Tehran Times - Paria Shahriari, head of Beach Soccer Committee at the Iran Football Federation, says that the sport has grown extremely fast across the world over the past years and they want to keep moving forward.
Shahriari, who has recently officiated as 2019 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup final match between Italy and Portugal, spoke to Tehran Times about the future plans for Iran national beach soccer team.
“I’ve been chosen as match commissioner by Asian Football Confederation (AFC) for the international matches in football, futsal and beach soccer over the past six years. I have been also selected as match commissioner by FIFA over the past year. I officiated as a match commissioner at the 2018 Summer Youth Olympics for the futsal competitions, Asian Women Futsal Championship, and FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup. The FIFA World Cup is the most prestigious event on the international beach soccer circuit and I did my best in the competition and finally was chosen as match commissioner of final match,” Shahriari said.
Iran won a bronze medal at the 2017 FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup in Bahamas but failed to book their place at the next edition.
“We’ve always tried to keep going according to plan. The first step of developing is to have plan and the second step is to accomplish that but it needs budget. Beach soccer has grown fast over the past years across the world. We have to work harder than ever and I hope Team Melli can even play in the FIFA World Cup final because I believe that our team have the potential to do that. We missed the 2019 FIFA World Cup since our plan was not accomplished,” she added.
“Iran beach soccer have achieved two important accolades over the past two months. We won the bronze medal in the 2019 World Beach Games which was held with participation of 16 strong teams in Doha. Team Melli also claimed the title for the third time at the Beach Soccer Intercontinental Cup, where we defeated powerhouse teams Russia and Spain and deservedly won the title,” Shahriari stated.
Iran coach Abbas Hashempour’s contract ran until the Beach Soccer Intercontinental Cup and Shahriari says they will make a decision on his future in the technical committee.
“Hashempour has worked as Marco Octavio assistant over the past years. The Brazilian coach built the current team and won Beach Soccer Intercontinental Cup twice. The reality is it's harder to stay at the top than it is to reach the top and Hashempour has a difficult task ahead because we need a golden generation for the future. We will discuss about the beach soccer coach at the federation's technical and development committee and will make the best decision,” Shahriari concluded.