 Hong Kong
Reza Ghandipour scored four while Kasra Taheri and Esmaeil Gholizadeh Samian netted hat-tricks as Iran sent out a warning that they would be a force to be reckoned with in next year’s Finals.

Ghandipour (pictured below) scored in the 13th, 16th, 65th, and 90+2 minutes against a Hong Kong side who ended their campaign with three defeats.

Taheri’s goals were scored in the 41st, 52nd, and 68th minutes while Samian hit the back of the net in the 29th,66th, and 88th minutes.

Mohammad Askari also got on the scoresheet in the 81st minute with Chan Ho Ka netting Hong Kong’s only goal in the 67th minute.

Iran loses the Futsal final to Japan.

the-afc.com
Kuwait City: Japan beat Iran 3-2 to lift the AFC Futsal Asian Cup™ Kuwait 2022 title at the Saad Al Abdullah Hall on Saturday.
Kenichiro Kogure’s side showed tremendous grit to come from behind to reclaim the trophy they last won in 2014, taking their overall tally to four titles.
Iran, who had scored 37 goals en route to reaching the final, started as aggressively as ever with Hossein Tayebi and Alireza Rafiei Pour making early attempts at goal.
As head coach Kenichiro Kogure had anticipated, Japan were forced to play defence against Iran’s incessant pressure, with their best chances coming from counter-attacks and set-pieces.
Japan captain Arthur Oliveira, however, nearly stunned the defending champions in the eighth minute when his attempt off Soma Mizutani’s pass rocked the crossbar.
Iran almost paid a price again for their aggression a minute later after committing a foul at the edge of the box, but Oliveira’s free-kick was superbly saved by Saied Momeni.
Iran, however, continued to play their style of attacking futsal and after 15 minutes of testing Guilherme Kuromoto, Saied Ahmad Abbasi collected Mahdi Karimi’s pass and let loose a superb shot into the bottom right corner to open the scoring.
Japan, the only other team to have won the AFC Futsal Asian Cup, were unfazed and drew level a minute later when Mohammedhossein Derakhshani failed to intercept Kuromoto’s long-range throw into the final third, allowing Kazuya Shimizu to equalise with a brilliant right-footed shot.
Iran looked to close the first half strongly but Tayebi and Abbasi’s efforts were denied by Kuromoto’s quick reflexes as both sides entered the halftime break with the title still very much up for grabs.
Iran’s waves of attacks continued in the opening minutes of the second half with Abbasi and Moslem Oladghobad forcing parries out of Kuromoto in the opening minutes but Rafiei Pour’s foul on Shimizu in the 27th minute gave Japan a lifeline.
Oliveira stepped up to take the free-kick and the skipper made no mistake as he smashed his effort home to put Japan ahead for the first time.
The goal stunned Iran – who had only conceded two goals in their previous five matches – into action as they increased the intensity of their attacks in search of the equaliser.
Iran would have equalised moments later through Abbasi’s strike if it weren’t for Kuromoto’s fine save, with the keeper standing tall against Salar Aghapour’s effort in the 29th minute to maintain Japan’s  lead.
With the clock ticking, Iran head coach Vahid Shamsaee employed power play for the first time in Iran’s campaign with Tayebi donning the keeper’s jersey in the 36th minute.
Tayebi came closest in the 39th minute with his strike deflecting off the upright but there was to be more woe for Iran with Abbasi slotting the ball into the back of his own net in the final 30 seconds.
Iran pulled one back through Alireza Javan Shahkali with a second left on the clock but it was meant to be Japan’s final to celebrate.

Futsal Team Melli on a roll, defeats Thailand in the semifinals.

Iran breezed to a 5-0 win over Thailand in their AFC Futsal Asian Cup™ Kuwait 2022 semi-final on Thursday.
The win took Iran to within one match of lifting the title for a record-extending 13th time with Japan – the only other team to have won the coveted crown – awaiting them in Saturday’s final.
Iran enjoyed the best of starts as they opened the scoring as early as the first minute when skipper Hossein Tayyebi collected goalkeeper Saeid Momeni’s long-range pass at the edge of the box to smash home his 10th goal of the tournament.
Despite the early setback, Thailand kept their cool and carried on with their game plan, luring Iran into their own half before launching crosses into the final third, but the defending champions were quick on their feet to protect Momeni’s goalmouth.
Iran, however, were the more dangerous side and nearly doubled their lead in the sixth minute when a series of quick exchanges in the box baffled the Thai defence, but Mohammadhossein Bazyar couldn’t get his strike on target.
Charoondej Muenthiang, one of Thailand’s key players with his speed, had several efforts but none troubled Momeni.
At the other end, Thailand custodian Katawut Hankampa denied Tayebi and Mohammadhossein Derakhshani in the closing minutes of the first half to keep his team in the match going into the break.
Iran stepped up a gear in the second half and doubled their lead in the 22nd minute with Derakhshani heading home Salar Aghapour’s cross from close range.
Two turned to three in the 24th minute when Alireza Rafiei Pour intercepted a pass, before teeing up Moslem Oladghobad (pictured below), who scored from almost 20 meters out.
Thailand should have pulled one back three minutes later when Muenthiang collected a loose ball before sending it to Jetsada Chudech who – with only the keeper to beat – slammed his effort straight into Momeni.
Iran were not as wasteful and they found their fourth in the 27th minute through Oladghobad’s strike from a kick-in set-piece, before Derakhshani netted his second goal a minute later, courtesy of Aghapour’s sublime assist.
With a mountain to climb, Thailand head coach Carlos Cesar Gago initiated power play with Panut Kittipanuwong coming off the bench in the 29th minute, but there was not to be even a consolation as Iran cruised into the final.

Iran U17 defeats Laos in AFC Asian Qualifiers

Bishkek: Iran and the Kyrgyz Republic seized the early initiative in Group I of the AFC U17 Asian Cup™ 2023 Qualifiers with opening wins on Wednesday.
Iran lead the standings after a 3-0 win over Laos while hosts the Kyrgyz Republic defeated Hong Kong 2-1 at the Dolen Omurzakov Stadium,
IR Iran 3-0 Laos
Iran had to work hard to defeat a resilient Laos side who held the Central Asian side to a stalemate in the first half.

Iran finally found the breakthrough in the 67th minute with forward Kasra Taheri (pictured above) opening the scoring.

Midfielder Mohammad Askari doubled their lead in the 83rd with forward Reza Ghandipour sealing the win with his effort in the third minute of added time.

Iran plays the Kyrgyz Republic next on Friday with Laos meeting Hong Kong.