Year: 2022

Iran Futsal team to play Argentina in friendlies

The Iranian national futsal team will play two friendly matches against the Argentine national futsal team on July 6th and 8th in Argentina.

The Iranian national futsal team, in preparation for the Asian Cup 2022 and defense of its title, has decided upon these two friendly matches, thus, Vahid Shamsaei’s players will encounter the best preparation possible by playing against a top team in the shape of Argentina.

 

Previously, the national futsal team was scheduled to play against Argentina and Paraguay in a tripartite tournament in July, but with the discretion of the coaching staff of the national futsal team, the match against Paraguay was canceled and instead, it was decided that the two futsal teams of Iran and Argentina would play two friendly matches.  Also, the coaching staff of the national futsal team, headed by Vahid Shamsaei, is looking to hold a friendly match with the national team of Spain or Portugal, both matches are under negotiation.

After the last Futsal World Cup in Lituinaia, The Iranian national futsal team is going through a major transformation in which it saw the change of the Coaching staff with the legendary  Vahid Shamsaei appointed as head coach on 18th May 2022. A horde of new players were picked by the newly formed team while the seniors have either quit or sidelined.

The Marco Polo of Iranian Football.

The 25-year-old Team Melli holding midfielder left the ninth club team of his football career. Saeed Ezatollahi, the Al Gharafa midfielder, is gradually setting an interesting record in terms of changing teams. This Iranian player, a product of Malavan Bandar Anzali Academy, has played in 9 teams so far and is now looking to join his tenth club team.

Saeed Ezatollahi has quite often played for several clubs as a loan player, and if this trend continues, he may be able to set a world record by the end of his football career. Ezatollahi started his football career with the Bandar Anzali Malavan and was able to be quickly recognized as a phenomenon in Iranian football at an early age. He soon joined the Atletico Madrid C team but never managed to attract the attention of the senior team. Rostov, Anzhi Makhachkala, Amkar, Reading, Eupen, Vejle Boldklub, and Al Gharafa Qatar then. s in which the 25-year-old Iranian midfielder has played so far.

He is likely to be one of the players selected for the FIFA World Cup 2022 in Qatar and could experience his second World Cup appearance at the age of 26 and reach the peak of his maturity. The Iranian midfielder has not yet been able to establish himself in European football even in the lower-tier leagues. Being in the top teams in this continent has not helped Ezzatollahi much, and this talented player still has many years ahead of him but he mostly failed to choose the right team while his chronic injuries and inconsistency due to absence from the team have marred his career.

While being one of the best in Asia at younger age levels, he has managed to score only one goal in 44 national games for Team Melli. Many of the club teams he has selected are indicative of p[oor advice and career management. The Marco Polo of Iranian football performances has suffered frequently due to this unstable career.

It remains to be seen what Ezzatullahi will decide and where the winds will take him next.

In the Iranian football system and hierarchy, there is no specialist department for younger players with the potential to seek learned and professional advice to steer the players in the right direction in their professional careers. All such decisions are left to agents and brokers whose only interest is financial returns. The chaotic Football Federation has suffered chronic mismanagement and corruption making it unsuitable to be a platform for the development of younger players with potential. Other sports organizations in Iran are on par with FFIRI and are useless for guidance and career development.

Youth career
2008–2010 Shahrdari Bandar Anzali
2010–2014 Malavan
2014–2015 Atlético Madrid
Senior career
Years Team Matches Goals
2012–2014 Malavan 19 0
2014–2015 Atlético Madrid C 5 0
2015–2020 Rostov 18 -2
2017 → Anzhi Makhachkala (loan) 11 0
2017–2018 → Amkar Perm (loan) 16 -1
2018–2019 → Reading (loan) 4 0
2019–2020 → Eupen (loan) 4 0
2020– Vejle 42 -5
2022– → Al-Gharafa (loan) 4 0

China withdrawal from hosting Asian Cup 2023 may see it back in the west Asian region.

China’s withdrawal from hosting the 2023 Asian Cup could see the showpiece shift west to the Gulf, where new infrastructure and voracious demand for major events have made the region a magnet for international tournaments.

Having planned to hold the Asian Cup across 10 cities in June-July next year, China dropped the 24-team tournament due to “exceptional circumstances caused by the COVID-19 pandemic”, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) said over the weekend.

The AFC said it would name a new host in due course but provided no detail and declined to provide immediate comment to Reuters.

AFC member nations were in the dark on Monday about the next steps.

“This is quite an unusual situation and so there’s no specific process that we are aware of on how things could go,” a spokesperson for the Korean Football Association (KFA) told Reuters.

“We just know that China has given up.”

The AFC has little time to appraise candidates and may not have a diverse set to choose from.

Governing body Football Australia declined to comment on whether it would put up its hand to replace China but referred to its busy calendar in 2023 as co-hosts of the Women’s World Cup with New Zealand, which starts on July 20.

All India Football Federation general secretary Kushal Das said India, which held the 2022 women’s Asian Cup this year, was focusing on its bid for the 2027 men’s tournament and had not expressed interest in stepping in for 2023.

South Korea, which originally lost out on its 2023 bid to China, had no comment on hosting but said it would require further consultation with home authorities.

“Basically, to host an international game …. firstly there should be talks with the government and the local authorities, but we haven’t heard or held any discussions on that yet,” the KFA spokesperson said.

Apart from India, reigning Asian Cup champions Qatar, Iran, and Saudi Arabia have all expressed an interest or submitted bids for 2027.

Qatar hosts the 2022 World Cup from Nov. 21 at a raft of purpose-built stadiums and may be best placed to slot in for the Asian Cup.

The 1988 and 2011 Asian Cup hosts, Qatar’s ambitions of becoming a global sporting hub have been backed by its ruling emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani and underpinned by its gas wealth.

It may come too soon for Saudi Arabia, which has made an aggressive entry into the international sports hosting market in recent years. The Saudi bid for 2027 included the building of three new stadiums and the expansion of three existing venues.

The region’s searing summers would mean both Qatar and Saudi Arabia would need to ask the AFC to move the tournament to cooler months later in the year or in early-2024.

Should few clear alternatives emerge, the AFC would likely prove accommodating to such a request, sending the tournament back to the Gulf four years after the 2019 edition in the United Arab Emirates.

Dragan Skocic’s fears and hopes

The Croatian coach’s survival and leading Team Melli in FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 is quite certain, but Skočić still has concerns.

Hamshahri newspaper, in an article about the current status of Team Melli, wrote: “The finalization of the friendly match against Canada on the morning of June 6th is a very good event; It is both technically useful for the national team and shows that the uncertainty of the football federation has not affected Team Melli after all. This game should be considered auspicious. Surely Dragan Skucic is happy too. The Croatian head coach of the national team felt the danger of being fired after the defeat against South Korea in the Nowruz ceremonial game, but now it seems that his position is steadfast and solid.

Even for some time after the World Cup draw, some saboteurs pushed the idea of a much higher profile world-class coach will is needed for Team Melli in Qatar instead of Skocic, but if there was a will to do so, it would seem futile and nothing more than feeble lobbying that found very little attention and consideration. . There are only six months left until the start of the World Cup, and the friendly matches of Team Melli are being fixed with Skocic. Therefore, the Croatian is relieved that he will lead the Iranian national team in Qatar and is focused on hard work.

However, that is not to say that Skočić is worry-Free at this stage, for the challenge is huge and far from simple. Is Canada enough? Many claimed that for various reasons, the game against Canada is a good and precious opportunity for the Iranian national team; Both their football is similar to USA’s and they are a good and strong team. Anyway, Canada managed to win four points from the United States in two games, and our game and theirs will surely benefit us. However,  just this one game to prepare for the biggest football show on the planet is not enough for Team Melli.

It is said that the rest of the package of friendly matches is supposed to be completed with the games against the likes of New Zealand and Albania, but these matches are not very useful. In fact, there is a concern that the federation will feel satisfied after arranging the game with Canada and will not leave much to be desired for the rest of the friendly matches. It is a pity if that is the case. Do not forget that we are playing against England, the most expensive national football team in the world at the moment. Wales or Scotland may be added to the Iran group and we need to play with a team that has such characteristics.

Which posts are missing?

Dragan Skocic, however, should also have concerns about some of the national team posts. For example, the right-back position is a very serious challenge. Skocic’s favorite choice for the post is Sadegh Moharrami who does not seem to be the fan’s favorite. Moharrami has long been lost in the club category. He has had a great performance at Dinamo Zagreb and even recently Branko Ivankovic criticized the club’s technical staff for benching the Iranian. The quality of Moharrami’s in Team Melli has been inconsistent. On the other hand, Ramin Rezaian returned to the Iranian league to show himself to Dragan Skoucic, but he was not very successful and failed to convince Team Meli selectors to include him in the squad. Rezaeian also has discipline issues. For Voria Ghafouri, his best years are behind him at this stage and almost done at the international level while Saleh Hardani lacks the experience that is required to help the Team in the World Cup.

If you have followed the Asian Champions League, you must have noticed the decline of Daniel Ismaili at that post.

Other positions of concern are defensive midfielders. Ahmed Noorullahi has not had an outstanding performance in the weaker team of Al-Ahly in the UAE League, while Saeed Ezzatullahi in the weaker team of Al-Gharafah in Qatar has only become in huge big margin defeats. Even recently, Milad Sarlak’s performance in Persepolis has had many critics. In general, Skocic should also be concerned about the decline of the Legionnaires. Alireza Biranvand, Ali Gholizadeh, Karim Ansarifard Alireza Jahanbakhsh, Ehsan Hajosafi, and some others have played very little these months.

Maybe the problem of some of these players will be solved by choosing a better team in the World Cup year. “In that case, we hope they will make an open-minded choice.” The reality is that Iranian Players do not easily integrate well n the western teams, the best problem being the language and work ethics. In the Iranian Domestic league, the way the players are developed and the relaxed and indisciplined attitude of the clubs, do not augur well for players to become legionnaires. Only a few percent of Iranians make it while most struggle and eventually return home.

Former FFIRI President Azizi Khadem banned for two years.

The ethics committee announced its verdict in the case of the ousted president and some officials of the then Football Federation.

According to ISNA and quoting the Football Federation, the final verdict was made after careful deliberations on the Executive Committee of the FFIRI and based on the finding of the Investigation Team and the report by the special audit committee.  The Executive Committee has declared that several members of the Football Administration, headed by the President Azizi Khadem have committed violations of the rules, amounting to illegal transfer of money, payment for services not rendered, authorizing payment for Persepolis Club without the knowledge and approval of the Executive Committee of the federation as required by the bylaws plus several other misdemeanors committed during the short tenure of Azizi Khadem in the FFIRI

The Committee, also referring to the Code of Ethics of the FIFA announced that Ali Soleimani Sarmi  (treasurer), Hassan Kamranifar (secretary-general), Vahid Fadaei (head of  finance), and Mohammad Babazadeh Darvish (former head of the legal affairs) have been found guilty of violating the ethical rules of football and according to the lawsuit dated May 15,

Shahabuddin Azizi Khadem has been sentenced to a total ban from all football and futsal activities for a period of 2 years and also to pay a fine of one hundred Million Toman

It also found  Ali Soleimani Sarmi to be guilty as charged and banned from all football and futsal activities for a period of 1 year and fined  30 million Toman

Hassan Kamranifar to pay a 40 million Toman fine while Vahid Fadai to pay 30 million Tomsn and  Mohammad Babazadeh to pay a fine of 30 million Toman.

Although the accusations against Azizi Khadem amounted to criminal negligence and misappropriation of funds which is punishable by Iranian laws, the FFIRI did not indicate if the case will be referred to the courts of law in Iran. The government, however, has the full right to investigate the case and has a track record in prosecuting corruption and funds misappropriation cases with severity in a country that is infested with financial corruption all across.

Canada vs Iran match tickets are sold out.

After the official announcement by the Canadian football federation of the match between Canada and Iran, all the tickets for the friendly international have been sold out.

The match is set to be staged at Vancouver’s BC Place Stadium on June 5. The stadium can host 54,500 spectators.

The reports of a friendly encounter between Iran and Canada had surfaced days ago and were later officially confirmed by the two countries’ federations.

According to reports, the Canadian federation has been surprised by the warm welcome of both Canadian and Iranian fans for the match.

Some 27,000 tickets were sold in the first hour, reports suggest.

Thousands of Iranian immigrants live in different Canadian cities. According to Canada’s 2016 census data, there were more than 210,000 Iranians living in the country and the number is estimated to be higher these days.

The match is the first friendly game for Iran ahead of the 2022 World Cup and the last friendly match for Canada at home.

Canada to host Iran for a friendly international in Vancouver.

FFIRI has reached an agreement with the Canadian Football Federation, to hold a friendly international match as part of Team Melli’s preparations for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2020. The match between Iran and Canada will be held in Vancouver, B.C. on June 5th.

The match is part of a two-game homestand at B.C. Place Stadium. The Canadian men will open CONCACAF Nations League A play there against Curacao on June 9 before closing out the FIFA international window with another CONCACAF Nations League game against Honduras in San Pedro Sula on June 13.

Canada ranked 38th in the world, and No. 21 Iran are both preparing for the FIFA World Cup in Qatar this November.

Canada will play in Group F alongside Belgium, Croatia, and Morocco while Iran is in Group B with England, the U.S., and a European playoff winner still to be decided.

The Vancouver matches are the first for Canada on home soil since qualifying for the World Cup in a 4-0 win over Jamaica at Toronto’s BMO Field on March 27. It also marks the Canadian men’s first visit to B.C. Place since March 2019 when they beat French Guiana 4-1 in CONCACAF Nations League qualifying.

Canada has a 1-2-0 all-time record against Iran, winning the most recent encounter 1-0 in April 2001 in Cairo. Iran posted 1-0 wins in 1997 and 1999 games in Toronto and Edmonton, respectively.

FFIRI is actively seeking another opponent in Canada with several associations being approached in order to play  Team Melli on FIFA Day. No agreement has been reached so far for the second match.

Kaveh Rezaei is a free agent.

The Belgian club OH Leuven has announced that it will not renew Kaveh Rezaei’s contract and that the Iranian striker will soon join a team outside the Belgian league.

According to sport website, Sportal, Kaveh Rezaei is now a free agent. The leaders of the OH Leuven decided against contract extension due to several reasons. Rezaei never proved himself in Leuven and failed to score even a single goal in 13 games, after which a broken leg ended the season prematurely for Team Melli forward.

  • Rezaei last made an appearance in a First Division A-game on February 9, playing only 10 minutes for OH Leuven versus Genk in a 2-1 win. This season he has registered one league assist. He has been shown one yellow card.
  • OH Leuven are 11th in the league standings with 41 points and next face a home match against Antwerp in First Division A action on April 2.

Rezaei played for OH Leuven since last summer when he was transferred from Club Brugge. He performed very well in 2018, especially in Charleroi. Thus, Kaveh Rezaei is unlikely to stay in the Belgian league.

 

Kaveh Rezaei Stats

Season Team Minutes Started Started Sub in Sub out Bench Goals YC
2021/2022 OH Leuven 497 13 5 8 3 11 0 1
2020/2021 Sporting Charleroi 1570 25 18 7 11 8 7 1
2019/2020 Sporting Charleroi 1641 22 18 4 9 5 12 2
2019/2020 Club Brugge 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0
2018/2019 Club Brugge 409 11 4 7 4 12 1 0
2018/2019 Sporting Charleroi 287 4 3 1 2 1 3 0
2017/2018 Sporting Charleroi 3118 39 34 5 11 6 16 6
7522 114 82 32 40 44 39 10

Vahid Amiri in danger of missing the World Cup!

Persepolis and Team Melli midfielder Vahid Amiri who was substituted in after the injury to Saeed Aghaei in the 36th minute of the match against Zobahan Esfahan, played an effective role in changing the result of the game from defeat to draw. However, the key Team Melli midfielder suffered another severe back injury in the 88th minute leaving him incapable of continuing the match in the final minutes.

Amiri was so badly injured that he was taken by ambulance in Isfahan from the stadium to the airport where he then was carried onboard a flight to Tehran, where he was treated by a specialist in the Capital. Amiri’s injury seems to be serious, the doctors will decide on his surgery by the end of the week to reduce his inflammation. In any case, Vahid Amiri will definitely not be able to accompany his team for the final four matches.

He will be absent for the matches against Sepahan Isfahan, Traktor, Shahr Khodro and Fajr Sepasi Shiraz. Amiri will undoubtedly stay away from the football fields for four months in case of his lumbar disc surgery so that the influential and key player of the Iranian national team is in danger of missing the World Cup Qatar  2022. He was one of Dragan Skocic’s key players in the qualifiers to ease Skocic’s worries about having a left-winger. It remains to be seen what the doctors will decide about him to increase his chances of returning to the football field as soon as possible.

Kamranifar “Team Melli will be playing in Canada”

Commenting on the latest developments in the Team Melli camp, Hassan Kamranifar said: “We are closely coordinating with the head coach of the national team, Dragan Skocic. Our contract was finalized on Monday and will be announced to the public in the next two days. We will have a good preparation for the first Fifa day break including playing some friendly international games. This Fifa day will start from 30 May to 14 June and we will have a period of 14 days for the Team Melli training camp. We hope to play at least two to three friendly games.”

In response to the question, in which country will the Team Melli camp will be held, He stated: “It will probably be in two different countries. First, we go to a country other than Qatar and then we go will camp in Qatar on the next available FIFA day in September 2022. Kamranifar continued: “First we will go to Canada and then we will travel to Qatar. The venues in Canada have also been finalized. If you allow me, it will be finalized tomorrow or the day after tomorrow and we will announce the two more games.” The Secretary-General of the Football Federation said that it is better for the national team to play at least two games in Canada, despite the distance : “Yes, we talked to two other countries for friendly matches to play in Canada.” There is also the issue of stadiums because the distances between Canadian cities are vast. If we are going to fly for 5-6 hours for the second game, we will return to Qatar. I cannot name the opposing team at this time. They themselves have said that the nominal contract should not be finalized.”

Kamranifar also announced the possibility of facing the Albanian team and said: “European teams are involved.” The Russia game has been canceled. Albania has played against Russia and we are trying to play against Albania as well”