Reward for Asian Championship; Cancellation of Iran's Women's Futsal National Team Trip

The Iranian women's futsal national team, which has become the champion in the Asian Cup, will not be sent to the 2015 World Tournament in Guatemala. In the preliminary round, Iran was placed in Group A alongside Brazil, Portugal, and Costa Rica, and with Iran's absence, only three teams will participate in this group. According to the tournament draw, Group B will feature Spain, Russia, Guatemala, and Japan. Japan, which became the runner-up in the Asian Cup after losing to Iran, will now be the only representative from Asia in this tournament. According to Varzesh 3, due to 'lack of necessary coordination at the right time,' the top representative from Asia cannot participate in the World Tournament. The president of the Iranian Football Federation, on the sidelines of a talent scouting festival for girls, addressed the ambiguities surrounding the national women's futsal team's trip to Guatemala, stating: 'Because Guatemala does not have an embassy in Iran, we have to travel to Germany to obtain a visa, but another fundamental problem is that we also need a visa to travel to Germany.' The tournament draw has been held, and the Iranian team has identified its opponents, but despite being invited to the camp, the Iranian girls will not participate in the competition. Kafashian told ISNA: 'We tried to obtain an airport visa, but this has not happened so far. We were supposed to go to Mexico and obtain a visa from there, but Guatemala has stated that it will not cover the cost of this trip.' Mr. Kafashian, who is unwilling to disclose the financial problems of the federation and the lack of priority for women's football and futsal in international missions, did not explain on what basis he expects the host country to cover the travel expenses of the Iranian national team! In response to ISNA's question about whether it is a shame to miss this opportunity, he said: 'Yes, it is a shame to miss this opportunity, but I am also ashamed!' While federation officials refer to the absence of a Guatemalan embassy in Tehran, Iranian men's teams in various sports have repeatedly been sent to countries from the USA to Guatemala that do not have embassies in Iran. The most recent case was the Iranian national football team's trip to Guam. Guatemala has repeatedly hosted Iranian male athletes. In 2000, the Iranian men's futsal team traveled to Guatemala and played in the World Cup. Six years later, the Iranian youth freestyle and Greco-Roman wrestling teams also went to Guatemala and competed in the World Championships. Now, the women's futsal team is missing out on the trip while the national players are in their best athletic form and brought the Asian Cup to Iran for the first time in the history of women's sports in Iran 'in a ball sport' by defeating Japan. Fereshteh Karimi also earned the title of the best player in Asia. The Minister of Sports, during a ceremony honoring the futsal players, stated: 'I watched two minutes of your game and was very delighted. Not for the victory, but because our girls found a space to be successful in this way. I hope that in upcoming events, the team captain - Niloufar Ardalan - will also be with you.' Given these statements, that limited space has now been blocked. Not only will the captain not accompany the team, but the entire team and coaching staff have lost the opportunity to participate in the competitions. Mahmoud Goudarzi told the national team members: 'The leadership expressed satisfaction with your championship and told me to convey their congratulations to you.' However, the expressions of joy from high-ranking political and sports officials regarding the Iranian women's futsal team's championship have not been sufficient to secure the costs for obtaining visas and traveling to Guatemala.