Failed bid for Iran for the 2016 AFC U-23 Championship
Persianfootball.com – MANILA, Iran’s bid for hosting the 2016 AFC U-23 Championship has been unsuccessful as Qatar was named as the host of the event, announcement made in the Philippines capital.
According to Tasnim News, the 16-nation competition serves as the 2016 Summer Olympic Games qualification, which the top three teams will represent Asia in Rio. Apart from Iran, Uzbekistan and Saudi Arabia were the other failed bids.
Currently, Iran’s under-23 team more commonly known by the name “Team Omid” is without a head coach. It must be noted Iran’s U23 team has never qualified for the Summer Olympics.
The last time Iran qualified for the Summer Olympics was Team Melli’s qualification for the 1980 Olympic Games in Moscow which was then boycotted due to Soviet Union’s invasion of Afghanistan. However, Team Melli reached the quarter-finals of the 1976 Olympic Games in Montreal where they lost 2-1 to the Soviet Union.