Money and Administration in Iranian football

[Nokhodi]

Looking at the generally disappointing results of Iranian football in the past 4 years and comparing them to the great results team and individually oriented sports are getting (basketball, volleyball, tae kwan do) I want to ask members here what they think needs to happen to get a stable foundation and maximize our football output regardless of the pool of talent we have to work with.

As Maij has said we blame zameen ta asemoon, the regime, the ball, the wind, religion, player haircuts... for poor results, but with the same restrictions and much less money Iran is doing great in other sports, including sports we don't have a history in such as rowing, canoeing and athletics.

How can Iranian football be better administered?
You have certain restrictions though.
1- You can't change the regime
2- You will not be able to bring in multi-million dollar earning head coaches such as Mourinho, Hiddink...
3- No more money than what IFF and football clubs already have

Here are my suggestions.

1- ENFORCEMENT of the rules - When the Iranian pro league started there were rules put into place stating that clubs will need their own stadium in five years and that their head coachs must have AFC "A" certification at the minimum.
Its been 10 years and not a single club has its own private field and most of the coaches don't even have B or C certification.
If it means teams get banned, so be it. I'd rather have a truly professional 8 team league than a joke of a 18 team league.
2- Transparent budgets - I know this is a pipe dream but clubs have to show where there money is being spent. Iranian football is not sustainable. It makes little money yet consumes heavily.
3- PRIVATIZE - It can't happen at once, but true privatization needs to happen. And by this I don't mean a rich guy comes in like Hedayati or Shafizadeh, spends millions on players and then thinks thats all you need to have a club. We need owners with long term plans. They should have priorities besides immediately winning. Stadiums, youth teams, tv rights...
4-Lobby the government - Most of these clubs are run by people with big ties to government officials anyways, so why can't they lobby the government for a TV deal in exchange for reduced budgets, or help with land purchases to get a stadium.

I could literally go on for 10 pages, but these are just the first couple of ideas that came to me. Of course a more comprehensive plan would be necessary and such a program would take minimum 5-10 years to implement, but it pays off. Really, Turkey is a great example for this. Up until the early 90s their football system was the laughing stock of Europe, run exactly like how our football is, but banks along with investors, industry and government figured out how to do it.

Now, I'd like to see your ideas.

[persian-eagle-13]

^^these are all great ideas, but under IRI only a percentage will be achieved.

[maij]

Good Post.

I have followed Iran's football since I was a kid , but it was only the last couple of decades that I started to get an interest in the political side of football administration and operation. It is certainly not a pretty sight.

Let me start by saying : I believe that football in Iran can and has a true potential to develop in spite of the regime and other restrictions.

There are many hurdles and some of it could not be eliminated completely but it can definitely be mitigated in order to reduce their negative effects.

In my opinion , the biggest problem in Iran football right now is that it is being run by a Mafia. I believe MAFIA is the most accurate description of the clan that controls football. They are like phantoms, working behind the scenes , serving the interest of small but powerful group of individuals. They are deep-rooted in the system , they have the support of the government simply because this Mafia manipulates religion very cleverly to please the ruling clan.

There is also one hell of a nepotism in Iran's football where relations , comradeship , family ties takes precedence over skills, knowledge , experience and ability.

Finally , there is the control of the government. This has positive and negative sides to it. Without government support , I seriously doubt that a proper professional league such as we witness now , could be sustained. In the negative side , auditing system or auditing effectiveness to be precise is allowing major misappropriation of funds by the clubs leading to corruption.


These are basic organizational shortcomings and they are serious.

Without proper and effective systems of administration , you cannot build success in any organization. Football is a business and you can apply the business rules on it.


Of course , technical issues is a whole different discussion and varies according to one's experience and viewpoints.

[zzgloo]

Thanks for the post.....
May be the most fundemental issue we all should talk about,here in F +....

While ignoring ,the effect and the essentiality, of Regim Change will be,like, hiding out our heads under the snow !!.....
Yet, The privetizations , is the only answer......
...............
ISlamic Republic indeed has done a great Job in advansment of Sports in IRAN, ..as we all talked often about it.......
In a way, Sport, just as it was for USSR, is a major propaganda Tool.....
Islamic republic, has stablished and built stediums, facilities,foreign coaches and good financial backing for all sports.......there are good budgets asigned, even for sports we knew nothing about.Such as Wooshoo,or rugby, or base ball, or soft ball, etc,etc.....
And, being 4 th in ASIA,in sports, after the giants of China,japan,South Korea...in a huge accumplishement...in the largest,most populated contenant on earth...
Yet, Football is like no other sports......in Football, facilities,stediums,budgets,etc,etc,will only go so far.........because, in Football, to reach the next level...one must go where other super powers in Football have gone......and that is , through, a strong privetized domestic leagues.

[maij]

It is true that privatization is a very positive steps towards improving football in Iran , however it is easier said than done. We need to ask ourselves a few fundamental questions.

The first concern is whether there are enough investors or entrepreneurs who are willing to invest in football in Iran. Right now, I only know of one only. Of course it does not mean that there no others but I frankly doubt that there will be a queue waiting to get a football club license in Iran.

From track record of Iranian entrepreneurs, they are a breed of very shrewd people who will think one thousand times before putting their money into the unknown venture such as running a profitable football club. They prefer much safer , solid and traditional investments. The case of Iranian investments in Dubai is one such example. From my own knowledge , I know that many people fear the tight government control of the economy in Iran. They prefer free economy with no or little restrictions. It is NOT the case in Iran.

The other suspect is the reluctance of some forces within the government in Iran or the ruling clan to let go of the total control on football. It has been nearly two years since Ahmadinejad ordered the authorities to privatize Perspolis and Esteghlal ? what is the progress on that front ???...virtually, nothing as far as I know as it is seriously going into the oblivion. At least they are not transparent on the issue.

I am not sure that privatization will actually work , despite my belief that it is the only option for progress. Real Income from football is very low compared to the expenditure. Not a single club in Iran knows or embarks on marketing. There is NO income form TV , the match ticket admission fees are barely enough to pay a few people in the club and will never cover the major costs. Then there is the fundamental issue…..the stadiums and training facilities. They are not cheap to build and maintain and it takes a brave man to invest in building them and waiting for decades for the return on investment.

Saying that , there is always some kind of a solution If and only IF the government is serious about privatization and is willing to assist investors by giving them facilities , long term interest free loans , providing financial support ( one off). Also the investors must be willing to pay for professional administrators from abroad who know how to run a professional club based on professionalism and proper organization rather than salavat and God willing attitude.

[Ali Chicago]

I know we can't change the regime but anything meaningful will start from there.

Short of that, I think we Iranian football fans need to realize there are new forces in Asia. Japan, S. Korea, Australia, in addition to traditional power houses like KSA and Iran and dark horses like Persian Gulf countries, N. Korea and soon to emerge China. We won't be dominating in Asia. This is the fact, as much as we don't like it.

Privatization is the right step but in current environment I think it won't hlep much. See Esteel Azin and Esteghlal Ahwaz. The framework for private football ownership in the country doesn't exist (TV broadcast rigths, Copy Right Laws, Government interfernce in football).

[Rooyintan]

there are no local support in some cities or provinces. For Example: In Mashhad, there are many in local/provincial government who are anti-football and don't want to see the local teams such as aboomoslem or payam to succeed. Also local companies or expats are not willing to invest, which I think they're right when there's govt against Football why would anyone in their sane mind would come and invest in the two clubs. Mashhad has produced so many football greats who are all playing in non-Mashhadi teams: local players eg. Vahedi-Nikbakht & Khani & Vaezi(Saba), Enayati & Nasehi(Sepahan), Mansouri & Badamaki(Persepolis), Hosseini-Farimani(Zobahan) then many other players reached their peak whilst they were playing for Mashhad teams such as Teymourian(Traktor), Khalatbari & Gordan(Zobahan), Jabbari(Esteghlal) and the list goes on.

Shiraz is same situation as Mashhad. It's such a pity that these two cities Mashhad(Iran's 2nd largest) & Shiraz(well used to be 5th now 6th(as Karaj has taken over Shiraz). All shirazi stars are playing outside Shiraz, eg. Rahmati(Sepahan), Gh.Rezaei(Persepolis), Madanchi(Estil Azin),etc. Both cities don't have any representives in IPL! what a shame!

Also Ahvaz is going down as well, Foolad used to be champion of Iran and now they are no where. All their former star players are playing in Tehran or Qazvin etc.

There are many individuals who think of their own pocket. Player Agents are the biggest problem in our football. Why should rejects from Brazil, Argentina, Nigeria, Ghana, Cameroon, Serbia or Croatia be playing in our football league??? There should be standards like foreign players who play in IPL should have represented their national team. IPL clubs should only recruit national team players from foreign countries eg. get more Iraqis, Armenian, Azerbaijani, Uzbekistani, Tajikistani, Turkmenistani, Bosnian, Macedonian or from Mali, Togo, etc... not rejects from Brazil or Serbia..etc...
These rejects come and get large salary and take up places that should have been given to either a local star player or rising youngster or a foreign(national team player).