Tag: Tehran

Tribute to Fereshteh Karimi , the star of Iranian woman Futsal.

Fereshteh Karimi , the girl from Nazi Abad of Tehran is a unique sample of Iranian woman who have excelled under the most awkward of conditions. Born on 6 Feb 1989 , Karimi has just lifted the Inaugral AFC Women’s Futsal Championship 2015 and also picked up the tournament’s Most Valuable Player

Fereshteh Karimi attributed her accolade to the teamwork that Iran displayed while beating Japan in the competition’s final on Saturday. The 26-year-old scored six goals in the campaign but undoubtedly her most important was the one she notched in the final, a strike which proved enough to hand Forouzan Soleimani’s side the title.

[pullquote align=”right”]“I’m very happy that we have become champions and I’d like to dedicate this win to the whole of Iran back home.” [/pullquote]

“I and my teammates played from the depths of our hearts in this game and there was a great challenge from our opponents Japan, so this win is even the more meaningful for us.

“But this award and win are not just because of me, but it was the great team effort that the other players consistently showed that made it possible and I’m thankful for them also for this recognition.”

Fereshteh who plays for Persepolis has played 15 times for Team Melli Women futsal team scoring 9 goals in the process. No doubt that final goal against Japan in the final was her most valuable and memorable. She has been selected as one of the 11 best women futsal players by the famous futsalplanet website.

fereshtehHer undeniable skill has attracted interest from Polish and Russian futsal teams. Fereshteh had to turn down such offer for social reasons, the hijab being the Achilles heel of her possible career in Europe.
Speaking of Hijab, Fereshteh Karimi was playing football with Iran Women National team. She and her teammates were ready to play against Jordan in the 2014 Olympics games qualifiers. However, the team were denied from competing because hijab was deemed unacceptable. Fereshteh and her teammates were so shocked by this act of injustice , she broke down crying while the rest of the team followed. Their plight was so touching , the opponents, the Jordanian women , broke down joined the iranian girls crying.

Fereshteh need not worry much about her hijab anymore as FIFA has permitted the competition with the head covers and the road is open for her and her teammates to bring glory to Iran.

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

Iran ‘unprepared’ for Asian Cup but ready to fight.

By: Attilla Mosony

International sanctions and lack of support from its own federation have threatened to derail Iran’s Asian Cup campaign. But the team says those setbacks have provided extra motivation to win.

As the top-ranked Asian Cup side, Iran carries the weight of expectations of a football mad nation of 85 million. But numerous issues have hindered the team’s lead up in the past six months.

So much so that coach Carlos Queiroz has declared his side the least prepared nation at the tournament. He says international sanctions and a lack of financial support from its own federation have threatened to derail the country’s Asian Cup campaign.

“Unfortunately we come to a situation that’s even worse than the World Cup, the international sanctions against Iran, we are struggling in all other actions and plans”

FIFA is still withholding almost $10 million in World Cup appearance money as a result of the sanctions, which led to the cancellation of training camps and pre-tournament games.

Since the World Cup in Brazil, the Iranians have only played one friendly match, against South Korea, before arriving in Australia. But despite the less than ideal preparations they are still considered one of the favourites. Striker Reza Ghoochannejhad insists his side can handle the pressure.

“Everybody is excited to play against Iran, and everybody is motivated, especially because we are coming from the World Cup, but this is the situation right now we can’t complain, we can’t make excuses,” he told SBS.

And for the large community of Iranian expats living in Australia the Asian Cup is a fantastic opportunity to watch their heroes live. On Sunday night 17,000 passionate fans turned up in Melbourne to create a little slice of Tehran.

The 2-nil victory over Bahrain was a huge relief for the team and fans following a troublesome build-up to the tournament. Queiroz says his side is determined to get on with the job by using its recent setbacks as motivation.

“We come here with our soul, with our art with our spirit, as we did before the World Cup, with our training session, using those problems and issues as sources of our inspiration

Iran face Qatar in its second group C match in Sydney on Thursday night.

Carlos Queiroz and his men on charity mission

Carlos Queiroz , the Portuguese coach of Team Melli along with Team Captain Javad Nekounam and central forward  Reza Ghoochannejad paid a courtesy visit to a children home run by charity organization by the name of Behishte Reza.

The Children home located in Tehran caters for orphans , handicapped and special need children. The visit by the three Team Melli representatives left a lasting impression on the children according to FFIRI website. Many pictures were taken with the children of the center.

The trio Queiroz , Nekounam and Ghoochannejad has taken a break from the training to conduct this visit. The team is preparing to compete in the AFC Asian Cup 2015.

Team Melli coaches and players have donated US$ 12,000 to the home for the purchase of computers and other electronic items. Queiroz also gifted the children many memorabilia from Manchester United and requested the distribution of other gift items to the two remaining homes run by the same charity organization