Paatoop - In a meeting in Shiraz, the president of the Iranian Football Federation, Mehdi Taj, revealed some new information.

Mehdi Taj, president of the Iranian Football Federation, said, “If clubs are not able to pay their debts, as of next season ,they will not be allowed to compete, and will be replaced by other clubs.”

He added, “According to the rules of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), we can only allow teams who have professional conditions to compete in the Iran Pro League.”

Taj continued, “Some media sources have said that the Iranian Football Federation is ‘running on empty’, but this is not true. We don’t have any debts, and are owed six million dollars by FIFA; we have to pursue this matter seriously.”

The federation president explained, “We have 18 national teams at different levels, and they need a lot of funding, and if we get what we’re owed, we can solve many of existing problems, and spend more on our football.”

Regarding football broadcasting rights in Iran, Taj said, “World wide, football’s income is well known; primarily earnings from television broadcasting. But this is not the case in our country; we have had many meetings with the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB), that were inconclusive, as they told us that they have problems, and that some of their employees haven’t been paid in months.”

Taj also expressed his support of a IPL club in the Province of Fars, and said, “This province definitely has to have a team in the Iran Pro League, so that football can grow here, and this must be done through cooperation with the officials of Fars.”