TEHRAN - FIFA President Gianni Infantino has met with Football Federation Islamic Republic of Iran (FFIRI) President Shahabeddin Azizi Khadem in Doha.
The meeting was held alongside the FIFA Arab Cup, which is serving as a test event for the Qatar 2022 FIFA World Cup.
The FFIRI held its Presidential election earlier this year, while FIFA demanded changes be made to the FFIRI’s statutes, alleging Government interference.
FIFA said the meeting between Infantino and Khadem in Doha saw exchanges over women’s football, overall infrastructure and development.
The FFIRI quoted Infantino following the meeting, with the FIFA President having reportedly stressed the importance of the federation’s statutes being adhered to and ensuring women can attend matches.
“In this short time that the President of the Iranian Football Federation has taken office, many positive changes have been evident, one of the most important has been attention to women’s football,” Infantino said, as reported by the FFIRI.
“The Iranian Government has obligations towards the statutes of the FFIRI, which should be fulfilled on the due date and approved by the relevant bodies.
“The follow-up of the FFIRI in the discussion of hosting is commendable and I hope that two important issues of VAR and the presence of women in stadiums will be solved and Iran-Korea games will be hosted by Iran with the presence of women and VAR.”

A Charity Match Between Iran and FIFA Legends to Be Held

In the meeting between Azizi Khadem and FIFA President Gianni Infantino, the two parties agreed on a charity match between second team of Iranian stars and FIFA stars will be hosted by Iran.
Infantino mentioned the legends such as Ali Daei, Ali Karimi and Mehdi Mahdavi Kia and considered their presence in the team of Iranian football stars as a trophy.
Azizi Khadem also invited FIFA President to attend one of the matches hosted in Iran to watch the game in the stadium.
Infantino accepted the invitation and it was decided that the Iranian Federation would officially invite the Federations of neighboring countries and Qatar to travel to be the guest of Iran at that time.