Mehdi Taj , has won the FFIRI election as the head of the federation after a prolonged and complicated path to the General Assembly marred by off and on dates.
To make sure that the delegates remain in control and not deviate from the path , The Minister of Youth and Sport was present at the election and took the tribune as honorary guest!
Mehdi Taj (56 years) , the industrialist and veteran sport administrator has been the front-runner and favorite ahead of his main rival Mostafa Ajerloo. He managed to secure majority votes on Satarday’s election. An Esfahani who previously was the Managing Director of both Sepahan and Zob Ahan, took these two clubs to remarkable successes. His last position was the head of the football League in the federation. He was a long time associate of Ali Kaffashian.
Taj is one of the few current football administrators who have a good record in organization and management. His managerial and excutive skills iare evident in the way he ran the Football league under the most difficult of sitiuations and under pressure from the ever demanding clubs. His handling of crises and problems had mostly been professional.
A man with vast knowledge and competent organizer, Mehdi Taj has a tough time cleaning up so much mess created by his predecessor and even tougher time seeking the approval of the Ministry of Youth and Sport whose meddling into football has never ceased. The approval of Minster of Youth and Sport remains a priority in Taj’s agenda despite his public denial and taking a distance from the Minister’s policies.
Most probably, the best and most experienced man won the FFIRI election. Taj has several major immidiate hurdles ahead and the most critical seems to be the case of Team Melli head coach. Carlos Queiroz has submitted his resignation again and announced that he is no longer interested to work in Iran with meagre facilities and poor resources given to him. Taj has not worked directly with Queiroz in his various capacities in FFIRI and it is unclear how much influence the Portuguese coach will have on him. Kaffashian, who did not contest the election, was the only strong supporter of Queiroz and a staunch backer.
Recently asked by a reporter if he (Taj) will be influenced by Queiroz’s demands and his war of attrition with other federation members, Taj diplomatically refrained from answering directly and prefered to handle the siyiuation privately.