Iran official says women can attend football league games

Women in Iran, who have long been barred from attending football matches except for rare occasions, will be allowed into stadiums during the upcoming season, a top official said Sunday. “This year, one of the prominent features of this league… is that we will witness the entry of women into stadiums,” said Mehdi Taj, head of Iran’s Football Federation. He was speaking during a live broadcast of the draw ceremony for the upcoming season of Iran’s top level football league. The tournament is set to begin next month.

Iran has largely barred female spectators from football and other sports stadiums since the Islamic revolution of 1979, despite no law banning their participation. Clerics have argued that women must be shielded from the masculine atmosphere and sight of semi-clad male athletes. Some officials have blamed lacking infrastructure in sports facilities. Taj on Sunday said some stadiums in the cities of Isfahan, Kerman and Ahvaz – but not the capital Tehran – were “ready” to host women.

In August, women were allowed for the first time in years to attend a national football championship match, when Tehran club Esteghlal took on Mes Kerman.

In another rare instance in October 2019, some 4,000 women were allowed to attend Iran’s 2022 World Cup qualifier against Cambodia at Tehran’s Azadi Stadium.