The paramilitary Basij force, in collaboration with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and the Iranian football federation, plans to send over 300 of its members to Qatar during the upcoming Asian Cup football tournament, IranWire reveals.
The competition will be held in Doha from January 12. Iran's national team has been placed in Group C alongside Palestine, the United Arab Emirates and Hong Kong.
According to a source at the football federation, the organization’s Secretary-General Hedayat Membini has recently met with travel agency managers to discuss the auctioning process regarding the organization of the Iranian supporters’ trips, including round-trip plane tickets, accommodation in four- or five-star hotels, and transportation to the stadiums in vans and buses.
Membini said that more than 300 Basij members, including 50 women, would be among the “supporters.”
As many as 100 Basij members are to be dispatched to the training fields each day to "boost player morale and be in the presence of international photographers." Their program will also include visits to shopping and entertainment centers in Doha.
"When the discussion arose about the daily expense of 2 million Tomans ($40) for each Basiji's daily meals, some agency managers suggested lowering this cost by sending one or two chefs to Qatar," the source said.
However, the football federation opposed this idea.
According to the source, Membini’s persistence in keeping the costs high was deemed peculiar by some agency managers.
The source revealed that the plan for sending Basij “supporters” to Qatar was proposed by the IRGC in May last year.
This isn't the first time the Islamic Republic tasks its security forces with accompanying the national football team in international competitions.
During the 2022 World Cup, 350 government social media operatives and Basij forces were dispatched to Qatar, as anti-government protests rocked Iran.
According to IranWire's findings, the cost incurred by the Iranian government for sending these “supporters” exceeded $2,360,000.
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