FFIRI website has officially confirmed Team Melli’s participation in the CAFA Championship to be held in June 2023.

The 2023 CAFA Championship will be the 1st edition of the CAFA Championship, the biennial international men’s football championship of Central Asia organized by the Central Asian Football Association (CAFA). The event will be held in Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan from 9 June to 21 June. Iran, Kyrgyzstan (Host), Russia (invitee), Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan (Host) will form the two-group championship.

This championship which was been on and off several times was first supposed to be played in Uzbekistan in 2018, however, it was never played for various reasons. Even this current one was under doubt until the announcement by FFIRI. Iran is in the first pot of the draw along with Russia according to FIFA Ranking. It is expected that another invitee team will join the championship. This will be a good test for Amir Ghalnoei in preparation for the AFC Asian Cup 2023.