FFIRI decides to abandon Iran futsal camp in Tajikistan

PressTV – TEHRAN, The Football Federation of the Islamic Republic of Iran (FFIRI) has opted to rescind friendly fixtures in Tajikistan, which were to serve as part of preparations for the 2016 Asian Football Confederation (AFC)’s Futsal Championship in Uzbekistan early next year.

During a meeting among head coach of the Iranian men’s national futsal team Mohammad Nazim al-Sharia, head of the futsal committee in the FFIRI Abbas Torabian and several other Iranian sports figures in Tehran on Monday afternoon, Nazim al-Sharia presented an appraisal of Tajikistan’s futsal facilities and elaborated on the poor condition of the field, which was to host the two friendly matches against Tajikistan’s national futsal team.

Earlier, Nazim al-Sharia had said that FFIRI officials were strong-minded about holding training camps abroad, and viewed Tajikistan as a suitable venue given that its climate is relatively close to that of Uzbekistan.

The 2016 AFC Futsal Championship will be the 14th edition of the AFC Futsal Championship. It will be staged in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, between February 10 and 21.

Iran has been drawn alongside China, Iraq and Jordan in Group B of the forthcoming sports event.

The Chinese hosts, Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon and Saudi Arabia form Group A, while Chinese Taipei, Tajikistan, Thailand and Vietnam were drawn in Group C. Group D consists of Australia, Japan, Malaysia and Qatar.

The top two teams in each group will qualify for the knock-out stage. The five top teams will qualify for the 2016 FIFA Futsal World Cup, which will be the 8th edition of the FIFA Futsal World Cup, in Colombia.

According to the latest classification published by the Asociacion Mundial de Futsal (AMF), the Iranian squad has maintained its position as Asia’s best with 1,609 points, but dropped one spot in the world’s overall standings to claim the sixth slot.