Request from Parliament Representatives to Increase the Number of Teams in Iran's Premier Football League

More than 60 members of Parliament have requested an increase in the number of teams in Iran's Premier Football League in a letter to President Mohammad Khatami. According to the report from the Iranian Students' News Agency (ISNA), the text of this letter, which was read in the open session of Parliament, is as follows: "Dear Brother Mr. Seyyed Mohammad Khatami, Honorable President of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Greetings and salutations. As you are aware, the Premier League football season has concluded, and two long-standing and distinguished teams from the provinces, namely the Malavan Navy Club of Bandar Anzali and Naft Abadan, were eliminated at the bottom of the table with equal points but a lower goal difference. This has caused psychological issues among the people of Gilan and Khuzestan provinces, especially the fans of these teams, particularly the youth of these provinces and border cities, who are all supporters of the sacred system and admirers of your esteemed self, and you have always shown love for these young people. Currently, there are repeated requests from the representatives of the Islamic Consultative Assembly to pursue the increase from 14 to 16 teams in the Premier League, which seems logical for the following reasons: 1 - In European countries, which have a much smaller area and a population similar to that of Islamic Iran, there are 18 to 22 teams in their Premier League. 2 - Before the revolution, in the league known as the Takht Jamshid Cup, there were 16 teams with a population of less than 30 million, and now, after 24 years since the revolution, with a population of about 70 million in the country, the necessity to increase to at least 16 teams is logical. 3 - These two border towns have produced many athletes and sports enthusiasts, champions at national, Asian, and global levels, and have contributed many great figures to football, such as the late Cyrus Qayqran, former captain of the national team, Ghafoor Jahani, Nasser Hejazi, and others. 4 - Considering the border status of these two towns and the presence of many war veterans, a high level of education, being at the forefront of cultural invasion, and preventing social anomalies, along with the propaganda of the regime's opponents and the existence of many unemployed youth, the lack of recreational and sports facilities, the weekly presence of tens of thousands of spectators at the competitions in these two towns, and hundreds of thousands of viewers from provincial and sometimes national networks, filling the leisure time of millions of men and women, especially the youth of this land, we kindly request your approval and directive that now that the Premier League organization intends to increase the number of teams from 14 to 16 starting in the year 83 (2004), it is proposed that this be accomplished in the year 82 (2003), which has been designated as the year of service to the people. We hope that this benevolent and people-friendly action will be remembered as another legacy of that esteemed brother, and we are confident that this action will serve as a gift that brings joy to the people of the provinces, especially our dear youth.