The development of Sepaktakra has been a victim of disputes; I am not looking for the presidency!

Criticizing the management process of this association, the former secretary of the Sepaktakara Association said: The development of Sepaktakara has become a victim of management disputes.

In a conversation with Mehr reporter, Ali Fuladi-Rad said about the reasons for his dismissal from the secretaryship of Sepak-Takra Association: I have been out of Tehran for almost 11 years and I live in Gorgan city. Before Mr. Zare's presence as the temporary head of the association, Mr. Azad was the president of the association, and I was also responsible for the secretary during his presidency. I have been living in Gorgan since 2014 and in all these years I have been running the secretarial affairs of the association without receiving salary and insurance, and there was no problem in this regard either.

He continued: After Mr. Zare's presence, the situation went normally at first, and the process of getting to know each other and doing management work was completed for about a year. But from April 1405, the issue of changing my responsibility was raised. According to him, the deputy minister emphasized that since I am not present in Tehran, someone else should replace me. It was strange to me why the issue of the residence of the secretary of a sports association has been emphasized so much; Especially since this discipline does not have a large statistical community in terms of the number of athletes, coaches and judges.

Fuladi-Rad noted: About a week before my trip to Nagoya, Mr. Zare talked to me and suggested that, considering that the association is on the path of independence, I should hand over the responsibility of the secretary to another person and be active in the position of international relations myself. Mr. Iman Panahi was supposed to take over the responsibility of secretary. I also had no objection, but I requested to talk to the president of the Asian Sepaktakara Federation, with whom I have worked for about 25 years, before finalizing this decision, so that this change is done in a way that does not create a misunderstanding about the exclusion of veterans. This proposal was agreed and it was supposed to be finalized after talking with him.

He added: However, about 5 or 6 days later, I was informed through Mr. Azad that my dismissal was announced. After following up with my friends, I found out that they have announced in the group of administrators of Sepaktakra that I am no longer the secretary of the association and that Mr. Iman Panahi will handle the related matters. I also came to terms with this decision and published my farewell message in the forum group, but after that there were discussions and materials about this issue that I believe I need to explain about them.

Fuladirad's account of Sepaktakra's arrival in Iran

The former secretary of the Sepaktakra Association, referring to his history of activity in this field, said: "The more important issue I want to talk about is the issue of Sepaktakra's entry into Iran and the claims made about its establishment." In 2001, after learning about this discipline during my trip to Thailand to cover the match between Iran and Thailand in the 2002 World Cup qualifiers, I decided to introduce Sepak Takra to Iran. I translated the rules of this field, wrote an article about it and submitted the relevant documents to the physical education organization.

He continued: At that time, Engineer Mehr Alizadeh was the head of the physical training organization and Mr. Kafashian was also in charge of the common affairs of the federations. The submitted documents were checked and approved, and I was asked to consult with different federations to determine which group is ready to accept this course. After negotiating with the football federation and not reaching an agreement, the physical education organization referred me to the general sports federation. In the same year 2001, Mr. Alipour issued a decree for me as the head of the Sepaktakra Committee.

Fuladirad pointed out: At the same time, the news of the election of Mr. Vahid Abolhasani as the head of Sepaktakra of Tehran province was also published. After that, we got to know him during my activities in the General Sports Federation and we agreed to cooperate, although this cooperation did not last long and after a while he distanced himself from that group. Now, after about 22 years, there have been discussions about the foundation of this discipline, which I feel it necessary to explain about it by referring to the available documents.

Questions about documents and how to register the field

Pointing to the certificates and documents that he claims to have, he added: One of the issues that is a question for me is the certificate attributed to Mr. Hosseini, the head of the National Olympic Academy at the time, regarding the introduction of Mr. Abolhasani as the founder of this discipline. I respect Mr. Hosseini and he is one of my professors, but I raise this question: Does the National Olympic Academy have the legal authority to establish or register a sport in the country with its seal and signature?

Fuladi-Rad continued: The Physical Education Organization had corresponded about the documents submitted by me, and this matter was referred to the Federation of General Sports. After that, orders and correspondence were issued about the activities of the Sepaktakra Committee and my introduction to the relevant institutions. Therefore, I expect the basis for issuing subsequent certificates and how to announce the founder of this field to be clearly explained. Also, I have questions that need to be answered about the date of the establishment of this field in Iran and its relationship with the documents of 2011 and 2012.

He stated: I am ready to discuss this issue in any space that the other party deems appropriate by presenting the available documents. My goal is to review the history of the introduction and development of Sektakara in Iran based on the documents and to resolve the existing ambiguities.

Criticism of the current situation of Sepaktakra Association

In another part of his speech, the former secretary of Sepaktakra Association criticized what he called the current management process of the association and stated: In my absence and while I was not present in Iran, a meeting was held at the National Olympic Academy, and according to me, in that meeting, Mr. Abolhasani was introduced as the father of this field. This issue is not acceptable to me because many people have tried to enter, develop and stabilize this field in Iran over the years and their role cannot be ignored.

He added: Mr. Alipour, Mr. Reza Faizabadi, Mr. Azad and other people have played a role in the formation and development of this field. Mr. Azad worked hard for this field for about 13 years, and I also worked for many years to develop Sepak Takra in the country. In a situation where we traveled to different cities to teach and expand this field and faced many difficulties, it is not possible to record all these efforts in the name of one person today.

Referring to the state of Sepak Takra competitions in recent years, Fuladi-Rad noted: I believe that this discipline has reached one of its weakest stages in the past two years and the number of competitions held has been limited. We kept silent for a long time and hoped that the situation would improve, but the result we expected did not come. We had even planned to prepare women to participate in the Asian Games, but the current situation has raised concerns about the future of this discipline.

He continued: On the other hand, I believe that the temporary head of the association should first of all provide the ground for holding the assembly and preparing for the elections. In my opinion, focusing on differences and putting aside maples instead of moving in the direction of holding elections and organizing affairs will not help the development of the field. Of course, competent authorities should also comment on the limits of supervisor's authority and compliance of decisions with regulations.

Fuladi-Rad continued to emphasize: I am not looking to return to the secretaryship or the presidency of the association. I have my place in Asian and international federations and I will proudly work as an Iranian in these forums and defend the interests of my country. My main issue is not to let the 22 years of efforts and efforts of people who spent time to enter and develop Sepaktakra in Iran be ignored or all this record be registered in the name of another person.

He pointed out: I will provide the media with all the documents that I have, including correspondence, rulings, and documents related to the early years of the field's entry into Iran, if needed, so that a detailed investigation of the issue is possible. I hope that by publishing the documents and hearing the views of different parties, the historical facts of this field will be clarified and the attention of the authorities will be directed more than in the past to the development of Sepaktakra and solving its problems.