Goal.com tells a sad tale from the southern region of Iran...
Mehran Afshar is a native of Abadan, a city in the oil-rich southern Iran that has produced many of the country’s football talents. In his latest trip to his hometown, Mehran visited the city’s legendry football ground where many of the stars of the past and present started their careers.
If you there was a shining star for every Team Melli player that this dusty field has produced over the last 50 years, the light from those stars may even match that of the sun.
Abadan’s Bouvardeh Jonubi (Boulevard South) football field’s myth can only be compared with the mighty 400 Dastgah ground in South East of Tehran.
The big difference is, at the moment, that the original 400 Dastgah field does not exist anymore. The Bouvardeh Jonubi ground does and continues to produce rough but yet brilliant football talent in Abadan. Its days, however, are numbered.
On a hot spring afternoon, when I visited the ground for the first time in 30 years, I was amazed by the raw quality of the teenagers who were playing with such enthusiasm;
Even a non-football fan could recognize and appreciate their pure love of the game.
Mohammad Ali Soheilati, a tired looking coach in his mid-fifties, was teaching them the “dos and don’ts” of taking free kicks. “ee koloftu ro bebin (Watch this fatso)!”
He was pointing at Majid Saeedi, a chubby 15-year old with lethal shots. “He will soon become one of the best midfielders in this country, I promise you.”
But my eyes were set on a petite dark skinned kid who was playing with inspiring technique and unusual maturity for his age. The way he went by and around his opponents, aged 15-19 years, reminded me of the way Maradona went by defenders in his “goal of the century” against England in 1986 World Cup. The kid was just a joy to watch.
“His name is Jasem (Sadeghiyan)”, his coach told me. “He is a brilliant player, but suffers from poor nutrition he added.
“We gave him this new football kit a week ago, and I swear his performance improved almost instantly! Even his attitude and personality seem to have changed for the better” said Soheilati.
Another young player captured my eyes. Watching in disbelief, I asked the coach “Why is he playing barefooted?”
Soheilati shrugged; “He doesn’t have money to buy shoes, and I if I keep him off the field, he will bring this neighborhood down with his crying!”
More than 400 Abadan kids use this football ground from dawn to dusk. The annual budget for a team of 20-30 players is about $4000 to $5000 per year, which hardly covers the cost of proper team kits and beverages.
To give the reader a point of comparison, an average “C” class player in the first division playing for Sanate Naft of Abadan football club makes around $30K. The salary cap is said to be around $200K to $250K for an “A” class player.
These enthusiastic kids with their extraordinary talents are surrounded by wealth and pipelines filled with Black Gold, but they do not share the prosperity that their older counterparts enjoy. They play barefooted and hungry in Iran’s football paradise, but for them there is worse to come!
The National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) is going to convert this historic ground into an indoor sports facility which will be off-limits to these kids.
This will be a nightmare for the 400+ Abadani youths who train here.
“We will be wandering around like homeless gypsies” said Soheilati.
“We are fighting this plan, but have no support from anyone. This playground is our life. We cannot live without it. That’s our only lifeline.”
It was getting dark when I bid my farewell to the boys and their coach.
While driving through the streets which bear the rich memories of my childhood, I could not contain my disappointment with the football authorities and NIOC officials for their outright failure to recognize the value tha this dusty shrine has to these children.
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Mehran Afshar
Mehran Afshar is a native of Abadan, a city in the oil-rich southern Iran that has produced many of the country’s football talents. In his latest trip to his hometown, Mehran visited the city’s legendry football ground where many of the stars of the past and present started their careers.
If you there was a shining star for every Team Melli player that this dusty field has produced over the last 50 years, the light from those stars may even match that of the sun.
Abadan’s Bouvardeh Jonubi (Boulevard South) football field’s myth can only be compared with the mighty 400 Dastgah ground in South East of Tehran.
The big difference is, at the moment, that the original 400 Dastgah field does not exist anymore. The Bouvardeh Jonubi ground does and continues to produce rough but yet brilliant football talent in Abadan. Its days, however, are numbered.
On a hot spring afternoon, when I visited the ground for the first time in 30 years, I was amazed by the raw quality of the teenagers who were playing with such enthusiasm;
Even a non-football fan could recognize and appreciate their pure love of the game.
Mohammad Ali Soheilati, a tired looking coach in his mid-fifties, was teaching them the “dos and don’ts” of taking free kicks. “ee koloftu ro bebin (Watch this fatso)!”
He was pointing at Majid Saeedi, a chubby 15-year old with lethal shots. “He will soon become one of the best midfielders in this country, I promise you.”
But my eyes were set on a petite dark skinned kid who was playing with inspiring technique and unusual maturity for his age. The way he went by and around his opponents, aged 15-19 years, reminded me of the way Maradona went by defenders in his “goal of the century” against England in 1986 World Cup. The kid was just a joy to watch.
“His name is Jasem (Sadeghiyan)”, his coach told me. “He is a brilliant player, but suffers from poor nutrition he added.
“We gave him this new football kit a week ago, and I swear his performance improved almost instantly! Even his attitude and personality seem to have changed for the better” said Soheilati.
Another young player captured my eyes. Watching in disbelief, I asked the coach “Why is he playing barefooted?”
Soheilati shrugged; “He doesn’t have money to buy shoes, and I if I keep him off the field, he will bring this neighborhood down with his crying!”
More than 400 Abadan kids use this football ground from dawn to dusk. The annual budget for a team of 20-30 players is about $4000 to $5000 per year, which hardly covers the cost of proper team kits and beverages.
To give the reader a point of comparison, an average “C” class player in the first division playing for Sanate Naft of Abadan football club makes around $30K. The salary cap is said to be around $200K to $250K for an “A” class player.
These enthusiastic kids with their extraordinary talents are surrounded by wealth and pipelines filled with Black Gold, but they do not share the prosperity that their older counterparts enjoy. They play barefooted and hungry in Iran’s football paradise, but for them there is worse to come!
The National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) is going to convert this historic ground into an indoor sports facility which will be off-limits to these kids.
This will be a nightmare for the 400+ Abadani youths who train here.
“We will be wandering around like homeless gypsies” said Soheilati.
“We are fighting this plan, but have no support from anyone. This playground is our life. We cannot live without it. That’s our only lifeline.”
It was getting dark when I bid my farewell to the boys and their coach.
While driving through the streets which bear the rich memories of my childhood, I could not contain my disappointment with the football authorities and NIOC officials for their outright failure to recognize the value tha this dusty shrine has to these children.
[/COLOR]
Mehran Afshar
