Football Federation Islamic Republic of Iran

Football Federation Islamic Republic of Iran

AFC
Short name	FFIRI
Founded	1920; 105 years ago (1920)[1]
Headquarters	Tehran, Iran
FIFA affiliation	1948
AFC affiliation	1958[2]
CAFA affiliation	2015
President	Mehdi Taj[3]
Website	www.ffiri.ir

The Football Federation Islamic Republic of Iran (FFIRI; Persian: فدراسیون فوتبال جمهوری اسلامی ایران, Fadrasion fotbal Jamehori Eslami Iran) is the governing body for football in Iran. It was founded in 1920.^[4] The federation has been a member of FIFA since 1948 and a member of the Asian Football Confederation since 1958.^{[citation needed]}

History

In 2001, Iran were founding members of the West Asian Football Federation, along with Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine, and Syria.^{[citation needed]}

Controversies

On 23 November 2006, the federation was suspended by FIFA,^[5] due to government interference in football matters. FIFA rules decree that a national football federation should remain autonomous from the national government. However, on 17 December 2006, the ban was lifted and a new Transitory Board was composed.

During the 2009 Iranian election protests, seven members of the Iran national football team were initially reported to have been banned for life by the federation for wearing green armbands in support of the Iranian Green Movement.^[6]

Iran women's national football team was briefly suspended by FIFA from international competition in 2011 for being required by the federation to wear headscarves.^[7][8]

In 2014, Iran joined the Central Asian Football Association.^{[citation needed]}

In 2015, the federation banned players from the men's national team due to conscription problems.^[9][10]

In August 2017, the federation banned Masoud Shojaei and Ehsan Hajsafi from the national team after they played against the Israeli club Maccabi Tel Aviv in the UEFA Europa League.^[11]

On 9 November 2018 Fatma Samoura, Secretary General of International Federation of Football Association FIFA said she would ask Iranian government to end ban on women's entry to sport stadiums.^[12] On 7 August 2019, Mohammad Jafar Montazeri, prosecutor general of Iran, supporting the ban, said that it should not concern FIFA, if women in Iran can enter sports stadiums or not.^[13] However, after continuous pressure from FIFA, IRNA deputy Sports Minister Jamshid Taghizadeh said, women would be allowed to enter Azadi Stadium to watch the men's World Cup 2022 qualifier match between Iran and Cambodia in October.^[14] However, in March 2022, Iranian women were again banned from entering the stadium for a World Cup qualifier.^[15]

During the 2022 FIFA World Cup as well as the 2023 AFC Asian Cup, the Iranian government and federation reportedly sent paid members of the Basij and IRGC to cheer for the team in the stands and to counter protesters.^[16][17]

In April 2024, goalkeeper Hossein Hosseini was summoned, suspended, and fined by the Iranian federation for hugging a female fan.^[18][19][20] In December 2024, defender Ramin Rezaeian was summoned by the federation as well after hugging a female fan.^[21]

Competitions

Men's

• Persian Gulf Pro League
• Azadegan League
• League 2 (Iran)
• League 3 (Iran)
• Hazfi Cup
• Iranian Super Cup

Women's

• Kowsar Women Football League
• Hazfi Cup (women)
• Iranian Supercup (women)

Membership

Organization	Affiliation	Notes
FIFA	since 1948; 77 years ago (1948)	—
AFC	since 1958; 67 years ago (1958)	—
WAFF	2001–2014; 13 years	Founding member
CAFA	since 2015; 10 years ago (2015)

Presidents

Old Logo of the Iran Football Federation (until 1979)^{[citation needed]}

Jersey badge of Team Melli at the 1978 FIFA World Cup^[22]

Presidency [23]	President	Took office	Left office	Note
1	Dr.Ali Kani	1947	1950	Runners-up of 1951 Asian Games
2	Hedayatollah Gilanshah	1950	1952	Commander of Imperial Iranian Air Force (1952)
3	Mohsen Haddad	1952
4	Hossein Siasi	1952	1953
(3)	Mohsen Haddad	1953	1954	second term
(4)	Hossein Siasi	1954		second term
(1)	Dr.Ali Kani	1954	1955	second term
5	Mostafa Salimi	1955	1956
6	Hossein Mobasher	1956	1958
7	Mostafa Makri	1958	1960
8	Zabih Khabiri	1960	1961
9	Hossein Soroudi	1961	1962
(6)	Hossein Mobasher	1962	1967	second term qualified to 1964 Olympics Runners-up of 1966 Asian Games
(9)	Hossein Soroudi	1967	1968	second term
(7)	Mostafa Makri	1968	1972	second term winner of 1968 Asian Cup and 1972 Asian Cup qualified to 1972 Olympics
10	Kambiz Atabay	1972	1979	Presidents of AFC (1 August 1976 - 9 December 1978) qualified to 1978 World Cup qualified to 1976 Olympics winner of 1976 Asian Cup Founder of Takht Jamshid Cup winner of 1974 Asian Games
11	Naser Noamooz	1979	1980	first president after Revolution qualified to 1980 Olympics but boycotted the event Third place of 1980 Asian Cup
12	Hadi Tavoosi	1980	1981
13	Hossein Abshenasan	1981
14	Hossein Raghfar	1981	1982	youngest president of FFIRI ever with 28 years old[24]
(13)	Hossein Abshenasan	1982	1983	second term
15	Behrooz Sahabeh	1984
16	Nasrollah Sajjadi	1985
17	Ali Mohammad Mortazavi	1986	1987
18	Mohammad Reza Pahlavan	1987	1989	Third place of 1988 Asian Cup
(11)	Naser Noamooz	1989	1993	second term winner of 1990 Asian Games Founder of Azadegan League
19	Mohammad Safizadeh	1993	1994
20	Amir Abedini	1994		chairman of Persepolis (1993—2001)
21	Dariush Mostafavi	1994	1997	Third place of 1996 Asian Cup
22	Mohsen Safaei Farahani	1997	2002	qualified to 1998 World Cup winner of 1998 Asian Games and 2002 Asian Games Founder of Iran Pro League winner of 1998 FIFA Fair Play Award member of Iranian Parliament (2000-2004)
23	Mohammad Dadkan	2002	2006	Third place of 2004 Asian Cup qualified to 2006 World Cup Third place of 2006 Asian Games
(22)	Mohsen Safaei Farahani	2006	2008	second term interim, appointed by FIFA
24	Ali Kafashian	2008	2016[25]	qualified to 2014 World Cup 2008 and 2012 Best Asian Football Federation of the Year [26]
25	Mehdi Taj	2016[27]	2019[28]	qualified to 2018 World Cup
—	Heydar Baharvand (acting)	2019	2021
26	Shahaboddin Azizi Khadem	2021	2022	qualified to 2022 World Cup Dismissal due to incompetence
—	Mirshad Majedi (acting)	2022
(25)	Mehdi Taj	2022	Present	second term

#	President	Stability[29]
1	Ali Kafashian	8 years and 4 months
2	Kambiz Atabay	7 years and 6 months
3	Mohsen Safaei Farahani	4 years and 9 months
4	Mostafa Makri	4 years and 6 months
5	Hossein Mobasher	4 years
6	Naser Noamooz	3 years and 10 months
7	Mohammad Dadkan	3 years and 9 months
8	Dr.Ali Kani	3 years and 7 months
	Mehdi Taj	3 years and 7 months

Board members

• reference

Position Name President Mehdi Taj General Secretary Hedayat Mombeyni (acting) First Vice President Mahdi Mohammadnabi Second Vice President Mansour Ghanbarzadeh Third Vice President and Women Section Maryam Monazami (acting) Representative of Provincial Football Boards Ehsan Osuli Representative of Provincial Football Boards Tahmoures Heydari Representative of Club chairpersons Bahram Rezaeian Representative of Club chairpersons Mohammad Reza Saket Board Member Mirshad Majedi Board Member Ahmad-Reza Barati Board Member Khodadad Afsharian

National teams

• Iran national football team

Head coach: Amir Ghalenoei

• Iran national under-23 football team

Head coach: Reza Enayati

• Iran national under-20 football team

Head coach: Samad Marfavi

• Iran national under-17 football team

Head coach: Hossein Abdi

• Iran national under-15 football team

Head coach: Ali Doustimehr

• Iran national futsal team

Head coach: Vahid Shamsaei

• Iran national under-20 futsal team

Head coach: Ali Sanei

• Iran national beach soccer team

Head coach: Ali Naderi

• Iran women's national football team

Head coach: Maryam Azmoon

• Iran women's national under-23 football team

Head coach: TBD

• Iran women's national under-20 football team

Head coach: TBD

• Iran women's national under-17 football team

Head coach: Shadi Mahini

• Iran women's national futsal team

Head coach: TBD

References

1. History of Iran’s Football Archived 2016-07-31 at the Wayback Machine, ffiri.ir
2. "Asian soccer championship next year". The Straits Times. 27 May 1954."ASIAN SOCCER FINALS IN SINGAPORE May be used as Olympic series". The Singapore Free Press. 5 October 1954."Singapore to Meet Indonesia in Asian Soccer Tourney". The Straits Times. 14 June 1955. Archived from the original on 31 January 2013. Retrieved 6 January 2015.
3. "Mehdi Taj elected as head of Iran football federation". Tehran Times. 2022-08-30. Retrieved 2022-09-09.
4. "Member Association – Iran". Archived from the original on June 3, 2007.
5. "FIFA suspends Iran Football Federation". fifa.com. Archived from the original on May 11, 2012. Retrieved 17 March 2018.
6. Clayton, Andy (24 June 2009). "Iran soccer players banned from national team after wearing green pro-opposition wristbands". NY Daily News. New York. Archived from the original on 31 August 2009. Retrieved 8 July 2010.
7. "Iran women's soccer team thwarted by hijab ban". CBS News. Retrieved 2012-09-19.
8. "Iran's women soccer team banned from Olympics, because of headscarves". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2012-09-19.
9. "Mehrdad Pooladi saved by FIFA !". TeamMelli. Archived from the original on 2015-11-21. Retrieved 2015-09-04.
10. "Team Melli unable to use players under Military Service. – TeamMelli". www.teammelli.com. Archived from the original on 25 August 2015. Retrieved 17 March 2018.
11. Erdbrink, Thomas (10 August 2017). "Iran Bans Two Soccer Stars for Playing Against Israelis". The New York Times. Retrieved 17 March 2018.
12. FIFA To Engage With Iran To Lift Ban On Women In Stadiums
13. "Iran judge: Ban on women in football stadiums does not concern FIFA". DPAInternational. Retrieved 7 August 2019.
14. "Iran Agrees to Let Women Watch Soccer World Cup Qualifier". Truly. Archived from the original on 28 August 2019. Retrieved 25 August 2019.
15. "Iran again bans women from football stadium – Al-Monitor: Independent, trusted coverage of the Middle East". www.al-monitor.com. 30 March 2022. Retrieved 2022-11-25.
16. "IranWire Exclusive: Hundreds of Basij to Cheer Iranian Football Team in Qatar". Retrieved 12 March 2024.
17. "Iranian Football "Supporters" Sent To Qatar Earn up to $100 Daily". Retrieved 12 March 2024.
18. "Iran suspends and fines its international goalkeeper after he hugged a woman at the end of a match". 23 April 2024.
19. "Iranian Goalie Faces Court After Hugging Female Fan".
20. "Esteghlal keeper Hosseini sanctioned for hugging female fan". 22 April 2024.
21. https://www.iranintl.com/en/202412271105
22. "Historical Football Kits - World Cup 1978". historicalkits.co.uk. Retrieved 22 October 2013.
23. "شناسنامه کامل روسای تاریخ فدراسیون فوتبال :: ورزش سه". www.varzesh3.com. Retrieved 17 March 2018.
24. پارسینه (4 March 2012). "سی و سومین رئیس فوتبال کیست". پارسینه-Parsine. Retrieved 17 March 2018.
25. "ورزش". Etemaad.com. Retrieved 2009-12-02.
26. "فدراسیون فوتبال ایران برترین فدراسیون آسیا". ffiri.ir. Archived from the original on 4 October 2011. Retrieved 17 March 2018.
27. "مهدی تاج رئیس فدراسیون فوتبال شد". varzesh3.com. Retrieved 2016-05-07.
28. "Mehdi Taj resigns as head of Iran football federation". Tehran Times. 29 December 2019.
29. "100 ماه ریاست کفاشیان در فدراسیون فوتبال :: ورزش سه". www.varzesh3.com. Retrieved 17 March 2018.

External links

• Official website (in Persian)
• FIFA website