What happened at the memorial ceremony for the former President of the Basketball Federation?

According to Khabar Online News Agency; the organizers of this ceremony, which drew Ahmad Donyamali, Minister of Sports and Youth, Mostafa Hashemitaba, former head of the Physical Education Organization, and many sports and basketball veterans and luminaries to Al-Reza Mosque in Niloofar Square, Tehran, were Behnam Shahsavand, director of one of Tehran’s basketball academies, along with a group of well-known basketball veterans.

The message of the basketball veterans at this ceremony was clear: appreciation, respect, and the introduction of a management role model for new generations.

The name of Dr. Ali Ghazanfari was first heard in basketball in 1997 when Mostafa Hashemitaba, the then head of the Physical Education Organization, told him, “Go and get basketball in order!”

With this single sentence, the late Ghazanfari first became Vice President between 1997 and 2002, and then President of the Basketball Federation from 1998.

A calm and patient manager, he held the pulse of Iranian basketball in his managerial hands and ignited hope in the hearts of young people during the tumultuous and turbulent years of basketball.

Ghazanfari, who had entered sports from the industrial sector, did not claim “expertise” in basketball but was a “manager.”

He had a doctorate in metallurgy from Germany and, after his studies, taught at Iranian universities. He became a member of the board of trustees of the Shahid Keshavarzi Sports Complex. He played tennis and, through his friendship with Hashemitaba, one day when the then head of the Physical Education Organization told him “Go and get basketball in order,” he accepted.

He served as Vice President for a period in the Basketball Federation under the presidency of Mehrdad Agin.

In 1999, he launched the “Sports and Nations” international tournament for three consecutive periods at the peak of the Khatami government’s “Dialogue Among Civilizations.” This was a unique competition model in basketball with teams from Germany, Hungary, Russia, a selection of American players active in various leagues, and more. Competitions of this kind have not yet been held in Iran.

More insight into Ghazanfari, former CEO of Krupp Germany, should be sought in the field of literature.

He was a poet and translator of German-language literature, a professor at the Faculty of World Studies and Foreign Languages at the University of Tehran. In the field of fiction, he has the novel “Turandot” by Schiller and “Emotional Intelligence” by Daniel Goleman in his resume, and wrote the novel “Cardboard Sleepers,” which was published in German and its Persian narrative also came to market.

Composing the poem “Persian Gulf” symphony with music by Farhad Fakhreddini and singing by Salar Aghili in commemoration of the Persian Gulf Congress, and composing the poems “Neither Crying Nor Laughing” performed by Homayoun Shajarian are among other immortal works of Ali Ghazanfari.

The book “Who Broke the Wings of the Thousands?” is a collection of poems by Dr. Ghazanfari, a poet “given up in a heavy silence” who, after leaving basketball, was seen by no one except in May 2019 at the Ramin Tabatabaei Federation. He returned to that same hall after many years – the Azadi Hall which he had renovated in 1998, where the footprint of a caring and committed federation president remains forever.

What Did the Luminaries Say?

Professor Majid Tofigh: “The management and programs of the late Dr. Ghazanfari in basketball were unparalleled.”

Abbas Morshedi, youth coach during Ghazanfari’s federation: “The late Ghazanfari created a great opportunity for Iranian basketball with the ‘Sports and Nations’ international competitions; an opportunity that disappeared forever after he left the federation.”

Dr. Hassan Mirzaghabeik: “During his presidency, I was active both in the Tehran Basketball Board and in the national team. He was a manager from whom I learned a great deal through his professional conduct and noble character.”

Mehdi Gerami, head of the Mini Basketball and Children’s Committee during Ghazanfari’s federation: “Dr. Ghazanfari’s period of management was the foundation of modern Iranian basketball. That era, with his effort and broad-mindedness and that of his accompanying team, paved the way for Iranian basketball’s brilliance in Asia and the world.”