Iran to bid for hosting revived Asian Futsal Club Ch’ship
Iran will submit an official bid to host the revived AFC Futsal Club Championship on Kish Island, Ehsan Kamyani, the head of the Iranian Football Federation’s Futsal Committee, has confirmed.
The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) announced on Thursday that the continental showpiece will resume after an eight-year hiatus, with clubs from Afghanistan, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Japan, Thailand, Uzbekistan, and Vietnam set to feature in the tournament, which will kick off on December 6, 2027.
Kamyani credited Iranian Football Federation president Mehdi Taj, who also serves as chairman of the AFC Futsal and Beach Soccer Committee, for playing a key role in bringing the competition back.
“We should first extend our special thanks to Mr. Taj. He made significant efforts to ensure the AFC Futsal Club Championship was reinstated,” Kamyani told the official website of the national football governing body.
He added that all qualified member associations are eligible to apply to host the event and confirmed that Iran will officially enter the bidding process.
“Our proposal is to stage the tournament on Kish Island,” he said.
Kamyani also revealed that the federation will seek permission from the AFC to enter two Iranian clubs in the competition instead of one.
“According to the federation’s regulations, we will follow the approved procedures, but we will consult with Mr. Taj to see if it is possible for Iran to have two representatives – the champions of the previous and the upcoming Persian Gulf Futsal Premier League seasons,” he said.
The futsal official expressed confidence that the tournament would quickly establish itself as one of Asia’s premier club competitions.
“The launch of this competition is a very important step. Many participating clubs have high-quality foreign players, and the technical standard will be high. I am confident we will witness exciting matches from the very first edition,” Kamyani said.
He added that the competition is expected to expand in both scale and commercial value over time.
“As the tournament continues, both the number of participating teams and its technical and economic value will grow. The interest shown by different countries in hosting the event demonstrates its strong potential for development,” he said.
Kamyani also stressed that, should Iran win the hosting rights, the federation would ensure the tournament is staged to the highest standard while adjusting the domestic futsal league schedule to give the country’s representative(s) sufficient preparation time.
Nagoya Oceans of Japan defeated Iran’s Mes Sungun 2-0 in the final when the tournament was last held in Bangkok in 2019, claiming a record-extending fourth title in the competition’s 10th edition.
Mes remains the most recent of four Iranian clubs – alongside Giti Pasand, Foolad Mahan, and Ta’sisat Daryaei – to have won the title, lifting the trophy in 2018.