Abbas Chamanian nominated for Iran U-23 coaching role

Tasnim – TEHRAN, After Yahya Golmohammadi’s refusal to lead Iran’s U-23 football team, former U-16 coach Abbas Chamanian has been nominated to take charge of the Olympic team.

Iranian media reports suggest that Chamanian is a candidate to replace Zlatko Kranjcar, the Croatian coach who left the job in early May after one year in charge.

Under coaching of Kranjcar, Iran booked a place at the AFC U-23 Championship Thailand 2020 Final. However, the federation was not satisfied with the Croatian coach’s performance.

The AFC U-23 Championship 2020 will be held in Thailand from Jan. 8 to 26.

It will act as the AFC qualifiers for the Olympic football tournament. The top three teams of the tournament will qualify for the 2020 Summer Olympics men’s football tournament in Japan as the AFC representatives.

Iran has not qualified for the Olympics since the 1976 games in Munich.