Team Melli’s proposed camp in Turkey is off , according to Team Manager Afshin Peyrovani.
The camp was scheduled for 2nd June to 9th in Istanbul or Ankara, however due to various logistical and financial difficulties, the camp is now canceled, Peyrovani said to the reporters.
The Manager of Team Melli went in length to explain all the reasons behind the cancelation but at the end, it was apparent that money or lack of it was the main reason for cancelation of the training camp in preparation to the Turkmenistan game.
Peyrovani added that Team Melli will be flying to Uzbekistan on a chartered flight and then proceed to the city of Daşoguz , Turkmenistan for the opener match of Iran’s FIFA World Cup 2018 qualification rounds. Peyrovani explained in details on who is paying for the cost of each leg of the flights!
On the subject of the venue, it is apparent that the AFC competitions commission has turned down FFIRI’s protest against the venue and the match is cleared to be played at Turkmenistan’s 3rd largest city. There was no reason to reject Daşoguz just because it is 600 km away from the capital.
As it is becoming fairly obvious that cost and expenditure is a major concern for FFIRI and Team Melli, expenses and cost are mentioned on every opportunity. FFIRI seems to have difficulty in meeting the requirements of the squad including logistics. Peyrovani talked about the proposal by Guam to play both legs of the matches in the Group D of the World Cup qualifiers in Iran. The suggestion from the Pacific nation is conditional on Iran paying for the expenses of the Guam squad including air fares. Peyrovani said the suggestion sounds good and it will be seriously considered. “If that is approved, one of the matches with Guam will be played in another Iranian City away from Tehran to allow the fans to watch their national team.”
No doubt that the accountant in FFIRI HQ is busy counting bearing the cost of Guam in Tehran versus flying to Hagåtña in Guam some 9445 km (5869 miles) away. Both teams will be travelling a good 17 to 18 hours to reach destination considering a good connection in at least two airports for connecting flights.
Typical Flight Times:
Tehran to Manila 13:15 hours (transit through one of the Persian Gulf airports)
Manila to Guam 3:55 hours