The German sportswear manufacturer PUMA will be supplying Team Melli U-22 kits in the forthcoming AFC U-22 championship to be hel in the middle of next January in Muscat Oman.

In a statement to ISNA , the Vice-President of FFIRI  Seyed Hadi Ayatollahei , announced the deal and said that the U-22 team is not included in the contract with main Team Melli kit supplier UHLsport. PUMA is the supplier to many World Cup finalist teams and was the supplier of the kit in Iran’s last world Cup appearance in Germany 2006.

Ayatollahei also dismissed fears expressed by Alireza Mansourian about the recruitment of a foreign coach for the Omid Team.

The FFIRI official emphasized that the coach will be assigned to the U-23 team or the B team and not the U-22 which will remain under Mansourian for the foreseeable future. “He should focus on his job as we have no plan on changing him, The coach we are trying to recruit is fo another TEam Melli age rank , which is the Omid or U-23” Ayatollahei said.

Ayatollahei also confirmed that the current Team Melli sponsor , a Car dealer , has been having difficulty sticking to its

contractual obligations. A last minute sponsorship deal was struck between the FFIRI and a small company that deals in importing foreignluxury cars to Iran , in what seemed like a surprise move. The deal was questioned by many observers, and it does not come as a surprise that the sponsoring company has difficulty in paying its commitment. Ayatollahei said that a last warning was given to the sponsor to respect its obligations. “Failure by the sponsor to carry out its contractual obligation will force us to cancel the contact and look for a new sponsor”