Iran hosting of AFC Asian Cup 2027!

Recently there have been some reports, possibly leaked to the media by FFIRI, about Iran requesting the hosting of AFC Asian Cup 2027.  This suggestion has been carried by many media and sports publications.  The is article discusses whether this possibility is realistic or just another gag to entertain the Iranian fans under the lockdown of COVID-19.

For a starter, news, or rumors of  FFIRI application for Iran to host the AFC Asian Cup 2027 has been met by a wave of criticism from football fans and critics mainly targeting the Iranian federation’s action. This comes at a time when the Asian Football’s most prestigious event  (AFC Asian Cup) requires major resources and infrastructure while Iran’s football, in general, is in the midst of a major crisis that is unparalleled in the country and will probably take years to recover.

* Hosting under current infrastructure?

At first glance, attention needs to be drawn to stadiums with FIFA standards, which are not available in Iran, as Sheikh Salman, the AFC president, recently announced that to host the event, which will be 24 teams tournament, eight to ten stadiums will be required. Despite the construction of stadiums such as Imam Reza, Shohadaye Foolad and Naghshe Jehan, etc., Iran is still miles away from such a standard required for hosting.

* Logistics and accommodation

 The important issues are those related to the transportation, logistics, accommodation, and marketing in such competitions, which require high fortitude and cooperation of government agencies and cannot be done by an organization such as the Football Federation or the Ministry of Sports. A look at the list of requirements for each country to hold this event shows that Iran has not had a history of holding major events since 1976, that is 44 years ago when the competition had 8 teams and most matches were played in the state-of-the-art newly built Arayamehr Stadium.

The current sporting infrastructure has not developed efficiently since the revolution. War, Political environment, priorities, sanctions, and most importantly financial resources were poorly allocated for sports venues.  Unless one believes in a miracle, it is really difficult to envisage all the factors merging towards achieving the target of 10 stadia by 2027

* Poor facilities of host cities.

Of course, there will be other Iranian cities that will host the group matches. Not all efforts and resources would be channeled towards hosting in Tehran only. In the current state, there are many problems in terms of transportation, logistics, and sports infrastructure, across the main cities in Iran. Although some cities have good facilities such as Mashhad which has an international airport and modern subway system, it lacks a proper FIFA Standard stadium while other options such as Esfahan has a good stadium that can easily host matches, but their transportation facilities and accommodations lag behind.

The most vital of the facilities, accommodation is a problem in other cities as well. The lack of  5-star hotels in some cities, as well as the difficulties of obtaining customs and visa permits, and finally the ban on women’s presence in the stadiums culminate in a poor chance of hosting.

Naghshe Jehan Stadium, Esfahan.

* Advertising revenues and copyright laws.

In a strange system, in Iran, the broadcaster never pays the football federation. In fact, IRIB the government-owned broadcaster and the only authorized TV and Radio broadcaster had the audacity to claim that it should be the other way round as IRIB is doing football a favor by broadcasting matches!

In Iran, there is no Copyright laws either, at least not the way it is recognized and practiced internationally.  Clubs or the federation cannot claim nor count on revenues from companies who commercially use logos or other materials to sell their products. Therefore there are no official kits or jerseys by the clubs because cheaper products can be sold alongside genuine products without the protection or respect of copyrights.

While, the case of advertising revenues can be easily sorted out for the Asian Cup tournament, as the AFC has a solid and well laid down contractual clause that is legally binding, the copyright laws is well outside the football federation’s jurisdiction and AFC has no role to play in it. Copyright protection requires the government to initiate and produce legislation. It has to be passed as a law.  Then the suggested copyright law clauses need to be approved by the Majlis (parliament) and that in itself is not an easy task. The judiciary also needs to be on board and prosecute the offenders. Different government within governments like Pasdaran, Sepah, and the religious establishment will always have their own rules and understanding of any law. In brief, it is not an easy task to create copyright laws in Iran,  where chaotic political-religious system rules supreme.

Several attempts of the establishment of this law have failed, and it is unlikely that such laws will be established by 2027 or before.

* Financial and executive crisis in the Football Federation.

 Iran’s request for hosting the Asian Cup will be looked upon in association with the integrity, strength, legitimacy, and competency of the persons running the football federation. At the moment, FFIRI is in crisis and facing sanctions by FIFA for many issues but mainly due to government interference. With such shady administration, it is unlikely that many will vote for Iran while the administrators are busy saving their own skins.

Former FFIRI President, who has been outside Iran for many months, is under scrutiny for financial irregularities

 

 

 

in 2014, UAE won the hosting of the 2019 Asian Cup instead of Iran. The UAE, met the conditions and the requirements to host the event and was able to prepare for the competition in four years. It has a well-established copyright law that is strictly implemented. There are plenty of international airports that are served by hundreds of airlines, it had the ideal infrastructure, hotels, stadia, perfect road system, Trams(Dubai), and resources, so it was a no brainer for it to be chosen as hosts.

How is Iran compared now? will it have the chance this time with competition from Saudi Arabia and India?

Given the country’s economic situation and existing sanctions, the efforts required to establish or amend laws like copyright, intellectual property protection, women in the stadium, and the resources required to massively upgrade the stadiums in Tehran and other Iranian cities, the answer is a categorical NO.

There are far too many problems and issues for Iran’s hosting of major sporting events in the magnitude of the Asian Cup. Any such attempt by FFIRI to send the hosting file to AFC as a candidate for AFC Asian Cup 2027 will only be an embarrassment for Iran while it may serve as a propaganda tool for the current FFIRI administrators.

Andrea Stramaccioni turns down Team Melli post.

The former head coach of Esteghlal Club has turned down an offer from FFIRI to coach  Team Melli while wishing the current coaching staff of  Iran national football team all the success.

 According to ISNA, in recent days, reports in the social media about Andrea Stramaccioni occupying the bench of Team Melli was so strong amongst the fans, which prompted FFIRI to issue a denial. However, Andrea Stramaccioni’s agent has confirmed such talks between the two sides by posting in social media, stressing that Stramaccioni had rejected the offer to coach the Iranian national team.

The Italian Andrea Stramaccioni started coaching Esteghlal Tehran from 13th June 2019  on a two-year contract up to June 2021

However, six months into his contract on 8th December, Stramaccioni resigned his post in  Esteghlal as the club failed to pay the wages of the coaching staff, a practice that is quite common in Iranian clubs and the football federation FFIRI.

The usual excuse is the sanctions and restrictions on money transfer !!

On the other hand, FFIRI has already employed the Croat coach Dragan Skocic as the head coach of Team Melli. Due to the COVID-19 endemic, however, he was unable to lead the team in any match so far

The signing of Dragan Skocic has raised a lot of issues and suspicions amongst players and experts with many contending that the Ministry of Sports has forced the Croat on the federation!

 While the bets were on Ali Daei, Amir Ghalenoei or Yahya Golmohammadi to take the job, Dragan Skocic popped out of nowhere to get the post without having coached any National Teams in his career.

The AFC Internet Circus

  • Ehsan Mohammadi
  • Iranian Journalist / Iran Varzeshi
  • Translated from Persian.

Yoval Noah Harari in the introduction to the acclaimed book “21 Lessons for the 21st Century” talks about the term “Digital Dictatorship”. A new dictatorship type that can overturn the facts. Iranian football is slowly being conquered by the army of virtual fans these days. Trench to trench. Fans who roar on social media but don’t even bother to turn up to the stadiums like real fans to watch a match and the stands of the stadia in Iran are getting emptier every year on end.

I admire the valuable functions of cyberspace, but the growth of the Digital Dictatorship is scary. It is wrong to shut down anyone who doesn’t think like us by forming a group and a mouthpiece, or to engage in facts with virtual campaigning and write history little by little in the way we like (not as it is) is Persecution. Even if 80 million people defend it, it is still wrong and unethical.

 

I wrote a few notes about AFC polls. How did come to realize how to read our hands and learned how to hold polls to increase visits, clicks and votes so that thousands of Iranians could be attacked under the influence of encouragement and to beat the drums happily and then consider success in this childish campaign a sign of excellence and rewrite, and distort history.

The issue of online polls is no different. The best goal of Asia, the most popular player in Asia, the best legionnaire in Asia, the most beautiful player, etc. It doesn’t matter what poll it is, we always win! Why? Because we are Iranians and we have to be the best.

One of the social reasons for this virtual struggle is “trying to clear up the feeling of being left behind.” Assuming that we can get our rights in Asian football with a few likes, clicks and pressing a button on the keyboard, a right we can’t get on the football field!

It has been 50 years since we qualified for the Olympics, we haven’t won the Asian Cup for almost half a century, and the last time an Iranian club won the Asian Champion League (or the Asian Clubs Championship), half of the current league players weren’t even born!

In the latest example, the AFC website ran a poll to choose the best Asian player in the FIFA World Cup.

The Candidates were:

Park Ji Sung / South Korea (three appearances, three goals scored and fourth place title in 2002)

 Sami Al-Jaber / Saudi Arabia (four appearances, three goals scored and one assist)

Tim Cahill / Australia (four appearances, five goals and one assist)

Keisuke Honda / Japan (three appearances, four goals and three assists)

Alireza Beiranvand / Iran (one presence, a clean sheet and Ronaldo’s penalty save)

The result was shocking! Beiranvand topped the table with 68% of the votes, followed by Honda, a distant second with 24%, Sami Jaber 6%, Park Ji Sung with 1% and Tim Kahil with 0%!  Beat on the drum boys and rejoice!!

Even a cooked chicken would giggle at this result, but the media and news agencies in Iran boasted that “Beiranvand became the best Asian in the history of the FIFA World Cup!” Really ….. the best Asian player in the history of the World Cup ?! Do we even believe this ourselves? When reputable news outlets, websites and sports publications publish such unrealistic news without criticism, then they endorse it and recognize it as a fact.

If it was just a hobby in the days of quarantine, it could be bypassed, but it’s ridiculous and dangerous when it goes down in history and is repeated so often in general as a document that no one else dares to criticize it.

 

I was constantly reminded of the famous story of Hans Christian Anderson when a child shouted “The king is naked”! Why don’t all the journalists and news outlets who know that these kings of the AFC site are not wearing their uniforms not only shout that they are also putting firewood on the fire so that you can go and vote and raise the Iranian flag! With a handful of likes and clicks ?! Isn’t this complicity in a mistake and falsification of history, or has prejudice blinded us so much that we prefer a pleasant lie to a bitter truth?

A few days later, when the professional and real specialists examined the performance of the players (without passion, clinched fists and happy drum rolls), the results were reversed and Alireza Beiranvand ended up at the bottom of the list. According to the experts Park Ji-sung topped the table, followed by Tim Kahil, Sami Al-Jaber and Honda.

 

This article does not seek to criticize Beiranvand, who is a distinguished player and probably the best goalkeeper in Asia right now. It condemns the credibility and integrity of the AFC circus. Want to be the best in Asia? Then prove it on the football field, otherwise be honored by Championships and trophies that are won on websites by likes, clicks and virtual campaigns. China and India have a population 20 times that of our country, and they can choose any player in their top ten as the best player in the history of the World Cup above the stars like Pele, Maradona and Messi and Ronaldo! …

If this happens, won’t we laugh at them?

Don’t doubt that many in Asia are laughing at us now with our virtual and imaginary internet honors. If we are about national pride, we should not fool ourselves into believing such fallacy.

Azmoun suitors.

No doubt that the global lockdown and ceased football activities have deprived the media of reporting on football’s numerous competitions and actions on the field thus denying the journalist and reporters from vital sources of material to fill pages and pages of newspapers or electronic media.

To compensate for that, the media has found an alternative source of news off the field and mostly focused on the transfer market.

This subject has always been doggy, to say the least as the countless number of false and fabricated news that has marred transfer market news has relegated such reports to the dustbin department with the significant majority of the fans losing interest in them. The fabricated news, many times originated by some of the players themselves for self-serving purposes or forcing their demands on their clubs, has left a bad taste in the mouths of true football fans.

 However, What do you know as the subject of transfer news is suddenly alive and right at the top on the football news by the virtue of one COVID-19 endemic.

In this neck of the woods, the player who has been constantly in the limelight is no one but Sardar Azmoun.

The Team Melli and Zenit St. Petersburg striker, has been the subject of all sorts of transfer targets which neither the player himself or the club has ever confirmed.

After the English, then Scottish clubs’ interest, the focus shifted to Napoli of Serie A who were supposed to be the front runners in the race for Azmoun. However, it seems that Napoli must wait in turn as others are supposed to be interested as well.

Somewhat at this, it seems that La Liga club Sevilla FC is seeking to recruit him as well.  Sardar Azmoun has spent his entire professional career in Russia, between Rubin Kazan and Rostov, until January 2019 when Zenit paid 12 million Euros for his transfer and signed him to a contract until 2022.

Now, the Saint Petersburg club, given the number of suitors who are linked to their player, would be asking for no less than 25 to 30 million, according to ‘Breakingnews’. The suitors, which includes Sevilla FC in a list of five clubs, are interested in the 25-year-old forward, who in the current season added 14 goals and 7 assists in his 29 official matches, currently being assessed by Transfermakt at 14.5 million euros, although his value a few months ago was 18 million.

 

KAZAN, RUSSIA – JUNE 20, 2018: Iran’s Sardar Azmoun (L) and Spain’s Gerard Pique in a First Stage Group B football match between Iran and Spain at Kazan Arena at FIFA World Cup Russia 2018. Sergei Bobylev/TASS (Photo by Sergei BobylevTASS via Getty Images)

The rivals of the Sevilla FC club would be West Ham, Atlético de Madrid, Fiorentina, and Nápoli, who seem most interested in closing the signing of Azmoun as soon as possible and could present a formal offer shortly to avoid the auction that could stand out when the market opens, according to the aforementioned source.

‘Breakingnews’, adds that it is the intermediary Fali Ramadani who is in permanent contact with the Spanish director of Zenit, the Spanish Javier Ribalta, as well as with the footballer’s family to evaluate all possibilities.

The premier league side West Ham are one of several clubs in a ‘fierce competition’ to sign Sardar Azmoun according to http://sportwitness.co.uk/

As on many other fronts, therefore, competition would be high if Sevilla FC decided to move for Azmoun, the protagonist of a curious story because before deciding on football, he played volleyball and went international for his country in several age level teams without playing a single match in the domestic Persian Gulf Professional league.

Azmoun, a Turkmen born in Gonbad-e Kavus has scored 32 goals in 50 matches at the international level for Team Melli.

He is perhaps the most valuable player in Team Melli who missed the FIFA World Cup 2014 by a whisker when Carlos Queiroz, despite his strong admiration of Azmoun’s talent,  decided to exclude him from the squad heading to Brazil because of his young age.

“We conned FIFA” Former FFIRI President admits.

Ali Kaffashian, the former president of the Football Federation says he has lied to FIFA in defining the nature of this federation in the 2007 constitution.

It is one of the most direct and vivid confessions that the Iranian Government controls the Football Federation, in spite of the common knowledge that such governance means the suspension of the federation and sanctions against FFIRI.

According to Kaffashian, the nature of the Football Federation and the government’s oversight of this organization has always been a topic of debate in the country’s football circles, because if the federation is considered an independent non-governmental organization (NGO), the Ministry of Sports and government departments cannot impose or force regulations such as prohibiting government retirees from occupying a post in NGOs.

“A retired person should be able to hold any post in independent organizations and that includes private companies, but if an organization is defined as a “Public non-governmental entity”, the government enforces its authority upon it.

Blatter & Kaffashian

In response to a question of whether the federation is an “Independent NGO” or a “Non-Governmental Public Body”  Ali Kaffashian said, “When I joined football federation, I was retired from government services.  At the time it was explained to me that the federation is an independent organization or NGO and as a non-governmental body, I have no problem with the law that prohibits government retirees from working while receiving a pension.”

“After the change of Cabinet, the new minister of sport did not want me in FFIRI and said I was retired and should not be occupying this post. I reminded him that the federation is a non-governmental organization and that my retirement is irrelevant, but the honorable minister said that the federation is a “non-governmental public institution” and that government employment rules and regulations apply to you, so your retirement is a problem.”

Kaffashian emphasized that the nature of the federation should be written correctly in the amendment of the federation’s charter, adding: “I think we should include everything that we are in the new charter. Officials should mention that the federation is an ‘independent non-governmental organization’ If FIFA accepts that, then there is no problem, but if it does not, do not falsely tell FIFA that it is an independent, non-governmental organization while in fact, it is a government entity.”

“We have conned FIFA in the past,” Kafashian said, referring to the federation’s 2007 constitutional amendment. When the constitution was adopted by a six-member group of government and FIFA representatives, Mr. Kiomars Hashemi, a former member of the federation’s presidium, wrote in a preface of the constitution that it was an independent, non-governmental organization. This is not true and never was. We tricked FIFA to remove the sanction imposed on us after the 2006 World Cup and lied.”

He continued “We should not have lied. Now we must clearly say that we are a non-governmental public organization. If they do not accept, we should take the law to the parliament to change it so that future managers do not face any problems. Whenever we were moved, they hit us on the head with a stick that we are a public and non-governmental organization and should abide by the ministry”.

Azmoun denies any approach by Napoli.

Team Melli and Zenit St. Petersburg striker,  announced that he has no information about the Italian Serie ‘A’ club’s offer.

Sardar Azmoun, who was enjoying his most successful season before the COVID-19 outbreak, has been widely reported in the Italian press that he is a subject of interest by Napoli, and it has been announced that the Italian team is ready to pay more than 20 million euros for his services.

Regarding the offer, Sardar Azmoun said: “I don’t know about Napoli’s offer except for what I read in the media like everyone else. There has been no official contact from  my management on that either.”

Azmoun added “I have a contract with Zenit for another year and a half. I am committed to this contract and enjoying my time here. It remains to be seen what will happen in the future.”

Sardar Azmoun, who was ranked second in the Russian league goalscoring charts last season, has also excelled this season, earning Zenit the defending champions the top position of the Russian league table.

Azmoun has scored 10 goals so far this season including a hat-trick in his last game against Ural on 14th March.

AFC warns FFIRI on management discrepancies.

The AFC’s continued correspondence over some objections to the election of the new Secretary-General of the Federation has led to a meeting of the FFIRI Board of Directors to resolve these issues.

According to ISNA, the first changes in the Football Federation administration and the appointment of the new Secretary-General created many headaches, most of which are due to complacency, obliviousness and negligence in applying the rules. To make matters even worst, the internal disputes in the Board of Directors have added to the problems with some members acting against the leadership.

*Appointment of a new Secretary-General

Mehdi Mohammad Nabi

In fact, after the election cum appointment of Mehdi Mohammad Nabi , one of the old guards of the federation, as the new Secretary-General which took place on March 29, the Asian Football Confederation, contrary to previous occasions, suddenly took an interest in the FFIRI governance and processes. AFC informed the Iranian side of some violations in the process of appointment of Nabi. So far, there have been three different letters sent to FFIRI in which the AFC emphasized the need to resolve these breaches to the rules. AFC declared that meeting of the Football Federation’s Board of Directors in which Nabi was appointed instead of Shakuri is null and void as it only recognizes Shakouri as the legitimate Secretary-General only.

The FFIRI initially was on the defensive insisting on its stand and responded after the second AFC correspondence by providing documents, which in fact proved the AFC points on the breaches rather than indemnify FFIRI. AFC was not satisfied with these documents.

* The third AFC letter with a threatening tone!

Now the Football Federation, after resolute insistence and haggling on winning the argument and the case, has realized the seriousness of its situation.  After the AFC reiterated its position by accepting Shakouri as the Secretary-General of FFIRI and, most importantly, mentioning that FFIRI response was not convincing, while it continues misunderstandings and misinterpreting the situation, FFIRI has half-heartedly accepted it is not going to win this case.

* The board to hold an emergency meeting to solve the problem

Following the submission of the third letter by the AFC, the FFIRI is now preparing to hold a meeting with the federation’s executives members on Monday to resolve the issue of selecting a new secretary-general as soon as possible. In this meeting, Shakouri agreed to cooperate and attend as the Secretary-General to give the meeting a legitimacy the AFC is demanding.

Undoubtedly, the Football Federation is suffering on several fronts. In the current situation, important issues such as amending the statute, solving financial problems, holding elections and deciding on the fate of the Premier League under the shadow of COVID-19 are creating the most serious challenge to FFIRI since its suspension by FIFA in 2006.

History could repeat itself in 2020 as FIFA and now AFC are monitoring the breaches and violations of the FFIRI. The sanction is a possibility under the management of this federation which is already embroiled in internal conflict and marred by poor governance.

AFC proposing new dates for Iran World Cup qualifying games.

Qatar’s Al-Sharq newspaper reported today that the AFC is evaluating alternative dates for the Asian Teams competition backlog since March 2020. According to the newspaper, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has made two proposals for the FIFA World Cup 2022 qualifiers and the AFC Asian Cup 2023, which are scheduled to take place on October 8th and 16th).

“The AFC is expected to present these two proposals to the local federations to identify their views and opinions, but in the end, it all depends on the coronavirus situation in the countries concerned ” Al-Sharq reported.

Team Melli matches against Cambodia and Hong Kong were postponed.

Iran’s Team is currently in third place in Group C of the World Cup qualifiers, which is also the qualifying round for the 2023 Asian Cup, after Iraq and Bahrain with 6 points. Meanwhile, there has been a change in the coaching staff with the Croat Dragan Skocic taking over after the disappointing Belgian Marc Wilmots left the job.

Dragan Skočić, has yet to lead Team Melli in any match, in fact, he has not managed to get the team together due to the restrictions and lockdown after the COVID-19 outbreak. All sporting activities are suspended in Iran at the present.

Team Melli is still without a sponsor!

The Iranian national team is without a sponsorship deal since the FIFA World Cup 2018 Russia, as all efforts by the Football Federation to find a jersey sponsor and a commercial partner has failed to attract any interest.

The FIFA World Cup and the AFC Asian Cup are two of the most important official events in football in which the federation has been able to make a huge profit by accepting sponsors for Team Melli and covering the cost of preparation for the team. The last official contract was signed before the start of the World Cup and lasted up to the end of the tournament, although that deal was much criticized due to lack of transparency.

The Federation or the Marketing Department has repeatedly posted ads on the federation’s website and official newspapers inviting various companies and institutions, but no entity was willing to close a sponsorship with the FFIRI. As a result, Iran’s Team Melli had no sponsor for the World Cup 2022 and World Cup 2022 qualifiers.

Continuation of this problem, given the ambiguity on the resumption of World Cup qualifying matches after Corona’s eradication, could damage the national team’s preparation process as the FFIRI cannot financially meet the demands of the technical staff and the preparations required.

Much of this concern by sponsors revolves around the poor reputation of the administrators and managers of the federation. Corruption is endemic in Iran’s football and lack of transparency on the previous sponsorship deals raised many unanswered questions. Organizations prefer to stay away from this unwelcome PR.

Another stumbling block is the unreliability of the FFIRI in terms of respect for the contract. By the unilateral termination of contracts citing violations without proper evidence or legal backing, the FFIRI has set a bad precedent and created difficult situations on several occasions while it has spoiled its own reputation in the process

As such, none of these failures by inept FFIRI leadership is much of the surprise to the observers in Iran’s football. The FFIRI has a terminal lack of competent leadership as long as the extended hand of the government insists on installing puppets rather than competent administrators and inspiring leadership.

“Corruption is deep rooted ” Ex Foolad Khuzestan CEO.

2019/20 season has been a bad year for Iran’s football so far. Two consecutive defeats against Bahrain and Iraq for Team Melli which is unprecedented for decades, the flight of the Belgian coach, postponing of the World Cup qualifiers and the suspension of the league due to Coronavirus have been the highlight of the season. But the possibility of FFIRI being suspended by FIFA or even kicked out of the World Football remains the most serious threat to Iran’s football.

The issue is simply about government control and influence or as the rest call it, interference, in football affairs against all international rules and statutes. Iran is a repeat offender in this sense. It has already been suspended in 2006 for exactly the same reasons but what remains pretty clear is that the regime in Iran staunchly believes that football is their property and as a sovereign state, the government directly or through their agencies or ministries may, control,  direct or govern football while the federation operates as administrators. The oversight authority including the authority to appoint directors and issues such as the appointment of the Team Melli coach remains the right of the government!

Masoud Rezaian

  Unlike 2006 however, Iranians this time are more aware of this indiscretion by their government and are not ready to victimize their beloved sport, hence quite a few are outspoken and call for reform and compliance with international laws.

“Corruption in our football has deep-rooted. we have to adhere to FIFA rules” The former Foolad Khuzestan CEO says.

Massoud Rezaian,  in an interview with semi-official ISNA, says that changing the FFIRI statute is not very difficult at all and that we should not procrastinate. A few clauses of the statute needs to be changed to conform with FIFA’s. What is certain is that rules of football are ultimately not governed and regulated by us, and if we want to be a part of this system (global community) then we need to apply international laws in full detail. We must incorporate the changes and the federation must comply with FIFA regulations. We have to comply and accept issues such as the Statute, gender segregation, and other issues. Otherwise, if we don’t our football activities will be limited to the domestic league and play with countries who are not FIFA members, and that is disastrous for us”

“We shouldn’t waste time,” he continued. “It is not difficult to change the statute. Right now, not only we do not obey FIFA laws but also we do not even adhere to our own laws. Part of this is our own fault. Failure to comply with FIFA rules is a threat to our football. Everyone is hiding behind coronavirus disease today. We need reform, we need to think about improvements.”

Former Foolad Khuzestan CEO continued called for a competent committee to be appointed to solve this problem, saying “ Let them sit to produce a proposal for the current deficiency in a short period of time. It will not take long to solve this problem, as governance clauses are the only ones that are problematic. FIFA has only demanded those that need to be changed, not the entire statute.”

Regarding the postponement of the Football Federation elections “I do not consider the issue of the election to be related to the statute,” he said . “the newly elected president has quite a task ahead as he must solve the problems of the age-level teams, competitions hosting and the corruption that is within our football. However, corruption is deeply rooted in our football and cannot be easily resolved. But they have to try and hopefully work so well and systematically that everything goes well and orderly.”