Football Federation of Iran

The Football Federation Islamic Republic of Iran (FFIRI; , Federâsion-è Futbâl-è Jomhuri-ye Eslâmi-ye Irân) is the governing body for football in Iran. It was founded in 1920, and has been a member of FIFA since 1948. It is also a member of the Asian Football Confederation. History Suspension On 23 November 2006, the federation was suspended by FIFA, due to government interference in football matters. FIFA rules decree that a national football federation should remain autonomous from the national government. However, on 17 December 2006, the ban was lifted and a new Transitory Board was composed of Mohsen Safaei Farahani as chairman, Kioumars Hashemi as deputy chairman and Mohammad Hassan Ansarifar, Hassan Ghaffari, Mohammad Khabiri and Ali Reghbati as members. Controversies In 2001, Iran were the founding member of the West Asian Football Federation alongside Iraq, Jordan and Lebanon.