Iran will decide the fate of the football championship

Secretary of the Iranian Professional Football League Organization, Mohammadreza Keshvarifard, clarified the rumors about the fate of the national football championship, which was suspended due to the current situation in the country.

Next week, a large webinar meeting with the participation of the CEOs of the League, Football Federation and Premier League clubs is planned. The main topic of discussion will be the selection of states that can host championship games as neutral venues. The final decision regarding the resumption of the tournament will be made by the League Organization after all technical and operational details have been agreed with the President of the Football Federation, Mehdi Taj.

Kerman, Yazd, Razavi Khorasan, Mazandaran and Fars provinces will be discussed as priority locations in the upcoming webinar with club directors. In Kerman and Sirjan, the stadiums of the Gol Gohar and Mes Kerman clubs fully comply with AFC standards, while Mashhad has one of the best stadiums in the country, Imam Reza Stadium.

The central region of Yazd and the northern provinces on the coast of the Caspian Sea are also considered safe zones for matches.

The final list of host cities will be confirmed by Iran Football Federation President Mehdi Taj after consultation with security forces. A key factor will be the ability of hotels and training centers to accommodate all 16 Premier League teams at the same time.

The 2025/2026 season in Iran was officially suspended at the end of February. In recent days, there have been active discussions on social media about a plan to move all the remaining games to provinces not affected by military operations in order to finish the championship as soon as possible. Persepolis and Esteghlal currently lead the table, but uncertainty over the venue remains a major obstacle to the race's resumption.