KIA Football Academy

KIA Academy
Full nameKIA Football Academy
Founded2015; 9 years ago (2015)
GroundMadaran Stadium
Tehran, Iran
Coordinates35°38′49″N 51°27′11″W / 35.6469382°N 51.452926°W / 35.6469382; -51.452926
ChairmanMehdi Mahdavikia
CoachHadi Mahdavikia
LeagueIran Football's 3rd Division
First colours
Second colours

The KIA Football Club (Persian: باشگاه فوتبال کیا), commonly known as KIA FC, is an Iranian youth football academy that was established by Mehdi Mahdavikia in 2015 in southeastern Tehran.[1]

German magazine 11 Freunde has described it as "the best football academy" in Iran, and unique in terms of being dedicated to "sustainable, conceptual youth work".[1] The club follows the TSG 1899 Hoffenheim-model, i.e. starting at grassroots-level before developing into a team that can enter the professional leagues.[2] Each year, the club scouts more than a thousand players from all across the country and after trials, only retains top 25 talents.[3]

KIA has shown remarkable results since its foundation and frequently travels to Europe in order to play against renowned opponents.[1]

Current squads

As of 05 September 2023

First Team

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK Iran IRN Mehdi Kord
22 GK Iran IRN Emad Aram
90 GK Iran IRN Seyed Aria Hosseinifar
2 DF Iran IRN Aref Momen Fiouj
4 DF Iran IRN Mehrshad Zare
23 DF Iran IRN Sina Ghasemi
40 DF Iran IRN Amirreza Firouzbakht
6 MF Iran IRN Sobhan Kamalvand
11 MF Iran IRN Sattar Rajaeinejad
14 MF Iran IRN Parsa Baghalian
18 MF Iran IRN Ali Azadmehr
20 MF Iran IRN Ali Hosseinzadeh
80 MF Iran IRN Fardin Bahri
No. Pos. Nation Player
8 FW Iran IRN Sajad Khademi
9 FW Iran IRN Arshia Mahdavikia (captain)
12 FW Iran IRN Abolfazl Sokhtanloo
70 FW Iran IRN Reza Mirzaeian
77 FW Iran IRN Abolfazl Rezaei
88 FW Iran IRN Sina Elami
96 FW Iran IRN Amirhossein Reyvandi
97 FW Iran IRN Amirreza Eslamtalab

Current staff

Mehdi Mahdavikia Academy Manager
Hadi Mahdavikia U14 Head Coach

Honours

Domestic league competitions

League Title(s) Season(s)
U14 National Premier League Winners (1) 2018–2019
Tehran Premier League Winners (2) 2016–2017, 2017–2018
U16 Tehran 1st Division League Winners (1) 2016–2017

International

Cup Title(s) Year(s)
Norway Norway Cup U13 Runners-up (2) 2015,[4] 2016
U11 Winners (1) 2015[5]
Austria Cordial Cup U13 Winners (2) 2018,[6] 2019[7]
U11 Runners-up (1) 2015[4]
Germany Deutsches Fußball Internat U12 Runners-up (1) 2016[8]
Belgium Bassevelde Cup U13 Winners (1) 2019[9]

References

  1. ^ a b c Steffen Weiß (12 February 2017), "Zwischen Kult und Chaos", 11 Freunde (in German), archived from the original on 12 February 2017, retrieved 26 January 2018
  2. ^ "مهدوی کیا تیم داری می کند، مثل هوفنهایم!" (in Persian). Khabar Online. 13 April 2015. Retrieved 26 May 2015.
  3. ^ "Mondial Pupilles. Les Iraniens veulent monter en puissance", Ouest-France (in French), 10 May 2018, retrieved 26 January 2018
  4. ^ a b "Kia Academy Comes 2nd at Norway Cup", Tasnim News Agency, 31 July 2015, retrieved 26 January 2018
  5. ^ "Inviterte gullvinnerne fra Iran på gratis pizza i Drøbak", psv.nl (in Norwegian), 2 August 2015, retrieved 11 July 2019
  6. ^ "Kia Football Academy U13 win Cordial Cup", Tehran Times, 22 May 2018, retrieved 26 January 2018
  7. ^ "KIA U-13 Football Academy Wins Cordail Cup", Tasnim News Agency, 11 June 2019, retrieved 11 June 2019
  8. ^ "Bayern München macht das Triple perfekt!", rosenheim24.de (in German), 12 June 2016, retrieved 11 June 2019
  9. ^ "PSV O13 vierde op toernooi, Van Duiven eist hoofdrol op bij O14", psv.nl (in Dutch), 3 July 2019, retrieved 11 July 2019