Iran calls on AFC to reinstate hosting rights
The Iranian Football Federation called on the Asian Football Confederation to restore the country’s hosting rights in the international and club games.
The Iranian national team had to host Qatar in Dubai when the two teams met at the World Cup qualifiers on October 15, while Persian Gulf Pro League sides Persepolis, Esteghlal, Sepahan, and Tractor have been forced to play their home fixtures at the Asian club competitions in neutral venues in recent months amid regional tensions between Iran and Israel.
The AFC made the decision after the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) launched a missile strike on targets in the Israeli-occupied territories on October 1 – days after the assassination of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in an Israeli air strike in Beirut, Lebanon.
“Over the past two months, there have been no safety or security concerns in our country. However, our teams have been subjected to substantial financial burdens for playing outside the Islamic Republic of Iran,” Mahdi Taj, the chairman of the Iranian Football Federation, wrote in a letter to AFC president Salman bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa.
“It is evident that the situation that led to the suspension of all international and domestic flights for approximately 36 hours on October 1, 2024 has returned to normal, and all domestic flights and some international flights have resumed their regular schedules as of the morning of Friday, October 3,” the letter wrote, adding that airlines from Qatar, Oman, the United Arab Emirates, China, and Turkey have resumed their services to Iran.
“Other sport federations in Iran have been hosting international tournaments and participants from different countries have been traveling to Iran without any problem.
“Therefore, our Federation and clubs wish to hold all their home matches in Iran as previously scheduled, in order to provide fair and satisfactory conditions for all participating clubs in the ACL Elite and ACL Two competitions, as well as the Iranian national team in the Asian qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup.”
19-year high
Meanwhile, the Iranian national team reached its highest spot in 19 years in the FIFA Men’s World Ranking, coming in 18th in the latest monthly list released on Thursday.
Amir Qalenoei’s men tallied 1635.31 points to move up by one spot from the previous ranking, though they remained second to Japan among the Asian teams as the Blue Samurai retained the 15th place with 1652.79 points.
The latest ranking comes after Iran defeated North Korea 3-2 in Laos and then went on to beat Kyrgyzstan in Bishkek by the same scoreline in November’s international break to maintain its hold on the top spot in Group A of the World Cup Asian qualifiers with 16 points – three clear of second-place Uzbekistan and six above the United Arab Emirates – with four games to spare.
With the top two of the group progressing to the World Cup finals, Team Melli can clinch a place in the 2026 showdown in North America when taking on the UAE and Uzbekistan in late March.
Japan opened a nine-point gap on Australia on top of the Group C table, thanks to comprehensive away wins against Indonesia (4-0) and China (3-1), and is on the verge of an eighth successive World Cup participation.
Following the top two in the list of AFC’s member states in the FIFA ranking are South Korea (23rd), Australia (26th), and Qatar (48th).