Tag: Qatar

Omid Team training is at full throttle.

Omid team is actively preparing for the crucial AFC U23 Championship 2020  by conducting constant practice sessions under the direction of Hamid Estili.

Today's (Sunday) session which started at 9:30, Hamid Estili briefed the players on the objectives and details of today's practice session. Then Mohammad Sharifi, Sina Zamiran and Mohammed Mohebbi left the group to conduct the fitness tests which all other players went undertook.

The training of the rest of the squad started with all members of the technical staff supervising the proceedings and giving the required tactical and technical advice.

This session which was carried out in the National Football Training Center included a light physical program. The next practice is scheduled for tonight at 9 pm.

Meanwhile, Omid Noorafkan and Mohammad Mohebbi (Sepahan) Reza Shekari and Mohammad Reza Azadi (Tractorsazi) Aref Aghasi and Mojtaba Najarian (Foolad Khuzestan) Ali Shojaei and Reza Dehghani (Nasiji Mazandaran) Ali Shahsavari and Mohammad KhodabandehLo (Peykan) and Sina Zamehran (Shar Khodro ) have joined the squad after their respective teams released them to Omid team.

Mohammad Mehdi Khani who plays for the Croatian side  NK Varaždin will also join the Omid (Olympic) squad on Monday.

"The initial list of Olympic team players, including 50 players, according to the AFC's regulations. " Hamid Estili said on the eve of the training camp's inauguration. "After shortlisting the number to 30, the squad departs to  Qatar, where we will have an 8-day training camp and two friendly matches in Doha."

"After returning to Tehran, we will announce the list of the final 23 players which form the Omid Team that will be competing in the AFC Asian Championship also the Olympic qualifiers scheduled to be held in Thailand. In some of the posts, we are still looking for the final option, such as the right-back, which was vacated due to the injury to  Aghajanpour and we are reviewing the names of 1 or 2 options to decide the final squad," Estili added.

The coach of the Omid team once again called on the clubs to cooperate and assist with the team by saying: "Our plan during these 18 months of engagement was comprehensive. We tried to invite players for training or matches in FIFA days. We were aware of their special circumstances and situation, but at this juncture we expect the clubs to understand our situation too. Invited players will return to the clubs before the 16th week but after the end of the week it is necessary for the clubs to abandon their squads and allow our training to start. There are legal measures we can refer to, of course, but there should not be such issues among colleagues, and we need to all work in a friendly manner. I am sure my good colleagues at the clubs are on the side of the Omid team, preferring the national interest to everything else and helping us at this point."

Iran comes out of AFC Annual Awards empty handed

The Asian Football PConfederation Annual Award ceremony was held without any achievement for Iranian football as the Iranian representatives returned home empty-handed.

The top Asian football awards event was held in Hong Kong yesterday (Monday) and various prizes were awarded to top players. Various countries, including Japan and East Asia in general, which have been leading the West for many years, have won numerous awards, but the most prestigious award  (Asian Player of the Year) was given to the Al Sadd and National Qatari Team player, Akram Afif.

Al-Sadd coach Xavi Hernandez received the award on behalf of Afif who is involved in the Gulf Cup football tournament currently held in Doha, Qatar.

Although Iran had candidates in five different categories, the Iranians failed to win any awards. Alireza Biranvand (Asian Footballer of the Year nominee), Sardar Azmoun (Asian Legionnaire of the Year), Mehdi Javid (Asian Footballer of the Year), Katayoun Khosrowyar (Asian Football Coach of the Year) and the Iranian Football Federation (Best Inspirational Federation) were Iran's representatives. The day before the ceremony, however, Mehdi Taj and the director of the Ministry of Sport's Information Center had revealed that Beiranvand has not won the award! Despite Iran's lack of success and absence from the honours awards, an Iranian, Alireza Faghani, currently working and residing in Australia, was selected as Asia's best referee in 2019. The fact is that award was the result of his individual genius and talent, rather than a proper system and mechanism of producing quality referees like himself (Faghani).

According to the famous French author Antoine de Saint-Exupéry,

“A goal without a plan is just a wish.”

Recent national teams and club football failures such as World Cup qualifying defeats against Bahrain and Iraq, failure of Iranian clubs in AFC Champions League teams, Futsal Club failure, loss of AFC top rankings, not to mention various other failures at age-group football and so on were another stern reminder of lack a predetermined programming, quality, planning and long term systematic strategy in Iran.

The achievement of the existing system, or lack of it to be precise, and the poor mechanism has resulted in the failure to win the men's and women's titles of the year, as well as the Asian men's and women's coach of the year, which is highly regarded in Asian football but Iran has not won the title for many years. Although Alireza Biranvand is one of Asia's top male candidates and Katayoun Khosraviar is one of Asia's top female candidates and Alireza Faghani's selection as Asia's best referee is a delight and Iranian football is proud of the presence of such figures, their success is due to their innate talent, individual brilliance, rather than being products of a  Collaborative attitude and system. Their personal efforts are hardly derived from the organized, progressive and systematic football regime.

Alongside the growth and promotion of East Asian football, the Qataris have shown by their impressive achievements in the individual and team sectors that success is not just a matter of genius and talent, but the planning and existence of competent and capable managers who can lead to the achievement of plans and goals. Iran football managers are found wanting in this department and have failed time and again to meet the expectations of the passionate fans.

Recent events and successive failures are another important warnings for Iranian football, proving that the successive qualification for the  FIFA World Cup twice in a row, the AFC Champions League final appearance by Persepolis in 2018, and even the winning AFC footballer of the year in 2004 were all the  outcomes and efforts of talented coaches and footballers, and has nothing to do with management systems or development efforts of Iranian managers or the Ministry of Sports.

It is no secret that besides Iran's weak Asian football lobby for prizes, the current dilemma is the incompetence of sheer lack of skills by the executives of the football federation incapable of properly executing programs that were practically implemented in countries that are way behind Iran's capabilities and riches.  Other countries, such as Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, became West Asia's flagship solo and team achievements.

With the present incompetent football management at the three most important levels (Clubs, Football federation and the Ministry of Sports) any success will be in isolation, any award-winning will be individual brilliance, any titles will be miracles of those poor passionate Iranian fans that have waited for over 4 decades.

The present Iranian football system will NOT produce winners and champions. However, the bleakest of the news is the fact that there is no prospect in sight of a White Knight on horseback who can save Iran's football. There are plenty of critics armed with rhetorics, but no strong leader to take control of the situation and develop it like a real professional.

Team Melli vs. Bangladesh called off.

Bangladesh's national team head coach expressed his satisfaction with the cancellation of the proposed international friendly match against Iran.

According to Daily Star, Bangladeshi Football Federation requested the arrangement of a friendly in Doha just before the start of the FIFA World Cup 2022 qualifiers.

The Secretary-General of the Bangladesh Federation has said that the match was cancelled because the two sides could not agree on the dates of the match in Qatar. Bangladeshi national football team coach Jimmy Dee said "Iran is ranked 20th in FIFA World Cup Ranking and we are in the 182nd position. Our goal is to improve our position in FIFA ranking, so if we play with strong teams and not be able to defeat them and fail to get points, we will not be able to climb up the FIFA ranking, so it is better to play with other teams instead of playing with Iran.”

FIFA World Cup qualifier will start in September. Team Melli is will have at least one friendly match before its opening match versus Hong Kong on 10th September. FFIRI is still searching for an opponent.

Iran is grouped with Iraq, Bahrain, Hong Kong and Cambodia in the Preliminary Round 2 Group C of the World Cup qualifiers.

Bangladesh FF proposes a friendly match with Team Melli.

The Daily Star

Sport reporter

The Bangladesh Football Federation (BFF) is in discussion with its Iranian counterpart for a FIFA Friendly ahead of the two teams’ first match of the World Cup Qualifiers in September.

A high-placed BFF official yesterday confirmed that they have sent a proposal to the Iranian Football Federation regarding a friendly match in Doha, Qatar in the first week of September, however, the fixture is far from set.

“We have contacted Iran Football Federation regarding a match, and their initial reply is a positive one. However, we have a few other teams on our list and the fixture is not finalised as yet,” BFF’s general secretary Abu Nayeem Shohag told The Daily Star.

“Since our first match of the qualifiers in on September 10, we would like to have an 8-10 days’ training camp in Doha after a few days’ training in Dhaka. We are planning for a friendly match against a national team during that time in Doha. The match could be held on September 4th or 5th, so that the team can fly straight out of Doha for the first qualifying match against Afghanistan,” Shohag added.

Tehran Times, a leading Iranian newspaper, earlier reported that since both the teams have their first matches on September 10, a September 5 fixture between Iran and Bangladesh is being negotiated by the two federations.

Iran are the highest-ranked Asian team at the moment, currently 20th in FIFA Rankings. Bangladesh, on the other hand, is ranked 183rd.

Bangladesh last met Iran during the 1990 World Cup qualifiers in 1989. Bangladesh lost both matches, 2-1 in Dhaka and 1-0 in Tehran.

Three places drop in Team Melli's FIFA Ranking

IN the latest ranking published by FIFA, Iran dropped three places to No 23 while solidly maintaining its top AFC ranking. Team Melli lack of competition plus the continental competitions in the Americas and Africa has resulted in many teams getting points while Iran remaining stagnant on theirs. Team Melli is in the 23rd spot with 1518 points Iran is one spot behind USA (1548 pts) and one above Wales (1514 pts).                           In the continental ranking, Iran is still at the top of AFC ranking ahead of AFC Asian Cup runners up Japan which lost 5 places, Korea Rep and Australia.  

Taremi joins Portuguese club Rio Ave.

Portuguese club Rio Ave has hired Iranian forward Mehdi Taremi, who played for Qatar's Al-Gharafa, the Portuguese Premier League club announced today.

The 27-year-old, who is international for his country, with 47 games and 19 goals, has signed a two-year contract and is already in Vila do Conde and will soon be part of the squad.

Team Melli's leading scorer for the season, Mehdi Taremi, who may also play as a midfielder, has played most of his career in Iranian football, having excelled at Persepolis before joining Al-Gharafa (played 24 games and scored 10 goals) last season. 

According to the information provided by Rio Ave, Taremi will join the remaining squad, at the orders of coach Carlos Carvalhal.

Krim Ansarifard in the Qatar Star League

The former Nottingham Forest player and Team Melli centre forward, Karim Ansarifard signed a 2-year contract with Al Sailiya Sports Club in Doha.

Al-Sailiya SC is managed by the Tunisian Sami Trabelsi and Ansarifard is the only non-Arab player in the squad which is mainly formed of north African and Sudanese players.

Last season, the club ended the season in a very respectable 3rd position behind champions Al Sadd and runners up Al Duhail. This was one of the best rankings of Al Sailiya in Qatar Star league. Ansarifard, whose contract with English Championship club Nottingham forest has run out, had a few good seasons in Greece before moving to England and the disappointment of Nottingham Forest. In 2017/18 season, the 29 years old Ansarifard played in the Greek League for Olympiakos Piraeus where he scored 17 goals in 26 matches. However, in England, Ansarifard only managed 3 goals in 12 matches without securing a starting place in the line up of coach O'Neil.

Nottingham Forest had to endure a lot before managing to secure the signature of Ansarifard last season after eventually getting his work permit sorted out, but after all that effort the striker was to warm the bench for most of the season!

England has never been a successful playing ground for Iranian internationals and despite the small number of them playing in England, none of the Iranians managed to claim success. Jahanbaksh, the Top Scorer of the Eredivisie, was bought by Brighton for a record fee, but he could not score a single goal in the Premier League or other competitions with his team in a full season. It is to be noted however that Jahanbakhsh only played 19 games for Brighton missing many due to injury and then the AFC Asian Cup 2019 while he was away with Team Melli.

2022 World Cup in Qatar to remain as a 32-team tournament, Fifa announces

Efforts by the Fifa president, Gianni Infantino, to expand the 2022 World Cup to 48 teams, which he said could help heal hostilities in the Middle East, have concluded in failure, with the tournament remaining solely in Qatar, with 32 competing national teams.

The expansion plan was based on sharing matches with neighbouring countries in the gulf, where Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain broke off relations with Qatar in June 2017 and blockaded its land borders. Infantino argued that sharing some World Cup matches could “build bridges” between the countries because “football makes miracles”, and a feasibility study was conducted into expansion – but the miracle has not come to pass.

In a statement issued a fortnight before the decision was due to be taken at Fifa’s congress, on 5 June, it said: “Following a thorough and comprehensive consultation process with the involvement of all the relevant stakeholders, it was concluded that under the current circumstances such a proposal could not be made now.”

An internal report at Fifa is reported to have concluded that Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Bahrain could not host matches while the blockade was still in force, even if they wanted to share the tournament with Qatar. The human-rights implications of involving Saudi Arabia have also escalated enormously since the murder at the Saudi embassy in Istanbul of the journalist Jamal Khashoggi last year.

Oman, which is not part of the blockade, was reported to have declined the opportunity to host matches, and although Infantino visited Kuwait last month to explore its possibilities, Fifa decided it did not have enough time to upgrade its facilities.

Qatar has been spending billions of dollars since it won the shock vote in 2010, substantially expanding its Khalifa International Stadium and building seven new, state-of-the-art arenas, with a further $200m being spent on a new metro system, roads and other infrastructure.

Hassan Al Thawadi, secretary general of Qatar’s supreme committee for delivery and legacy, told the Guardian in November that it was cooperating with the feasibility study, but continuing its preparations for a 32-team tournament, solely in Qatar .

Fifa said it had explored the feasibility of Qatar itself hosting a 48-team tournament but concluded that could not be done in time. “The Fifa World Cup Qatar 2022 will therefore remain as originally planned with 32 teams, and no proposal will be submitted at the next Fifa congress on 5 June,” the statement said.

The AFC broadcast award special for Saudi Arabia !

If there was the slightest doubt that the Asian Football Federation is a highly politicized body with members supporting the wealthy such as Saudi Arabia and the Arab Gulf countries in general, all those doubts have been eliminated with the recent move by AFC in the award of broadcasting right. 

The TV broadcast right of the Asian Competitions for Middle East and North Africa has been awarded to Bein Sports for the last few years. The Qatari owned broadcasters had a virtual monopoly on all the competitions including the FIFA World Cup, AFC Asian Cup and the AFC Champions League.

After the Saudi-Led boycott of Qatar and the break of diplomatic and economical relationship between the two countries leading to severe animosity, the Saudi’s were not pleased to have a Qatari organization control the broadcasting of football matches and major sporting events in their country. By hook and crook and in defiance to all International laws and regulations, they established their own station, albeit a pirate station and stole the FIFA and AFC matches that were exclusively awarded to Bein Sports without any consent or rights award.

Despite the outcries , condemnations, threats of legal actions and loads of other statement against piracy and intellectual property by the Americans and Europeans, the Saudi continued defying the international copyright laws with no fear of reprisal. The pirate stations that is broadcast on Arabsat which is based in Riyadh , continues its piracy unabated till the writing of this article. The AFC has condemned this piracy but practically has done nothing to stop it because it is Saudi based. There were always suspicions that the Saudi would not have carried out such piracy without support or consent within the governing body of Asian football, AFC and perhaps FIFA too.

Yesterday, the AFC issued an Invitation to Tender (ITT) for its package of football media rights for the 2021-2024 cycle in Saudi Arabia only!! Currently the rights are not country specific but regional. The Saudi case is an exception to the rules.

There are a lot of legality involved in such a move but the main question that begs itself is on what basis the AFC awards a broadcasting right for one country only? what if the Saudi government is displeased with the winning tender and decides it wants to change it to broadcaster of a much more friendly obedient state government?

There has been many critics of the AFC preferential treatment afforded to Saudi Arabia. The Iranians are one big victims of the flagrant Saudi bias. All matches involving Iranian and Saudi teams have to be played on neutral ground simply because of the Saudi refusal to travel to Iran. AFC simply obeys the demands of Saudi Arabia which is supposed to have 1 vote only. With moves such as that, every football fan is entitles to question the infiltration of politics in Asian football while AFC always claims that politics should not interfere in football.

Questions have been asked about AFC decision making process and whether the executive committee has any authority or it is acting as a rubber stamp for the Saudi-backed President of the AFC Salman bin Ebrahim ? The Bahrain President has been re-elected unopposed for another term with all candidates withdrawing before the election.

Iran climbs to 22nd in FIFA World Ranking

Team Melli has reached one of its highest FIFA ranking in history as it achieved the 22nd spot in the world while maintaining the top of AFC Asian ranking.

In the list that was issued today by FIFA, Iran climbed 7 spots from last month to accumulate 1516 points just behind Peru and one spot above Austria.

The credit to this success gores to the results of Team Melli in the AFC Asian Cup where Iran played 6 matches winning 4 , drawing 1 with a single loss.

Japan took the 2nd spot in Asia and 27th in the world with a whopping 23 places climb after reaching the Finals of the AFC Asian Cup 2019.

South Korea also had a very good rise with a 15 places climb to no 38 in the world and 3rd in Asia followed by Australia which lost 1 place to 42 and 4th in Asia.

The greatest climb was for Asian Cup 2019 champion Qatar who leapfrogged number of team and climbs an incredible 38 positions to 55 in the world and fifth in Asia.

 
AFC Rank FIFA Rank Team Points Previous Points Rank Change
1 22 Iran 1516 1481 7
2 27 Japan 1495 1414 23
3 38 Korea Republic 1451 1405 15
4 42 Australia 1441 1436 -1
5 55 Qatar 1398 1258 38
6 67 United Arab Emirates 1355 1309 12
7 70 Saudi Arabia 1344 1335 -1
8 72 China PR 1339 1317 4
9 80 Iraq 1310 1271 8
10 83 Syria 1286 1322 -9