Sanctions dash Ahmadinejad’s hope to boost his image through soccer

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad

By James M. Dorsey

Iranian Prime Minister Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s hopes to spruce up his image through soccer boosted by last month’s defeat of South Korea in a 2014 World Cup qualifier are threatened by gruelling international sanctions that have sparked an exodus of foreign players from the Islamic republic.

Iranian clubs stra…