Few people expected that Ahmadinejad's live interview on national television, which dealt with ‎inflation and the government's economic policies, would lead to a discussion about the upcoming ‎elections for the Iranian Football Federation (IFF). Like government's decisions in many other ‎areas, wrong decisions in the popular sport of football have cost the country's sporting ‎community dearly. ‎

Ahmadinejad stated clearly in his interview that he had ordered the head of state-run Physical ‎Education Organization (PEO), Mohammad Aliabadi, to run for the IFF post: "I asked Aliabadi ‎to run and fix the problems. But at the end, due to certain considerations, I told him to step aside ‎so that the crisis may be resolved." ‎

At this point, however, the president began to blame others for problems faced by the IFF and ‎blamed the current crisis over the IFF post on the "opportunism of a certain political faction," ‎pointing implicitly to Mohsen Safai Farahani, high ranking member of the reformist Mosharekat ‎Party, who was chosen by FIFA, the football world's governing body, to head the provisional IFF ‎committee, much to the resistance of Aliabadi, the head of the PEO. ‎

Speaking about a "football mafia," Ahmadinejad noted, "unfortunately, this political team did not ‎take into account our national interests and mistakenly allowed an agency [FIFA] to interfere ‎‎[into our affairs], which I will deal with when the time comes. However, our football is taken ‎hostage by certain factions, and this is why I asked Aliabadi to run and fix the problems. But at ‎the end, due to certain considerations, I told him to step aside so that the crisis may be resolved." ‎

Meanwhile, Safai Farahani invited Ahmadinejad to a public debate and commented on some of ‎Ahmadinejad's remarks. ‎

According to Farahani, the suspension of the IFF was triggered by the government's decision to ‎interfere into the IFF's internal affairs, an issue not directly addressed in the IFF's bylaws. As a ‎result, a new set of regulations were drafted, requiring the election of a new IFF chief. ‎

FIFA, however, cancelled the IFF elections at the last minute after realizing that Aliabadi intends ‎to keep his post as the head of the state-run PEO while vying for the chairmanship of the IFF. ‎The IFF once again faces the dark prospect of suspension from all international competition. ‎

FIFA has awarded Iran until the end of 2007 to resolve the issue. With fewer than 12 days left ‎until the deadline, the internal war to take over the IFF has placed the country's football in its ‎most critical era ever. ‎