Following the resignation of Goudarzi , the Minister of Youth and Sports in President Hassan Rouhani’s cabinet , the former Head of FFIRI Mohammad Dadkan’s name is being put forward as a replacement.
President Rouhani has reshuffled his cabinet by replacing 3 controversial ministers including Mahmoud Goudarzi. The Youth and Sports Minister has failed to improve the level of government support for sports with lack of proper infrastructure and facilities marring the progress of Iranian athletes. Football in particular has suffered from this minister with his continual interference in the administration of the federation. His attempt to implant his own men in the federation and his strong views in Team Melli affairs did not go down well with the critics. However, in his core business and responsibilities , he failed to improve the facilities provided for sportsmen and women of Iran. He also failed to release the strong government grip on the clubs such as Persepolis and Esteghlal while he failed to honor the long promise of privatization of these clubs. Team Melli , on the verge of qualifying for the FIFA World Cup has been suffering from lack of a proper practise field for many months. Iran was embarrassed when FIFA banned the use of the upper tier of Azadi stadium , rendering the iconic stadium being halved in capacity, due to its cement slab being used for seating the fans.
Mahmoud Goudarzi, like the other two ministers have submitted their resignations , which was a face saving act.
According to an Oct. 19 report in the moderate publication Entekhab, possible candidates to replace Goudarzi include Amiri; Ali Asghar Mounesan, the managing director of the Kish Free-Trade Zone; Mohammad Dadkan, the former head of the Soccer Federation; and Masoud Soltanifar, the vice president and head of the Cultural Heritage, Handcrafts and Tourism Organization.
Dr. Mohammad Hossein Dadkan (63 years) was Team Melli player, having spent most of his playing career in Persepolis. He served as President of the Islamic Republic of Iran Football Federation from April 2002 until April 2006. His controversial removal from his post by the government after the FIFA World Cup 2006 Germany , lead to sanctions against the federation and suspension from international football by FIFA on 22 November 2006
Post 2006 , Dadkan has always been an outspoken critic of football politics and administration in Iran. He refused several appointments in the federation and Persepolis management. Dadkan has his own critics though, plenty of them in fact. He was accused of nepotism and interference in Branko ivankovic’s job when he was the head of FFIRI. His background as a player lead him to enforce his views on the Team Melli’s coach and his constant appearance in Team Melli practise sessions and accompanying all Team Melli trips, enforced this opinion by the critics.
The nomination for the post will be announced within two weeks by the President, Hassan Rounhani.