Mohammad Nabi is the new FFIRI acting secretary general ©Getty Images

Mohammad Nabi has been appointed the acting secretary general of the Football Federation Islamic Republic of Iran (FFIRI), replacing Ebrahim Shakouri in the role.

Nabi, who is the former general manager of Iranian football club Gostaresh Pars Khodro, replaced Shakouri, a former left-back for Iranian clubs Persepolis and Saipa.

The new acting secretary general was also a vice-president of Persepolis and a member of the Board of Directors during his tenure there.

Heydar Baharvand, the acting President of the FFIRI, thanked Shakouri for his work since taking the role in December 2018.

It is not Nabi's first venture into the FFIRI, having previously been the secretary general, executive advisor to the President of FFIRI, deputy secretary general and head of the Competition Committee.

Mohammad Nabi travelled with the Iranian team for the 2014 World Cup as part of the staff beside then-manager Carlos Queiroz ©Getty Images
Mohammad Nabi travelled with the Iranian team for the 2014 World Cup as part of the staff beside then-manager Carlos Queiroz ©Getty Images

Iranian football is currently facing a political crisis after FIFA did not approve of the FFIRI's plans to hold new elections without amending current statutes.

Current statutes contain several problematic provisions in the eyes of FIFA, such as Government interference in the FFIRI elections.

The FFIRI had appealed to FIFA to allow it to hold elections on March 15 because Iran was facing a national crisis in the form of the coronavirus outbreak, but FIFA did not relent and so the elections and General Assembly were deferred.

Iran has recorded more than 2,500 COVID-19 deaths to date.

In 2018, Iran had their best performance at a World Cup since 1978 and narrowly missed out on qualification for the knockout rounds.