In Support of Iranians without ID, I Broke “Backward Keepie-uppie” Record

Mohammad Reza Khavari, a 27-year-old Baloch youth, born in Kurdkoy city and a resident of Aliabad Katul in Golestan province, after fifteen years of trying and setting various records in Iran, recently managed to set the record of ” backward keepie-uppie ” in his name.
By setting this unprecedented record, he announced his support for people without ID in Sistan and Baluchistan province.
In an interview with Sunni Online, Khavari mentioned the way of setting a record in Guinness, its costs and his hopes to become a global brand and raise the issues of the people of Sistan and Baluchistan province.
According to SunniOnline information website, Mohammad Reza Khavari, during a short speech, mentioned the sport of “keepie-uppie” as a sport with a world record and stated: “keepie-uppie is known as one of the record sports in the world. Maybe many athletes and players of the Iranian national football team and foreign teams and even the best football players are not able to achieve such a record in the world. I myself was trying to break the world record of this sport for fifteen years.”
He mentioned the method of setting Guinness records and said: “Guinness is the organization which keeps unprecedented records. This organization has a representative in every country. When a record reaches the Guinness record limit, documentation is sent to Guinness representatives. They invite the athlete, the athlete performs the desired movements in the presence of the representatives, they measure and evaluate that person’s record and register it in his name in the Guinness Book of Records. An Iranian athlete can set this record in his country or in the UAE.”
Referring to the costs of setting a Guinness record in Iran and Arab countries, Khavari further stated: “Unfortunately, people who come from Iran to set a record in the Guinness organization must pay the costs personally or have financial support and sponsorship, because government organizations and sports federations do not provide much financial assistance to athletes. In Arab countries such as Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Kuwait, the costs related to record keeping are borne by the government to set records in the name of their country in the world and raise their country’s flag.”
He added: “I did not have any financial support to record this record. I spent about 300 million Iranian Rials and registered this record with the aim of supporting people without birth certificates in Sistan and Baluchistan province, so that I could help them get more exposure, and it almost happened. Many people contacted me and asked how a person is Iranian and Baloch, but does not have a birth certificate! Why are they not given identity documents?! For some, it was hard to believe that there are Iranian people without identity documents in Sistan-Baluchistan province.”
Khavari further mentioned the duration of his record in Guinness and said: “I easily recorded the Guinness record of “backward keepie-uppie” for a distance of 5 km in 2 hours and 56 seconds. So far, no one has managed to set such a record in the world. This unprecedented record can introduce me as a brand in my country and globally and bring me world fame.”
This record holder of ” backward keepie-uppie ” mentioned the process of setting his record in Tehran and noted:” In Tehran, in the presence of a representative of Guinness, this record was registered for me and the documents were sent to Guinness. It is also possible to register this record in the UAE.”
He further mentioned his motivation for wearing a shirt with text written on it, “We are Iranian people, but hope-sick to have a birth certificate”, on the Guinness record day in Tehran and he added: “The purpose of my wearing a shirt with the mentioned text was to support the native people of Sistan and Baluchistan who do not have birth certificates. These people are deprived of any kind of educational, social, health and welfare services. They cannot achieve or defend their rights. They always face exorbitant medical expenses and their talents and abilities are ignored and even if they are elite, they are still marginalized due to lack of identity.”
At the end, referring to the non-cooperation of the club officials in registering his record in Guinness, Khavari stated: “I trained continuously for one year in Iran to set the record. This record was supposed to be registered in February last year at Shahid Shiroudi Stadium; but unfortunately, it was thwarted by the officials of the stadium. On the record setting day, the vice president of Shiroudi Stadium did not allow the cameraman to enter the stadium in order to make a documentary about my record breaking. But fortunately, I set the record of “backward keepie-uppie” on Saturday, May 10, 2023, in the presence of Guinness representatives and a cameraman at Harandi Stadium in support of the people of Sistan-Baluchistan province.”