According to the sports reporter of Tasnim news agency, Sohail Mehdi said on the sidelines of the drawing ceremony of the first division league: We apologize for the interruption. We hope that the first division league will be held peacefully as the lottery was held peacefully. Mohsen Khalili said a good thing and said that the league is a support of the Premier League.
Regarding the fact that Karim Bustani said that he was expelled from the meeting, he said: No, we did not dare to do that, because the legal issues of the two teams (Estiqlal Mulathani and Persepolis of Khuzestan) have not been resolved. We introduced from Khuzestan. When we didn’t name a team, we requested that there be no representatives of the two Khuzestan teams in the meeting so that, God willing, they would go through the legal issues.
The head of the competition committee of the league organization stated about the difference between Esteghlal Mulathani and Persepolis of Khuzestan: We are not looking for stories and statements. From our point of view, as an organizer, a team must register with the transfer committee and submit its documents, then we will be notified to organize the matches. We also heard that they are changing their name and ownership. Our deadline is until the start of the competition.
In response to the structural problem of the stadiums in the first division league, Mehdi said: In the same proportion, three or four stadiums in the first division league are in the minimum standards and we hope that these problems will be solved.
Regarding the start of the Premier League matches and the planning of these matches, he clarified: no league is separate from the others and the same conditions as the Premier League exist for other leagues. We have to have better coverage in the lower leagues so that they get motivated.
In response to a question about the attendance of spectators in the stadiums, the head of the competition committee of the league organization said: the instruction that was announced to us is 30%, and God willing, the provincial supply council will review the conditions.
“Changing the name of the teams a lot has also become a problem for the leagues, aren’t there any guidelines in this regard?”, Mehdi explained in response to this question: “Our problem is the discussion of professional standards.” We will have these problems until the managers of the professional clubs come in and have a multi-year plan. People enter football with dreams and then they see that football is a difficult place and the costs are high and the income is low. Many of the clubs’ salaries are not paid and eventually the investor runs away. Now, why are there investors in the stock and gold markets, but why are there no investors in football? The reason is that there is no ROI in football. The investor enters with a series of dreams and love, but runs away when it doesn’t work out. After that, another investor likes to work under his own name. We will not only have this situation but it will get worse until we pay the football fees and let it earn its own income. Do you think it is wise at all? If you have capital, do you invest in the housing market or elsewhere, or football?
Regarding whether it is better to reduce the number of teams in the Premier League, he said: I think we should reduce the number of teams, but it will not happen quickly and we should reduce one or two teams every season. This also depends on the decision of the Board of Governors to determine their number after the elections. God willing, they will see the plan and if they approve it, we can go in this direction. This is not something that the tournament committee approves, we propose and the board of the league organization approves and then it is approved by the board of the federation.
The head of the competition committee of the league organization added: Our plan has reached the point where we have to finalize it. It is not complete and we do not claim, but we have to make more speculations. Many people are influential in the decrease or increase of teams; We must have an expert discussion.
Mehdi also said about the problems of the first division league stadiums: Talesh and Babol stadiums have major problems and we hope they will reach the match day, otherwise we should ask them to play in other cities. The games start on September 2nd and end around May or June of the following year.
He also said about the quota of Iranian teams in the Asian Champions League: Our league must be finished before the AFC asks us for our representatives. Today we have a meeting regarding this matter and God willing we will reach the final result and we will also announce the type of quota donation.