Bifurcation of Sports, Youth Affairs Resurfaces

Bifurcation of the Ministry of Sports and Youths Affairs is on top of the next government’s agenda, said deputy minister Hamid Hassani. “Several steps have been taken to split youth affairs and sports in order to prevent one area from overshadowing the other,” he told ISNA. The ministry was established in 2012 by merging sports and youth affairs. Critics have called the merger a failure, stating that the youth division of the ministry needs greater empowerment. In June 2015, a bill recommending bifurcation of the two entities was proposed to parliament and reviewed at the office of the First Vice-President Eshaq Jahangiri, but the majority of lawmakers called for maintaining the status quo.