Team Melli players , deserve more than one shirt.

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Mr. Kaffashian’s statement to the press that Team Melli players have no right to swap shirts after a match ends, a customary and a tradition that has been practiced in international football as old as the game itself, has created numerous debates and feeling of humiliation and anger amongst the fans. Major world sport media took an interest and news of the miser Kaffashian run viral on the web and TV stations to the embarrassment of every Iranian fan. Many fans expressed their anger and dismay at Kaffashian over the social.

Anybody who knows Ali Kaffashian closely enough will tell you that he is genuinely a nice man void of any trickery or dishonesty in his dealings, which is unfortunately becoming a requisite for reaching to authority echelon in Iran’s sport. He is one man that cannot brag about his bloated bank account and enrichment out of football. But the ever smiling, grinning happy face Kaffashian has a major disadvantage in his dealings; He comes across more often than not as being clueless to a degree of embarrassment.

He has a knack of dealing with problems, when asked by the journalist at least, by simply dismissing them or deny their existence. If really pushed hard for an answer, his customary “Inshallah” or the equivalent of wishful thinking , seems to be his method in sorting out the problems by hoping they go away!

Asked in Tehran about the cancellation of the Friendly game that was supposed to be played in Johannesburg between Team Melli and National Team of Mozambique , he said “I don’t know the reason , it is Queiroz’s decision and I don’t have a clue why he cancelled the match.” Remember , this is the President of the Football Federation talking. When Queiroz returned to Tehran, he was asked the same question. The Portuguese coach was taken by surprise, or at least acted so, “There was no game scheduled to begin with for it to be cancelled. How can you cancel a match if it was not even arranged ?!! We did not agree on anything with Mozambique!”

For the record, that match was mentioned in all the daily sport papers in Iran , listed on FIFA Website and even on-line betting companies had the match on. Team Melli fans who were lead to believe that there is a friendly match were disappointed, but most importantly , the President of Iran’s football Federation , who should be the reference and the authority , with his signature on the contract , claim he was not aware about the cancellation !

That is what is meant by the statement that Kaffashian is sometimes clueless.

His statement about the shirt swaps, which practically means that his federation is unable or perhaps not willing to buy extra jerseys for the players in the world greatest show on Earth , is another example of him being clueless.

We genuinely believe that Kaffashian is perhaps not aware of the shirt swapping protocol or he believes that it is a childish behavior that must stop, who knows what he is thinking. The pressure of Iran reaching the World Cup is taking its toll on the nice man and is beyond his capability to manage all the events and responsibilities. We also doubt that it is a monetary or economical issue. For God sake , Iran is set to receive US$8 million , even if it loses all the 3 matches , while it will be handed $1.5 million in advance which is supposed to be for their preparation costs. How much do the extra shirts cost , that Kaffashian has an exception to?

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There is little doubt that the incumbent president of FFIRI , was shocked and embarrassed by the accusation directed to his federation from the minister sport in which football was singled out as the sport which spent the most amount of money with nothing to show for it in forms in championship or glory unlike other sports such as Wrestling , Weightlifting even volleyball and Basketball.

Astounded Kaffashian, after initially winging and moaning about the unfairness of the accusations, set to work to address these issues. He had to, because he is seeking office again for a third term and his failure to control expenses at a federation that has generated very little if any revenue , will not augur well in his re-election campaign. He embarked on a belt tightening crusade. He has indicated several times that his administration might not be able to afford to renew Queiroz’s contract after it expires after the World Cup, because of increased wages demand.

However, his economizing policy has reached a senseless stage where players are given one set of training kit for a 3 weeks of training camp. To cap it all, the embarrassment of telling the likes of Messi , Aguero , Higuain , Zabaleta , di María , Džeko , Spahić , Begović , Yobo , Obi Mikel , Emenike and the rest NOT to bother expecting shirts swap from Team Melli players after the match , because our players need to wash it for the next game!

Truly embarrassing situation for a proud nation like Iran. It is not that money is not available in the country, as Iran , even under harsh economic sanction by the west , has managed to survive and balance its book. Its natural resources are aplenty and not limited to oil only. Iran is one of the few nations in the world that has no significant national debts, unlike many of its oil-producing neighbors that are in trillions of dollars in debts. The reasons behind such predicament in football, is the poor management that has marred the football establishment for decades.

People with little management skills and experiences who have little appreciation or understanding of resource management , marketing , revenue generation , business processes , public relations, global lobbying , etc. , seems to be running football affairs. Such people objectives and priorities are diverse, outdated and highly governmental orientated. To add to the chaotic management situation, famous ex-players or coaches, have been demanding major roles in running football clubs and federation, while the absolute majority of the ex-footballers are not qualified business managers or have any organizational skills. A recipe for disaster is brewing..

Not only the Iranian football fans across the world, but even other fans expect Kaffashian to revise the situation. It is a shameful act and a behavior that scratches the honor of a proud nation.

If Kaffashian, does not come up and say something like “I did not mean it like that, there is a misunderstanding “ , then this website will start passing the hat and start collecting donations for extra Jerseys for players….

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