KIA Football Academy
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| Founded | 2015; 1 year ago | |||
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| Owner | Mehdi Mahdavikia Ali Doustimehr | |||
| Website | Club website | |||
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The KIA Football Academy (Persian: آکادمی فوتبال کیا) is an Iranian youth football academy based in Tehran. The academy was established in April 2015 by former Iran national team captain Mehdi Mahdavikia and long-time youth coach Ali Doustimehr. The academy owns practice facilities in District 15 in the south of the capital, Tehran.[1]
The club was founded based on the Hoffenheim-model, i.e. starting at grassroots-level before developing into a team that can enter the professional leagues.
History
Cordial Cup
In May 2015, the club under-11 side was invited as a guest team to the Cordial Cup in Austria, one of the premier youth competitions in Europe. The little-known team defeated SpVgg EGC Wirges (4–0), SpVgg Unterhaching (2–0), FC Bayern Munich (3–0), Bezirksauswahl Kitzbühel (3–1) and drew in a goalless draw with Finnish side KaPa United.[2] The team progressed to the next stage to defeat Hungarian champions Videoton FC (4–0) and German sides VfB Stuttgart (1–0) and Bayer 04 Leverkusen (3–1) before progressing to the final. In the final the team lost against TSV 1860 München 7–6 on penalties, and finished runners-up on their debut at an international tournament.[3] KIA Football Academy striker Yadegar Rostami was awarded the Most valuable player (MVP) award and was top goalscorer in the competition.
Norway Cup
The club participated the Norway Cup in class M (Under-13s 7-a-side) in July 2015. KIA academy came to the final unbeaten with a goal difference of 49-4 through nine matches. Even though the final was very even, Emblem (from Norway) won 4-1, and could kiss the gold trophy after the match. Iranian team players were 4 years younger than other opponent teams. The Iranian boys were all a great deal shorter than the Norwegians, but soon tailored their passing game to get past the long legs of their opponents. However, the Emblem boys were good tacklers, and managed to come out with the ball several times. Meysam Rezaee won the man of the match title after the game.[4]
Current squad
As of 22 May 2015.[5]
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Honours
- Cordial Cup U-11
- 2015, Runners-up
- Norway Cup (Class M)
- 2015, Runners-up
References
- ^ "مهدوی کیا تیم داری می کند، مثل هوفنهایم!" (in Persian). Khabar Online. 13 April 2015. Retrieved 26 May 2015.
- ^ Babry, Martin Reza (24 May 2015). "KIA football academy advances to Cordial Cup round of 16". PersianFootball.com. Persian Football. Retrieved 26 May 2015.
- ^ "Iran's Kia Football Academy Comes 2nd in Cordial Cup". PersianFootball.com. Persian Football. 25 May 2015. Retrieved 26 May 2015.
- ^ "Class M final: Tears for Iran – Joy for Norway". Norway Cup. 31 July 2015. Retrieved 31 July 2015.
- ^ "KIA Football Academy squad". Cordial Cup. 22 May 2015. Retrieved 26 May 2015.