TEHRAN: Iran’s footballers, well-placed to reach the World Cup 2022 finals in Qatar, feel they are being taken for granted by their national federation.
“Our victories have become a normal thing (for the federation). Instead of giving us more support, they’ve completely forgotten us,” the players lamented in posts on Instagram.
“The people need to be informed of the excessive problems faced by the national team,” players wrote. This state of affairs is “not at all worthy of our country’s name.”
Iran beat Lebanon 2-1 away on Thursday, leaving them at the top of Group A in Asian qualifiers for next year’s finals.
“We’ve been using old shirts for the past year,” players said.
The federation reacted quickly to the posts, with spokesman Hossein Sharifi saying on state television its president was working to resolve any problems faced by Team Melli.
The team, which has qualified for five finals since 1978, “needs support and we hope everybody stands by the federation in doing this,” he said.
Iran’s sports authorities complain that US sanctions on Tehran deprive the federation of access to millions of dollars in funds from world football’s ruling body FIFA.