Ahmadinejad praises Iran futsal squad

PTV - Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has praised the country's futsal team for its strong performance in the 2008 Futsal World Cup.

“The Iranians have been very successful in the 2008 Futsal World Cup in Brazil, as they have achieved great success in every field,” Ahmadinejad said at a cabinet meeting in the country's Gilan province on Thursday evening.

The President further added that the Iranian players exerted their utmost against world champions although they did not have their key players.

“We regard them (Iranian futsal players) as champions despite their failure to advance (to the semifinals). They played fairly and beautifully,” Ahmadinejad explained.

The Iranian Futsal squad was welcomed back home by the Iranian Football Federation (IFF) president Ali Kafashian and the IFF deputy president, Mehdi Taj, and many futsal lovers at Tehran's Imam Khomeini International airport early Friday morning.

Iran's national futsal team, coached by Hossein Shams, failed to reach the world cup semifinals despite drawing 5-5 with Italy in its third match in the second round of the event.