DOHA (Qatar): Iran club Esteghlal has signed Babak Moradi and Matin Karimzadeh ahead of the AFC Champions League that starts here from September 14.
Moradi has joined Esteghlal from Machine Sazi. The 27-year-old winger has penned a two-year contract with the Iranian top flight football team while Karimzadeh also penned a three-year contract with Esteghlal.
The 21-year-old left-back was a member of Iran at the 2019 AFC U23 Championship.
Esteghlal are one of four Iranian teams who will feature in the AFC Champions League’s West Zone restart in Qatar next week.
Esteghlal have collected one point from the two Group A matches in February, with the first of their four remaining fixtures coming against UAE’s Al Wahda next Monday.
The region’s showpiece tournament has been on hold since March, creating a heavy backlog before West Asia group games resume in Qatar on Sept. 14.
Two of the East Asia groups will be played from Oct. 16 in Malaysia, but no host has been announced for the two remaining pools or the knockout stages for the Eastern clubs.
Only two rounds of games were possible before the shutdown, and teams from China have played no matches at all. But Asian Football Confederation general secretary Windsor John said everything will be completed before the year’s end.
“We remain committed and confident of completing the competition within the 2020 calendar year,” AFC secretary general Windsor John.
