The Tractor football team of Iran is in a difficult situation where it may withdraw from its important match in the third week of the Elite League against Al Ain of the UAE due to flight issues. Ali Mahmoudzadeh, a board member of the club, expressed his disappointment in an interview while referring to the ongoing efforts to obtain a flight permit, stating: "Despite all efforts, we have not yet succeeded in reducing the flight cost of 30 billion tomans and we are waiting for the Emiratis to respond to our requests."
Tractor's Flight and Financial Challenges
Mahmoudzadeh explained that the situation has become such that there is no difference between the host and the guest, and the Tractor team is facing problems in any case. He noted: "We know that withdrawing from the match against Al Ain will worsen the situation, but no one is responding to our requests for help. Someone needs to come and find a way for the representative of Iran."
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This board member also referred to rumors regarding a joint flight with the Esteghlal team, stating: "The Esteghlal match is scheduled to take place one day later than our match with Al Ain. Our team must leave for the UAE by tomorrow morning, while the Esteghlal team is set to depart in the afternoon. Therefore, it is not possible for both teams to travel together."
Frequent Correspondence and Request for Help
Mahmoudzadeh emphasized that the Tractor club has written to the Asian Football Confederation, the UAE Federation, Al Ain club, and other relevant bodies requesting assistance. He added: "We have stated that we have our own airline and have previously provided free flights to national teams. We expect them to lend us a hand in this difficult situation."
He also pointed out the financial differences between Tractor and Esteghlal, saying: "Tractor is a private club while Esteghlal is state-owned. If Esteghlal pays for the flight, that money goes from one government pocket to another, but for a private club like Tractor, covering the flight costs for 3 to 4 Elite League matches amounts to nearly 300 billion tomans. Our situation is really tough, and we hope for assistance to ease our circumstances."
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