Tag: FIFA World Cup 2018

Team Melli’s training camp in Turkey is off.

Team Melli’s proposed camp in Turkey is off , according to Team Manager Afshin Peyrovani.

The camp was scheduled for 2nd June to 9th in Istanbul or Ankara, however due to various logistical and financial difficulties, the camp is now canceled, Peyrovani said to the reporters.

The Manager of Team Melli went in length to explain all the reasons behind the cancelation but at the end, it was apparent that money or lack of it was the main reason for cancelation of the training camp in preparation to the Turkmenistan game.

Peyrovani added that Team Melli will be flying to Uzbekistan on a chartered flight and then proceed to the city of Daşoguz , Turkmenistan for the opener match of Iran’s FIFA World Cup 2018 qualification rounds. Peyrovani explained in details on who is paying for the cost of each leg of the flights!

On the subject of the venue, it is apparent that the AFC competitions commission has turned down FFIRI’s protest against the venue and the match is cleared to be played at Turkmenistan’s 3rd largest city. There was no reason to reject Daşoguz just because it is 600 km away from the capital.

As it is becoming fairly obvious that cost and expenditure is a major concern for FFIRI and Team Melli, expenses and cost are mentioned on every opportunity.  FFIRI seems to have difficulty in meeting the requirements of the squad including logistics.  Peyrovani talked about the proposal by Guam to play both legs of the matches in the Group D of the World Cup qualifiers in Iran. The suggestion from the Pacific nation is conditional on Iran paying for the expenses of the Guam squad including air fares. Peyrovani said the suggestion sounds good and it will be seriously considered. “If that is approved, one of the matches with Guam will be played in another Iranian City away from Tehran to allow the fans to watch their national team.”

No doubt that the accountant in FFIRI HQ is busy counting bearing the cost of Guam in Tehran versus flying to  Hagåtña in Guam some  9445 km (5869 miles) away. Both teams will be travelling a good 17 to 18 hours to reach destination considering a good connection in at least two airports for connecting flights.

Typical Flight Times:

Tehran to Manila 13:15 hours (transit through one of the Persian Gulf airports)

Manila  to Guam 3:55 hours

Three countries request to play World cup qualifying matches in Iran.

Due to security situation prevailing in their countries, Iraq, Syria and Afghanistan have applied to the Iranian football federation and the government to play the FIFA World Cup 2018 qualifying home games on Iranian soils.

As Team Melli has its own schedule and since the matches are conducted on the same day in each round, complicated scheduling and arrangements have to be carried out in order to accommodate all the three countries request.

All these countries are important political allies for Iran and the welcoming rug has been extended by the government, however, the logistics and timing will prevent the availability of the stadiums for 4 teams at the same time.

Afghanistan is the first country to think of withdrawing its request to play on Iranian soils although it is the team that has the most fans in Iran. A recent youth tournament attracted over 90,000 Afghan fans in Azadi. Alireza Aghazadeh, the secretary of Afghanistan Football federation has said “The Iranian authorities and federation have been quite accommodating and welcomed our request. We know that Iraq and Syria have requested the same, so we need to be fair and look elsewhere. Syria is in our group which makes it even more complicated playing in Iran. We are looking at Tajikistan and UAE to host our matches.”

Afghanistan will be hosting Syria in the first match. As yet, the venue has not been decided.

FFIRI complains to AFC about Turkmenistan venue change.

Ali Kaffashian has confirmed that his administration has lodged a written complaint with the AFC in regards to the venue change of the upcoming match between Turkmenistan and Iran.

The host Turkmenistan, Iran’s neighbor to the north, has moved the venue form the capital city Ashgabat to the third largest city  Daşoguz ,  600 miles north of the capital. This city is right on the boarder of Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan and farthest away from Iranian boarders.

The move is a ploy by the Turkmen in order to discourage Iranian fans from Khorasan and Golestan from travelling to attend the match and support Team Melli. The two teams will be meeting on 16th June in Group ‘D’ of the Asian Zone Qualifications round of the FIFA World Cup 2018.

Kaffashian said “We have told AFC that we cannot play at that venue and it has to be changed.” The president of FFIRI did not give any specific reasons for the request nor did he indicate if the AFC has responded to Iran’s request.

Meanwhile, the friendly match against Japan is still on according to Kaffashian. “We will play this game either in Oman or here in Tehran. We shall finalize that in due time.”

Commenting on Team Melli’s training camp in Turkey, Kaffashian said it is 50-50. “We have to wait and see on that although our preference is to conduct that camp for the benefit of the team. In any case, there are no friendly matches arranged in Turkey.”

Kaffashian was speaking to reporters before his departure to Zurich to attend FIFA 61st General Assembly Congress.

dashoguz