INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
TEHRAN - Mehdi Taj, former president of the football federation, and five other candidates have registered for the presidency of the
Football Federation of the Islamic Republic of Iran (FFIRI)
His presence in Iran football will be problematic
The candidate filing period of the FFIRI is closed
Six candidates have been registered.Aziz Mohammadi, Mehdi Taj, the acting president of FFIRI, Mirshad Majdi, Alireza Asadi, Mohammad
Akhundi, and Amir Vaez Ashtiani are the candidates for the post.The head of the Islamic Republic of Iran Football Federation (IRIFF) will be
30.Shahaboddin Azizi Khadem was removed from the presidency of IRIFF in February, a year after he had been appointed president
Since then, the Federation has been run by Mirshad Majedi as acting president.The registration of Mehdi Taj has caused controversy among the
Iranian football community
The former president of the Federation from 2016 to 2019 is one of the most debatable figures in the history of Iranian sports
He has introduced Mehdi Mohammadnabi and Mansour Ghanbarzadeh as his would-be vice presidents.In August 2020, during Taj's tenure of the
FFIRI, the Federation undertook to pay $8.3m to Marc Wilmots, a former coach of the Iranian national team contracted by Taj.Wilmots was in
the country for fewer than 40 days before leaving his seat
The Belgian coach claimed "serious contractual violations" by the Iranian football federation, and FIFA partially accepted the claim.The
63-year-old Taj is optimistic he will emerge the winner of the election.Many Iranian football experts believe his possible winning in the
FFIRI presidential election means a step back in the country's football.Mirshad Majedi, the acting president of the Federation, seems to be
Despite his status, he is not necessarily the favorite in this election due to a lack of support from the FFIRI Assembly members.Aziz
Mohammadi and Asadi have the experience of working in the football federation as the head of the league organization and the general
secretary of the Federation, respectively.Vaez Ashtiani is a former general manager of the Esteghlal club
He is mainly known as a political and economic figure in Iran
Akhundi has the experience of being in the position of spokesman of the Ministery of Sports for a while.Looking at the names of the
candidates, it seems that Taj's chance to take over the position of the president of the Iranian football federation is more than his
