Soleimani sees brighter future for Iranian women’s futsal

AFC – NILAI, Coach Forouzan Soleimani believes Iran’s capture of the inaugural edition of the AFC Women’s Futsal Championship on Saturday will pave the way for an ever brighter future for women’s futsal game in the Central Asian nation.

Iran’s lone goal in the win against Japan, scored as early as the eighth minute by the tournament’s eventual MVP Fereshteh Karimi (pictured), was enough to hand Soleimani’s side the title, a reversal of fortune for the Iranians who lost to the Japanese in extra time at the Asian Indoor Games Incheon 2013.

“My players played very well and our tactics worked, so, I’d like to congratulate my players for the determination they put in the game,” declared Soleimani

“But then it was an extremely difficult match as Japan were the favourites and had very good discipline, tactics and techniques. They really made the game tough for us, but we managed to overcome them.

“We had done a lot in preparation for this game and our patience and perseverance had paid off with this championship. I believe the future of Iranian women’s futsal is even brighter now and we are looking forward to participating in more international championships in the future.”

Japan fought back furiously, especially in the second half, but Iran’s defence battled valiantly with goalkeeper Farzaneh Tavasoli proving instrumental in stopping Arihara Masaaki’s charges.

“The game against Iran was really challenging but my team played well. After the Iranian goal, our players were confused for a while but they bounced back in spirit and then stuck to the game plan,” said Masaaki.

“Especially tough was the second half where I think we made a lot more attempts than the Iranians at goal but their defence was just too thick to penetrate. We just needed one or two players in front of goal to beat the Iran keeper but this was hard to come by.”