Victory at Asian Cup Would Have Cost Iran Nearly $20 Million in Bonuses

Following the triumph of Iran’s national football team over Japan on February 3, Iranian media reported that Mehdi Taj, the president of the country’s football federation, returned to Iran to secure financial bonuses for the squad. 

After a one-day stay in Iran, Taj returned to Qatar with two suitcases filled with money for the players in recognition of their quarter-final victory against Japan.

Before the match, Taj had pledged victory bonuses totalling $182,000, or $7,000 for each player. 

Some players received the money on the eve of the Iran-Qatar match, while others are expected to collect their bonus in Tehran, according to media reports. 

This bonus is solely for the players who secured victory in the Asian Cup match against Japan.

According to IranWire sources, plans were in place for a ceremony in Tehran on the 45th anniversary of the 1979 Islamic Revolution, should the team emerge victorious from the competition.

In a February 12 report titled "Iran's Championship in the Asian Cup Would Cost More Than a Thousand Billion [$18.5 million] in the Hands of the People," Etemad newspaper said that over 5,000 pro-government spectators were to attend the football team's final game. 

According to a source in the football federation, one of Taj's objectives upon returning from Qatar to Iran was to engage in discussions with members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Sports Desk regarding the presence of a sizable number of spectators in Qatar. 

"The IRGC Sports Desk" groups security managers from the IRGC Intelligence Organization who oversee sports teams, athletes and sports journalists. 

Their influence in Iranian sports has become increasingly prominent since the onset of nationwide protests in 2022.

Among the pledges made by Taj to the board members of the federation was to enhance spectator turnout for the final game and increase rewards for players, coaches and board members in the event of a championship win.

Previously, each player on the football team was slated to receive $10,000 if they defeated Qatar and $20,000 if they clinched the championship. 

The discrepancy in expenditure between Saudi Arabia, South Korea and Iran in football is striking.

For instance, the Sun newspaper has disclosed that Roberto Mancini's three-year contract with the Saudi Football Federation valued at 77 million British pounds and Jurgen Klinsmann's annual contract of 2 million euros with the South Korean national team until the 2026 World Cup.

In contrast, Iran's football landscape presents a different picture. 

The Iranian football federation has notably increased contracts for coaches with questionable track records, often dismissed elsewhere for poor performance.

For instance, Marc Wilmots arrived in Iran with a contract exceeding 8 million euros, despite being valued at less than $250,000 per year on the Transfermarkt football website. 

Similarly, Carlos Queiroz, having been sacked from the national teams of Colombia and Egypt, secured a contract worth 1 million euros for four months in Iran, equivalent to 3 million euros annually. 

Both contracts were signed by Taj.

IranWire's source in the federation revealed that additional expenses incurred during the Asian Cup. 

One significant cost was associated with the effort to validate the team, which faced skepticism from segments of Iranian society regarding its status as the national team. 

The government utilized the platforms of Qatar stadiums to portray a sense of normalcy in Iran.

The source reported that 300 Basij and IRGC personnel were dispatched to Qatar for the group stage matches against Palestine, Hong Kong and UAE, for a cost totalling over 5 billion tomans ($92,000)

This expense was separate from allowances provided to pro-government spectators for food, accommodation and a daily fee of $50.