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Futsal : Draw sets stage for Kuwait 2022

Kuala Lumpur: Reigning champions Iran were drawn in Group C of the AFC Futsal Asian Cup™ Kuwait 2022 on Thursday.
The 12-time winners will face Lebanon, Chinese Taipei, and Indonesia in the September 27 to October 8, 2022 Finals, to be hosted by Kuwait for the first time.

AFC Futsal Asian Cup Kuwait 2022 Official Draw Highlights

Kuwait will be making their 12th appearance in the tournament and will aim to impress in front of home support when they face Iraq, 16-time ASEAN champions Thailand and debutants Oman in Group A.
Bahrain will face the Central Asian trio of Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan in Group C.
Japan, the only other team to lift the continental trophy, was drawn in Group D with Vietnam, the Korea Republic, and Saudi Arabia for company.
Draw Group A: Kuwait, Iraq, Thailand, Oman
Group B: Uzbekistan, Bahrain, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan
Group C: Iran, Lebanon, Chinese Taipei, Indonesia
Group D: Japan, Vietnam, Korea Republic, Saudi Arabia

Canada-Iran soccer friendly at Vancouver's BC Place cancelled

Canada Soccer has canceled a planned friendly with Iran in the face of growing criticism. In a one-paragraph statement, the governing body gave no reason for the cancellation of the scheduled June 5 game at B.C. Place Stadium in Vancouver. But the idea of hosting the Iranian team, ranked 21st in the world, has drawn fire since it was first announced.
At issue is whether Canada should be hosting Iran given the Canadians who died on Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752 when it was shot down on Jan. 8, 2020, minutes after taking off from Tehran, by an Iranian surface-to-air missile. The Canadian government says 55 Canadian citizens and 30 permanent residents were among the 176 people killed.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the game “wasn't a very good idea,” pointing the finger at Canada Soccer. Conservative MPs added their voice to the protest on Wednesday. In a statement, the Association of Families of Flight PS752 Victims called for Canada Soccer “to cancel the game immediately.” This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 26, 2022.

Squad announced for June training camp

Dragan Skocic invited 25 players to the upcoming training camp starting next Monday. Team Melli will start the training in Tehran and then move over to Istanbul before flying to Canada in preparation for the friendly international with the host country in Vancouver.  A second match was planned but never materialized. With the injured players such as Ghoddos, Khalilzadeh, Amiri, and Pouraliganji not available for selection, Skocic added the name of two former members of Team Melli to the list, Omid Ebrahim and Ali Alipour. Notable absentees due to loss of form mean the exclusion of Mehdi Ghaedi and Kaveh Rezaei from the list.   Team Melli Captain Karim Ansarifard and the current AEK Athens player is the major absentee from this camp and will not accompany the national team for a long time. While the current situation requires players to secure their place in the World Cup final list by performing well with their clubs and attending training regularly, Karim was severely injured in a freak accident in the national team's previous camp on Nowruz 1401, during a birthday party when a cake was pounded on his face, Due to that eyes injury, he also missed the game against Lebanon. As a result, he was away from training for a while and on his return, he had to conduct his training with goggles. Since his injury, Ansarifard has not played in any of his team's matches and usually plays for a few minutes, and has now lost his place in Team Melli Skocic has replaced  Ansarifard with Ali Alipour so that the forward who plays in the Portuguese league with Gil Vicente can finally recover after a three-year absence from the national team and may be able to improve the national team's offensive line.  
No. Pos. Player Date of birth  Age Caps Goals Club
GK Alireza Beiranvand 12-Sep-1992   29 50 0
 Royal Antwerp
GK Hossein Hosseini 30- May-1992   29 4 0
 Esteghlal
GK Amir Abedzadeh 26 -Apr-1993   29 9 0
 Ponferradina
DF Sadegh Moharrami 24 -Mar-1996   26 18 0
 Dinamo Zagreb
DF Aref Gholami 23-Apr-1997   25 1 0
 Esteghlal
DF Milad Mohammadi 29-Sep-1993   28 45 1
 AEK Athens
DF Hossein Kanaanizadegan 23-Mar-1994   28 32 2
 Al-Ahli
DF Saleh Hardani 14-Sep-1998   23 2 0
 Esteghlal
DF Majid Hosseini 20-Jun-1996   25 16 0
 Kayserispor
DF Omid Noorafkan 09-Apr-1997   25 12 0
 Sepahan
DF Aref Aghasi 02-Jan-1997   25 0 0
 Foolad
MF Ehsan Hajsafi (Captain) 25-Feb-1990   32 118 7
 AEK Athens
MF Saeid Ezatolahi 01-Oct-1996   25 44 1
 Vejle
MF Alireza Jahanbakhsh 11-Aug-1993   28 61 12
 Feyenoord
MF Ahmad Nourollahi 02-Jan-1993   29 23 3
 Shabab Al-Ahli
MF Milad Sarlak 26-Mar-1995   27 8 0
 Persepolis
MF Omid Ebrahimi 15-Sep-1987   34 52 0
 Al-Wakrah
MF Amirhossein Hosseinzadeh 30-Oct-2000   21 2 0
 Esteghlal
MF Mehdi Torabi 10-Sep-1994   27 34 6
 Persepolis
MF Ali Gholizadeh 10 -Mar-1996   26 23 6
 Charleroi
MF Mehdi Mehdipour 18-Feb-1994   28 2 0
 Esteghlal
FW Mehdi Taremi 18-Jul-1992   29 57 27
 Porto
FW Sardar Azmoun 01-Jan-1995   27 62 40
 Bayer Leverkusen
FW Ali Alipour 11-Nov-1995   26 3 0
 Gil Vicente
FW Allahyar Sayyadmanesh 29-Jun-2001   20 6 1
 Hull City

AFC Futsal Asian Cup Kuwait 2022™ official draw today

the-afc.com
Kuala Lumpur
The official draw ceremony of the AFC Futsal Asian Cup Kuwait 2022™ in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on Thursday (May 26) at 3 pm (GMT+8) will set the stage for the return of top-flight Continental futsal after a four-year hiatus caused by the pandemic.
After an intensive round of qualifying battles, the draw will reveal the opponents of Asia’s 16 teams who will compete for futsal’s grandest prize at the showpiece, staged in West Asia for the first time after 10 years, from September 27 to October 8, 2022.
The contenders will be divided into four groups of four teams, with host Kuwait placed as the top-seeded Member Association (MA) while the ranking of the AFC Futsal Championship Chinese Taipei 2018™ will determine the seeding of the remaining challengers.
Joining Kuwait in Pot 1 are the defending champions of the Islamic Republic of Iran, also the most successful side in the competition with 12 titles, Japan, runners-up in 2018, and Uzbekistan, who finished second on four occasions.
Iraq, Lebanon, Vietnam, and Bahrain will occupy Pot 2 followed by Thailand, who are the Southeast Asian Games gold medalist, Chinese Taipei, Tajikistan, and the Korea Republic in Pot 3.
Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, Turkmenistan, and debutants Oman will have their names drawn from Pot 4.
As futsal makes a safe return to the Continent, the AFC Futsal Asian Cup Kuwait 2022™ draw ceremony is poised to unveil thrilling encounters in the Group Stage where the top two sides in each group advance to the next stage.
Futsal continues to grow at a rapid pace in Asia and this was evident when a record five teams – IR Iran, Japan, Thailand, Uzbekistan, and Vietnam – qualified for the knockout stage of the FIFA Futsal World Cup Lithuania 2021 for the first time.
Click here to watch the AFC Futsal Asian Cup Kuwait 2022™ draw live.

Iran's Omid Team defeats Iraq in a friendly

Iran's Omid national football team defeated its Iraqi counterpart by one goal at the Medina Stadium in Baghdad tonight at 9 pm. The U23 Team or the national football team of Omid is currently in Iraq for a training camp that includes two friendly matches. Under Mehdi Mahdavikia, the players are preparing for the upcoming AFC U23 Asian Cups. The only goal of the game came in the first half in the 12th minute by Aria Yousefi, a Sepahani player recently invited to the Omid national team. Omid Iran line up was as follows:  Parsa Jafari, Amir Jafari, Milad Kerr, Saman Fallah (Mohammad Ghorbani), Alireza Khodaei, Mohammad Khodabandeh Lou, Yasin Salmani (captain), Mohammad Hossein Zaveri (Ali Pilaram), Amir Ali Sadeghi, Ahmad Shariatzadeh (Mohammad Javad) Kalmarzi), Arya Yousefi.

Team Melli news update.

Team Melli is preparing fror the friendly match against the Canadian national team on the morning of June 6. As per the announcement of the Canadian Federation, 50 people can be included in the list of Iran's squad traveling to Vancouver for this match. FFIRI has also prepared a list of names of people who can accompany Team Melli on this trip. According to the list that will be soon submitted by head coach Dragan Skocic, the FFIRI will proceed with the administrative affairs related to issuing visas. Between 23 to 25 players will be selected plus the coaching staff and the support group, medical kits, and Culinary team are expected to be included in the list. It is also expected that security agents and undercover police be part of the group keeping an eye on the players.

Dragan Skočić

The Croatian head coach of Team Melli who has recently returned to Tehran from his holiday is just about to announce the final list of the Team Melli's squad traveling to Canada. One major absentee will be Saman Ghoddos who is still on the injury list and not fully fit for competitive matches.

Skočić is still hoping that the federation could find a second opponent in Canada as it seems that the Ecuador match is in doubt.

Karim Bagheri.

The Football Federation of Iran FFIRI has crossed out Karim Bagheri's name from the list that was submitted to the  Canadian Consulate in Istanbul, Turkey, for visa application. Karim Bagheri' was given the choice to be either a part of the Team Melli coaching staff full time or maintain his post as assistant in the Persepolis team. Due to the requirement of Team Melli at this stage, the federation did not find it feasible for Krim to hold both posts simultaneously.

Dragan Skocic, the head coach of the Iranian national team, along with the executive officials of the Football Federation, have opposed the simultaneous presence of Karim Bagheri in Persepolis and the national team regarding the national team's qualification to the 2022 FIFA World Cup. Therefore, the name of Karim Bagheri has been removed from the ranks of Skocic's assistants, and he will definitely not accompany the national team on his trip to Canada.

Khodadad Azizi

On other hand, Mirshad Majedi, the acting head of the Football Federation, with the approval of the executive and technical committee of the Iranian national team, has agreed with the appointment of former Team Melli star Khodadad Azizi as part of the coaching staff during this trip to Canada. Azizi has been included in the list of visa applications. It seems like the possibility of his permanent presence as a replacement for Karim Bagheri is a serious possibility.

Mirshad Majedi

The acting head of the FFIRI is likely to head the delegation to Canada although it has not been confirmed yet. The Canadian Federation has requested in its contract the presence of the highest official of the federation on this trip for the possibility of negotiations of cooperation development, mutual agreement on future friendlies, and other areas of support between the two federations.  Therefore, Majidi is likely to accompany the national team on their trip to Canada.

Istanbul Camp.

The Football Federation has planned a mini-camp in Istanbul which allows  Skocic to train his player for at least three sessions in Istanbul. Apart from physically obtaining the visas, the squad will most probably have to travel to Vancouver through Istanbul anyway, so that created an opportunity for a mini-training camp that Skocic duly agreed uupon.

The Canadian connection.

the Football Federation of Iran and its Canadian counterpart expressed concern about some adverse comments regarding the match. The bad propaganda against Iran's visit and the match in Vancouver are not sport-related and it is meant to negatively influence the potential attendees against the Iranian regime.  In this letter, the Football Federation of Iran, according to the clauses in the contract, has demanded stern action by the authorities against any kind of political protest and anti-regime slogans in the stadium.  It also demanded that the match be held in a complete sporting atmosphere and not spoiled by politics

. The Iranian Federation has stated that any political gathering during the presence of the Iranian convoy in Vancouver should be stopped and the necessary guarantees should be given in this regard. In the contract for this meeting, the host country has given a full commitment that it will not allow any formally and planned political protests. However, the Iranian Football Federation is waiting for an official response from its counterpart to ensure this. Canada responds explicitly The Canadian Federation, in response to a letter from the Iranian Football Federation, has announced that it has signed a contract with Iran as an independent body and will provide a full guarantee for the match without any political interference.

Letter of appreciation

 The second letter of tFFIRI to Canada includes thanks and appreciation for the response of Soccer Canada against political meddling and its rights to arrange friendly matches as it deems necessary for Team Canada.  The letter mentioned in part that Soccer Canada is an approved and independent body and that nothing could be expected but to maintain transparency and commitment to the contract signed by the country that will host the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Termination of this contract will only be possible under extreme conditions or unpredictable events and hence "force majeure" will be activated. If the game between the two teams is to be canceled under the "force majeure" conditions, no compensation will be awarded to either party.

Friendly with Albania

FFIRI  was negotiating with several federations for friendly games in Doha amongst them was Albania. This UEFA member is currently occupying 65 places in FIFA Ranking against Iran's 21st. Albania never qualified for any world cup in its history and hardly has any famous name on its national team. Yet, this team demanded a large fee for the match plus all expenses paid by FFIRI for the Albanian squad.

FFIRI respectfully turned down the Albanian demands, however, the audacity of the Albanians seems to be laughable!!!

Omid Team Squad announced

The FFIRI website announced that Mehdi MahdaviKia, the head coach of the Omid team, announced the final names of the U23 squad to participate in the Iraq training camp and the U-23 championship in Uzbekistan. After replacing Reza Kakhsaz and Parsa Jafari. The two goalkeepers of Peykan and Zobahan instead of Sina Saeedifar and Alireza Rezaei, the goalkeepers of Esteghlal, announced the following: Amir Ali Sadeghi (Esteghlal) Yasin Salmani, Arya Yousefi (Sepahan) Alireza Bavieh, Mohammad Amin Hezbavi (Foolad Khuzestan) Reza Kakhsaz , Erfan Shahriari Khalaji, Saman Fallah Vernami (Peykan) Parsa Jafari, Milad Kerr, Mohammad Hossein Eslami, Mohammad Khodabandeh Lou (Zobahan) Payam Parsa, Ahmad Shariatzadeh, Mohammad Hossein Zavari (Naft Abadan) Mohammad Ghorbani (Nasiji Mazandaran) Mohammad Mehdi Ahmadi, Mehdi Hashemnejad (Naft Masjed Soleyman) Amir Jafari Siglani (Shahr Khodro) Ali Javad Kalmarzi Sabet (Roda JC Netherlands) Yadegar Rostami (playing in the Polish league) Bilal Arazi, Ali Pilaram (South Pars) Alireza Khodaei (Saipa)

Alireza Faghani picked for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022.

Alireza Faghani has been appointed to officiate at the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022. The Iranian international referee will be making his third straight FIFA World Cup appearance,

Iranian duo Mohammadreza Abolfazli and Mohammadreza Mansouri have been chosen as assistants in the competition. The FIFA Referees Committee announced the lists with the names of the selected match officials for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022. A total of 36 referees, 69 assistant referees, and 24 video match officials (VMOs) have been chosen in close cooperation with the six confederations, based on their quality and the performances delivered at FIFA tournaments as well as at other international and domestic competitions in recent years. For the first time in the history of the FIFA World Cup, the FIFA Referees Committee has also appointed three women's referees and three women's assistant referees. Stéphanie Frappart from France, Salima Mukansanga from Rwanda, and Yoshimi Yamashita from Japan, as well as assistant referees Neuza Back from Brazil, Karen Díaz Medina from Mexico and Kathryn Nesbitt from the U.S. will work in Qatar.

Ecuador match in doubt!

When the news of the Team Melli match against Ecuador on 11th June first emerged, teammelli.com checked the authenticity of the news and quickly discovered that Ecuador is already scheduled to play Mali on 12th June! However, as the news was confirmed by the Manager of Team Melli, Hamid Estili on a TV show, we grudgingly published the news. However, less than three days have passed since the announcement, there is now the possibility of canceling the game with Ecuador and a general change in the plans of Team Melli has been raised.  Most likely, there never was such a game with Ecuador, and someone must have fabricated it while Hamid Estili hastily confirmed it. "The venue for the Ecuador game has not been determined yet," Estili claimed today Friday. "If the game is to be played outside of Canada, both teams must meet the conditions. There was even talk of Spain, which was not possible for us and them." He also talked about FFIRI's effort to find a replacement for Ecuador in case of cancellation of this game and said: "We are looking to play with Senegal on June 12th or 14th  at Azadi Stadium if the game with Ecuador does not materialize.". The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has supported us with this. The second Team Melli preparation match is now in doubt thanks to the chronically incompetent management of FFIRI.  

Ecuador is the second opponent for Team Melli.

According to the Mehr News reporter, Team Melli will play against the Canadian national team in its first preparation match for the FIFA World Cup 2022  on the morning of June 6th in Vancouver. Continued negotiations with other possible opponents for a second match by the Football Federation, resulted in an agreement to play the Ecuadorian national team to be held in Canada. Ecuador coached by Gustavo Alfaro' is in the first group of the World Cup with the Netherlands, Qatar, and Senegal. Ecuador's place in Qatar is under threat due to Chile's complaint to FIFA over the Byron Castillo who is alleged to be a Colombian national who played for the Ecuador National Team during the qualifiers for FIFA World Cup 2022. Hamid Estili, the manager of the Iranian national football team, confirmed the match against Ecuador. Dates and Venue to be confirmed.