Mes Rafsanjan head coach Atefeh Rezaei said her nomination for the Best Female Club Coach in the World at the Futsalplanet Awards 2020 was a result of the successful collaboration between everyone at the club.
“I don’t want to be humble, but my nomination for the award was because of a team effort among the club management, technical staff, and the players,” the Iranian coach, who led her side to Iran’s Women’s Futsal Pro League title last season, told IRNA.
This was the fourth nomination for the country in the women’s categories at the sport’s most prestigious annual awards – the third for the southern Iranian club.
Mes had already been shortlisted for the Best Female Club in the World award, while goalkeeper Zeinab Karami had been named among the 10 candidates for the Best Female Goalkeeper prize.
Gelareh Nazemi also received a nomination in the Best Referee of the Year category.
Speaking of her side’s 20-year-old goalkeeper, Rezaei said, “Karami has been playing in the league for three years. She truly deserves the award as she has been trying so hard and contributed a lot to our title.”
Rezaei will see competition from nine counterparts for the award.
Russian Temur Alekberov, Brazilian Cristiane de Souza, Julio Delgado and Andres Sanz of Spain, as well as Japanese coach Yoshitaka Kamikubo, Massimiliano Neri of Italy, Pedro Henriques of Portugal, Ukrainian Alexander Ratych, and Brazil’s Esquerda are also picked in the nominees list.
In the men’s categories, Iranian goalkeeper Alireza Samimi is nominated for the Best Goalkeeper in the World award, with his team Mes Sungun Varzaqan among the 10 contenders for the Best Club award.