Football Federation Islamic Republic of Iran

Governing body of association football in Iran

Football Federation Islamic Republic of IranAFC

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

[edit]

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

## Controversies

[edit]

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 October 2024, Zahra Ghanbari was suspended and forced to apologize by the Iranian federation for "improper hijab" during a goal celebration at the 2024–25 AFC Women's Champions League.[21] In December 2024, defender Ramin Rezaeian was summoned by the federation as well after hugging a female fan.[22]

## Competitions

[edit]

### Men's

[edit]

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

### Women's

[edit]

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

## Membership

[edit]

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

[edit]

Old Logo of the Iran Football Federation (until 1979)[citation needed] Jersey badge of Team Melli at the 1978 FIFA World Cup[23] Presidency [24] | President  | Took office  | Left office  | Note

|
|
|
|

1  | 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)  | Ali Kani | 1954  | 1955  | second term
5  | Mostafa Salimi | 1955  | 1956  |
6  | Hossein-Ali Mobasher | 1956  | 1958  |
7  | Mostafa Mokri | 1958  | 1960  |
8  | Zabih Khabiri | 1960  | 1961  |
9  | Hossein Soroudi | 1961  | 1962  |
(6)  | Hossein-Ali Mobasher | 1962  | 1967  | second term
qualified to 1964 Olympics
Runners-up of 1966 Asian Games
(9)  | Hossein Soroudi | 1967  | 1968  | second term
(7)  | Mostafa Mokri | 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 at 28 years old[25]
(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[26] | qualified to 2014 World Cup
2008 and 2012 Best Asian Football Federation of the Year [27]
25  | Mehdi Taj | 2016[28] | 2019[29] | 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 and third term
#  | President  | Stability[30]

|
|

1  | Ali Kafashian | 8 years and 4 months
2  | Kambiz Atabay | 7 years and 6 months
3  | Mehdi Taj | 6 years and 1 months
4  | Mohsen Safaei Farahani | 4 years and 9 months
5  | Mostafa Mokri | 4 years and 6 months
6  | Hossein-Ali Mobasher | 4 years
7  | Naser Noamooz | 3 years and 10 months
8  | Mohammad Dadkan | 3 years and 9 months
9  | Ali Kani | 3 years and 7 months

## Board members

[edit]

As of 1 March 2025.
| Position  | Name

|

President  | Mehdi Taj
General Secretary  | Hedayat Mombeyni
First Vice President  | Mahdi Mohammadnabi
Second Vice President  | Heydar Baharvand
Third Vice President and Women Section  | Farideh Shojaei
Representative of Provincial Football Boards  | Tahmoures Heydari
Representative of Provincial Football Boards  | Ali Taheri
Representative of Club chairpersons  | Ali Khatir
Representative of Club chairpersons  | Mohammad Esfandiarpour
Board Member  | Farzin Dabiri Oskuei
Board Member  | Hojjat Karimi
Board Member  | Mohammad-Rahman Salari

## National teams

[edit]

* 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

[edit]

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://iranwire.com/en/women/135648-iranian-footballer-suspended-and-forced-to-apologize-for-headscarf-mishap/
22. ^ https://www.iranintl.com/en/202412271105
23. ^ "Historical Football Kits - World Cup 1978". historicalkits.co.uk. Retrieved 22 October 2013.
24. ^ "شناسنامه کامل روسای تاریخ فدراسیون فوتبال :: ورزش سه". www.varzesh3.com. Retrieved 17 March 2018.
25. ^ پارسینه (4 March 2012). "سی و سومین رئیس فوتبال کیست". پارسینه-Parsine. Retrieved 17 March 2018.
26. ^ "ورزش". Etemaad.com. Retrieved 2009-12-02.
27. ^ "فدراسیون فوتبال ایران برترین فدراسیون آسیا". ffiri.ir. Archived from the original on 4 October 2011. Retrieved 17 March 2018.
28. ^ "مهدی تاج رئیس فدراسیون فوتبال شد". varzesh3.com. Retrieved 2016-05-07.
29. ^ "Mehdi Taj resigns as head of Iran football federation". Tehran Times. 29 December 2019.
30. ^ "100 ماه ریاست کفاشیان در فدراسیون فوتبال :: ورزش سه". www.varzesh3.com. Retrieved 17 March 2018.

## External links

[edit]

* Official website (in Persian)
* FIFA website

* v
* t
* e

Sports governing bodies in Iran (IRI)

Olympic sports|

* Aquatics
* Archery
* Athletics
* Badminton
* Basketball
* Boxing
* Canoeing, Rowing and Sailing
* Cycling
* Equestrian
* Fencing
* Field hockey
* Football
* Golf
* Gymnastics
* Handball
* Judo
* Shooting
* Skating
* Skiing
* Table tennis
* Taekwondo
* Tennis
* Triathlon
* Volleyball
* Weightlifting
* Wrestling

Non-olympic sports|

* Bodybuilding and Fitness
* Bowling, Billiard and Boules
* Chess
* Kabaddi
* Karate
* Kung fu
* Lifesaving
* Motorcycle and Automobile
* Mountaineering and Sport climbing
* Polo
* Squash
* Wushu
* Zurkhaneh sports
* Minor sports (IFSA)

Sub-federations in IFSA|

* Air sports
* Baseball and Softball
* Cricket
* Darts
* Rugby union

* National Olympic Committee of the Islamic Republic of Iran
* I. R. Iran National Paralympic Committee

* v
* t
* e

Iran national football team

General|

* Football Federation of Iran
* History
* Managers
* Notable matches

Venues|

* Azadi Stadium (1972–present), Amjadieh Stadium (1942–1972)
* National Football Camp (training)

Statistics|

* All-time match results
* All-time record
* Records
* All-time goalscorers

Players|

* Players (by caps)
* Captains
* International players
* Expatriate players

Goals|

* Ali Daei
* Sardar Azmoun
* Mehdi Taremi

World Cup Finals|

* Summary
* 1978
* 1998
* 2006
* 2014
* 2018
* 2022
* 2026

AFC Asian Cup Finals|

* Summary
* 1968
* 1972
* 1976
* 1980
* 1984
* 1988
* 1992
* 1996
* 2000
* 2004
* 2007
* 2011
* 2015
* 2019
* 2023
* 2027

Other tournaments|

* The Olympics
* Asian Games
* West Asian Championship
* CAFA Nations Cup
* ECO Cup
* LG Cup
* West Asian Games
* Afro-Asian Cup of Nations
* Confederations Cup
* Iran Cup
* Cyrus Cup
* AFC–OFC Challenge Cup

Culture|

* Rivalries
* Iraq
* Saudi Arabia
* Political protests

Senior|

* Men's results
* 1941–59
* 1960–79
* 1980s
* 1990s
* 2000s
* 2010s
* 2020s

Other Iran teams|

* Women's (Results)
* Men's B
* Men's U23
* Men's U20
* Women's U20
* Men's U17
* Women's U17
* Men's futsal
* Women's futsal
* Men's beach soccer

* v
* t
* e

National football associations of Asia (AFC)

West Asia (WAFF)|

* Bahrain
* Iraq
* Jordan
* Kuwait
* Lebanon
* Oman
* Palestine
* Qatar
* Saudi Arabia
* Syria
* United Arab Emirates
* Yemen

Central Asia (CAFA)|

* Afghanistan
* Iran
* Kyrgyzstan
* Tajikistan
* Turkmenistan
* Uzbekistan

South Asia (SAFF)|

* Bangladesh
* Bhutan
* India
* Maldives
* Nepal
* Pakistan
* Sri Lanka

East Asia (EAFF)|

* China
* Guam
* Hong Kong
* Japan
* Macau
* Mongolia
* Northern Mariana Islands†
* North Korea
* South Korea
* Chinese Taipei

Southeast Asia (AFF)|

* Australia
* Brunei
* Cambodia
* East Timor
* Indonesia
* Laos
* Malaysia
* Myanmar
* Philippines
* Singapore
* Thailand
* Vietnam

Defunct|

* South Yemen

† denote full Member Association is not a FIFA member

* v
* t
* e

Football in Iran

League competitions|

* Persian Gulf Pro League
* Azadegan League
* League 2
* League 3
* Provincial Leagues
* Ardabil Provincial League
* Bushehr Province League
* East Azarbaijan Province League
* Gilan Province League
* Golestan Province League
* Khuzestan Premier League
* Tehran Province League
* Kowsar league (women's)
* Futsal
* Beach soccer

Cup competitions|

* Hazfi Cup
* Super Cup

Defunct competitions|

* Takht Jamshid Cup

National teams|

* Men's
* B-team
* Women's
* M U-23
* M U-20
* W U-20
* M U-17
* W U-17
* M Futsal
* W Futsal
* M U-20 Futsal
* M Beach

Lists and categories|

* League system
* Champions
* List of clubs
* List of venues
* Managers
* List of managers
* League winners
* Cup winners
* football award winners
* List of highest payments
* Top goalscorers
* all-time
* by season
* Clubs in the AFC Champions League

* Records
* List of clubs
* List of venues
* International players
* Men
* Women

*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template