Tasnim – The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) said its President Sheikh Salman Bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa doesn’t intervene in the decisions made by AFC General Secretariat.
Iran is not happy with the decision of AFC for choosing Bahrain to host FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 – Preliminary Competition and AFC Asian Cup China 2023 Qualifiers – Preliminary Joint Qualification Round 2.
In a letter sent to FFIRI acting General Secretary Mansour Ghanbarzadeh, president of Football Federation Islamic Republic of Iran (FFIRI) Shahabeddin Azizi Khadem has been invited to Manama, Bahrain on April 3 to meet Sheikh Salman.
The meeting will serve as an opportunity to further strengthen the partnership between the FFIRI and the AFC.
“Whilst we appreciate the interest by the FFIRI to host the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 – Preliminary Competition and AFC Asian Cup China 2023 Qualifiers – Preliminary Joint Qualification Round 2, we would like to inform that the decision was made by the AFC General Secretariat after due consideration and deliberation, factoring various areas, including but not limited to the standard of the proposed Stadiums/facilities, risk assessment on logistical, commercial and financial arrangements for the Participating Member Associations as well as the national medical/COVID-19 pandemic status; and the AFC President does not intervene in the decisions made by AFC General Secretariat.
We appreciate your interest to host the Competition despite the challenges brought about by the pandemic and assure you of the AFC’s continued support in achieving your goals,” the AFC’s letter reads.