Habib Kashani

Habib Kashani
Member of City Council of Tehran
Incumbent
Assumed office 4 August 2021
In office 29 April 2003 – 22 August 2017
Personal details
Born	(1955-03-06) March 6, 1955 Tehran, Iran
Political party	Alliance of Builders of Islamic Iran
Alma mater	Isfahan University

Habib Kashani (Persian: حبيب کاشانی) is an Iranian politician and businessman. He is a member of City Council of Tehran since 2021. He was the chairman of famous multisport club Persepolis Athletic and Cultural Club based in Tehran, Iran, between 1 June 2007 to 1 June 2008 and for a second term from 1 October 2009 to 20 September 2011. He is also a member of the AFC Committee for Professional Clubs and business manager of Iran national under-23 football team.

Early life

He was born on 6 March 1955 in Tehran, Iran. He begin teaching in Tehran schools after receiving his B.C. from Isfahan University. He participated in the Iran–Iraq War from 1981 to 1985. When he returned to Tehran, he continue his teaching career. He was a sports teacher.

Sports career

He became chairman of the club on 1 June 2007. He contracted with Afshin Ghotbi in the 2007–08 Persian Gulf Cup and with Ghotbi became champion of that year's league. He resigned from his post one year later and continued his career in City Council. When Abbas Ansarifard resigned his position in September 2009, Kashani was re-selected as chairman of the club and in December 2009, he was contracted with Ali Daei but was unsuccessful in the league. They won the 2009–10 Hazfi Cup. Kashani has been a board member of the Football Federation of Iran since August 3, 2010. After triumphing another Hazfi Cup with Ali Daei in next season, Daei left the club due to conflicts between Kashani and him, which were unfolded in a highly disputed debate at Navad. He signed a contract with the choice of "Technical Committee", Hamid Estili as new head coach of Persepolis on 21 June 2011.

Some fans believed that the Technical Committee was a show from Kashani to pull over Daei, and select his "beloved friend" Estili. In the opening match of the season against Malavan, which ended 1–1 after the weak performance of Persepolis and late tying goal by Hossein Badamaki, fans started screaming the name of Ali Daei since 60th minute, showing their displeasure. protests continued in next matches by booing Estili and Kashani, and slogans wanting them to leave the club. In a poll by Navad on August 15, 2011, 51% believed that the way Estili was chosen is the main reason of protests. Other reasons included weak performance by players (36%) and impatient fans (13%). Kashani resigned as chairman of Persepolis on 20 September 2011.

Signings

Rank	Player	From	Year
1.	Mohsen Khalili	Saipa	2007
2.	Mohammad Nosrati	Pas Tehran	2007
3.	Hossein Kaebi	Emirates	2007
5.	Rahman Ahmadi	Sepahan	2010
6.	Alireza Noormohammadi	Rah Ahan	2010
7.	Maziar Zare	Al-Sharjah	2010
8.	Mohammad Nouri	Saba	2010
9.	Amir Hossein Feshangchi	Saba	2010
10.	Gholamreza Rezaei	Foolad	2010
11.	Hervé Oussalé	RAEC Mons	2010
12.	Sékou Berthé	Plymouth Argyle	2010
13.	Vahid Hashemian	VfL Bochum	2010
14.	Ali Karimi	Schalke 04	2011
15.	Mohammad Nosrati	Tractor Sazi	2011
16.	Misagh Memarzadeh	Foolad	2011
17.	Mehrdad Oladi	Malavan	2011
18.	Reza Hamzepour	Youth System	2011
19.	Mamadou Tall	União Leiria	2011
20.	Javad Kazemian	Sepahan	2011

Political career

He was elected as Member of City Council of Tehran in local election of 2003 and assumed office on 10 April 2003. He is a supporter of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Then, he was re-elected in 2006 and 2013 and currently is the longest-serving member of the council along with Mehdi Chamran.