KIA Football Academy

The KIA Football Academy (Persian: آکادمی فوتبال کیا‎) is an Iranian youth football academy that was established by Mehdi Mahdavikia in 2015 in southeastern Tehran.[1]

KIA Academy
Full nameKIA Football Academy
Founded2015 (2015)
GroundMadaran Stadium
Tehran, Iran
Coordinates35.6469382°N 51.452926°W / 35.6469382; -51.452926
ChairmanMehdi Mahdavikia
CoachHadi Mahdavikia
First colours
Second colours

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 1 September 2019

U17

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

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK  IRN Mehdi Kord
2 DF  IRN Aref Momen
3 DF  IRN Amin Pilali
4 DF  IRN Mehrshad Zare
5 DF  IRN Amir-Hossein Gorzin
6 MF  IRN Ali Hosseinzadeh
7 MF  IRN Meisam Rezaei
8 MF  IRN Mehran Mehrinia
No. Pos. Nation Player
9 FW  IRN Mojtaba Fakhrian
10 FW  IRN Erfan Ghorbani
11 DF  IRN Amirreza Eslamtalab
18 MF  IRN Arshia Mahdavikia (captain)
19 DF  IRN Mehdi Mohammadi
14 DF  IRN Parsa Baghalianzadeh
44 GK  IRN Emad Ahmadi Aram
66 MF  IRN Ali-Akbar Haghi

U16
These players can also play with the U17 squad.

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

No. Pos. Nation Player
15 MF  IRN Sina Ghasemi
17 MF  IRN Reza Mahdavi
20 FW  IRN Amin Doustali
22 GK  IRN Aria Hosseinifard
32 DF  IRN Parsa Hemmatifar
35 DF  IRN Alireza Sadipour
73 DF  IRN Amir-Hossein Rivandi
No. Pos. Nation Player
82 MF  IRN Mohammad-Mehdi Mohammadi
83 DF  IRN Amirreza Firouzbakht
84 DF  IRN Amir-Hossein Saghafi
88 FW  IRN Yadegar Rostami
90 MF  IRN Arshia Hatami
99 DF  IRN Mahan Kakoolarimi

Current staff
Mehdi MahdavikiaAcademy Manager
Hadi MahdavikiaU14 Head Coach
Mohammad AnsariU16 Team Manager
Ghasem MahdavikiaU14 Team Manager
Alireza KaramiMedia Manager
Hesam ZeytouninejadU14 Assistant Coach

Honours

Domestic league competitions
League Title(s) Season(s)
U14National Premier LeagueWinners (1)2018–2019
Tehran Premier LeagueWinners (2)2016–2017, 2017–2018
U16Tehran 1st Division LeagueWinners (1)2016–2017

International
Cup Title(s) Year(s)
Norway CupU13Runners-up (2)2015,[4] 2016
U11Winners (1)2015[5]
Cordial CupU13Winners (2)2018,[6] 2019[7]
U11Runners-up (1)2015[4]
Deutsches Fußball InternatU12Runners-up (1)2016[8]
Bassevelde CupU13Winners (1)2019[9]
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References
  1. 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. "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
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