Let Iran join the International Rugby Board

Dear International Rugby Board,

Iran is needless to say a great sporting nation, from our great Persian ancestry Iran has often been the innovators of sports from polo to chess. Our current sporting success ranges from Asian champions of basketball, futsal and wrestling to International champions of youth volleyball, weightlifting and wrestling. Iran's football team is ranked second best in Asia following Japan and have previously won successive Asian Cups yet it is a sport linked to football, rugby in which we are yet to seek acceptance from the international community.

To my knowledge of Iranian rugby on the international front other than our amateur league Iran has played 4 internationally sanctioned matches versus Pakistan, Pakistan Development and India respectively. During Iran's rugby tour of Pakistan they managed to beat the Pakistan Development side 44-0 and the Pakistan national rugby union team 22-11.

Following the Pakistan tour Iran was then invited to compete in the Singer Rugby Asiad Shield Championship held in Colombo, Sri Lanka and were placed in a group with India, Pakistan and Qatar who pulled out prior to the start of the tournament. Iran convincingly beat Pakistan 32-3 and India 39-7 to become Rugby Asiad Shield Champions, a respectable triumph for the underdog nation. Iran beat India, a team ranked 84th by the IRB, which questioned many to why Iran isn't registered as an affiliate member of the IRB let alone a ranked national side.

All we, the fans of the Iran national Rugby Union team ask for is acceptance by the IRB regardless of politics as a full affiliate member of the International Rugby Board to develop the sport in a country which isn't shy of sporting success. Iran has over 1,000 registered members since 2002 alone, and for our national team, league and grassroots to develop we need IRB's help.