Iranian Futsal Legend Satisfied with Progress of the Game in Asia

“Futsal in Asia has progressed a lot since I retired. I think this impressive progress came from the AFC's futsal development programs and each MAs efforts. You can see Vietnam for example. They managed to qualify for the World Cup and even advanced from the group stage there,” the 2004 Asian Futsal Championship MVP winner told the-afc.

“Iran has a very competitive domestic league. There are many kids with great skills playing street football there and this is a very good source to find good talents. Also, there are many futsal development schools. Lastly, many players and ex-players are keen to attend futsal coaching courses and they use their experience to teach kids,” the 43-year-old added.

Asked him what more can Asian teams do to compete with the world's best, Heidarian said, “First of all, we should have strong and well organized domestic leagues. Secondly, you should play futsal developed countries like Brazil or other power houses in Europe as many times as you can. You will be able to gauge where you stand, and at the same time, you will improve from the experience. Lastly, you have to exchange and share knowledge with strong teams in Asia and even from outside Asia.”