AFC Pro League Ad-hoc Committee inspection team impressed with Iran

AFC - A two-member inspection team of the AFC Professional League Ad-hoc Committee visited Iran recently to assess the status of the game in the football-loving country.

Tokuaki Suzuki, who is the deputy chairman of the committee, was happy with the present setup.

"We found Iran in the top tier of football in Asia. The Iran Pro League is based on sound regulations and the matches are well organised. The technical standards are also high," said Suzuki.

The large attendances infused Suzuki with confidence. "Apart from the huge media coverage, popular clubs like Persepolis and Esteghlal can attract a large number of spectators for their home games, reaching upto 90,000. The average attendance is 10,000," noted Suzuki.

However, a survey showed that all the Iran Pro League clubs suffered from a loss of revenue out of television rights and merchandising. "Most of the clubs have relatively high incomes and are run profitably but parts of the club budget are state-funded. They have limited revenue from television rights."

"The Iran Football Federation, however, has taken an initiative to resolve the issue. We expect to see good perspective for the future."

The government has been providing support to the clubs and also has grand plans to reconstruct the facilities which could prove to be a boon for Iranian football.

Twenty-one Asian countries are on the schedule, ending with India in November. The inspection team has already visited Hong Kong, UAE, Oman, Bahrain, China, Korea Republic, Japan, Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam, Australia and Uzbekistan.

Only the Member Association of those countries, which can meet the minimum new criteria, will be allowed to participate in the AFC Champions League from 2009 onwards.