Bifurcation of youth affairs and sports is on hold for the time being, said Minister of Sports and Youth Affairs Mahmoud Goudarzi. “The law does not allow for the ministry to be bifurcated, since only three years ago youth affairs and sports were merged,” he said, Mehr News Agency reported. A bill recommending bifurcation of youth affairs and sports was proposed to the Majlis (Parliament) and reviewed at the office of the First vice-President Eshaq Jahangiri in June, but a vote by MPs called for maintaining the status quo. The Ministry of Sports and Youth Affairs was established in 2012. Critics have called the merger a failure, stating that the youth division of the ministry needs greater empowerment, since “the state of youth affairs leaves much to be desired.” He said that even if the bill is approved by the government, it will take at least a year to be evaluated in the legislature.
