In December 2022, Habib Kashani, former general manager of Persepolis club, was appointed as director of the U-23 football team but the head coach has not yet been introduced.
Mehdi Mahdavikia resigned from his post as head coach of the U-23 team in October 2022. Under his leadership, Iran showed a poor performance in the 2022 AFC U-23 Asian Cup and failed to qualify for the next stage.
Now, the federation is going to appoint the U-23 head coach in March.
Former Iran forwards Vahid Hashemian, Rasoul Khatibi and Farhad Majidi, as well as ex-Persepolis coach Hamid Derakhshan, former Paykan forward Saeid Daghighi and former Sepahan coach Moharram Navidkia are the candidates who have been shortlisted to lead the team.