The undertones of Iran’s participation in the World Cup in Qatar, according to “Doha Confidential”

According to Fars news agency’s film correspondent, the documentary “Doha Confidential”, the latest product of Soura Documentary Center, written, produced and directed by Mohammad Hasan Yadgari, tells the story of the participation of the Iranian national football team and its fans in the 2022 World Cup and its sidelines.

“Doha Confidential” which is prepared to participate in the 17th International Iranian Documentary Film Festival “Cinemavegetir”, in a conversation with reporters, experts and former football coaches, sports journalists, etc., including Majid Jalali, Homan Afazeli, Zohra Heratian, Pejman Rahbar, Javad Khayabani, Peyman Yousefi, Sina Kalhor, Mohammad Reza Qabadi and… their views and opinions about what happened in the 2022 World Cup have been asked.

Yadgari, in an interview with a Fars reporter, also referred to the title “Doha Confidential” as to whether the word “confidential” means that in the process of the documentary, some behind-the-scenes stories will be told to the audience. not given Our camera shows the reactions of the spectators on the platforms, especially in the Iran-England game. Everything we have used or represented in this documentary has not been covered in the mainstream media. In a way, I must say that in the documentary “Doha Confidential” we talked about the 2022 World Cup with video documents and narrated the story from a different perspective.

In response to the question that since you traveled to Qatar, the path and purpose of your documentary was clear, he explained: Since April 1401, I made up my mind to go to Qatar. Until the protests of the end of September 1401, due to being in a group with England and America, I predicted to some extent that the World Cup would be full of adventures for Iranians. That’s why I had prepared myself before the games started. After the protests took place in the country, the text of the documentary became clearer and finally our path became clear.

Regarding the political orientation of this documentary, Yadgari said: I reflected a historical narrative in the documentary “Doha Secret”. Of course, let me say that we don’t talk nonsense in any media, and in this documentary, I want to talk about Iranian national identity. In the documentary, we considered the national football team as a sports phenomenon that is defined under national interests. Personally, I have my criticisms of politicians; But issues related to national interests are my red line. Iran is my problem from the point of view of its geography to its culture and civilization; Now he wants to be liked by some people or not.

Referring to the entry of politics into the field of sports, especially football, this documentary director said: This issue was a clear example of the 2022 World Cup when politics mixed with our national interests. If you remember, we conceded 6 goals in the World Cup and a lot of it was because politics entered our sport. Sometimes, political games happen on the part of politicians and non-sports administrators; But last year, politics entered the national team through fandom. However, the conflicts on the platform and the insults given to the players and technical staff reduced the national team’s focus. Sports does not have the capacity of this amount of political action. Football and sports have the capacity of symbolic activism to some extent. If this activism becomes official, it creates a crisis along with it.

He continued: The Germany-Japan game was a symbolic activism, and the Germans had their hands in front of their mouths before the start and shifted their focus from football to Western human rights debates. As a result, the Germans lost the game and the voices of the critics of this country were heard as to why the fans got involved in non-football discussions. In the end, the German national team could not even advance from the group despite all its history and first rank.

Yadgari further said: This documentary was my idea and I tried very hard to convince the directors to support this work. Until two weeks before the World Cup, no manager was worried about what was going to happen, whereas I had predicted this a year ago; Because even if we were not placed in the same group with America and England, due to our proximity to the country of Qatar, it was a very exciting World Cup for the Iranian national team. Unfortunately, our managers do not believe in a strategic view. I’m working with TV executives right now and I have to say that they still don’t care about football strategy. Next year, the Paris Olympics will be held with a feminist approach, and our managers have no plans for this. Also, the Asian Games are starting soon, and I’m sure only 10% have done things like live streaming. Basically, I should say that in our country, sports are not viewed strategically.

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