Iran authorities allow women to watch first football league match in more than 40 years
Authorities in Iran have allowed women to attend a domestic football league match for the first time since 1979, local media reported.
According to the semi-official ISNA news agency, 500 tickets were dedicated exclusively for women though it wasn't immediately clear how many attended. Women have been mainly prohibited from attending men's games and other sports events in Iran since the Islamic Revolution.
Fifa have long demanded Iran provide assurances that women will be allowed to attend 2022 World Cup qualifiers - leading to some previous examples of women attending international or continental football matches in the country.
In 2019, and for the first time after decades, hundreds of Iranian women were allowed to watch Persepolis play Kashima Antlers of Japan in the Asian Champions League final in Tehran.
In January, more than 2,000 female spectators at the Azadi Stadium watched Iran's national football team defeat Iraq, qualifying for Iran's third World Cup in a row. It was the second major football event Iranian women watched at the stadium.
However, in March, Iranian authorities blocked women from attending the country's last 2022 World Cup qualifying match between Iran and Lebanon in the holy city of Mashhad. At the time, Iranian media said 12,500 tickets were sold online, of which 2,000 had been reserved for women.
For the first time since 1979, some 500 Iranian women have been allowed to watch a club football match at the stadium. Under FIFA’s pressure, the Islamic Republic allowed these female fans to watch today’s match between @fcesteghlaliran & Mes Kerman in Persian Gulf Pro League. pic.twitter.com/rHemCYwoFX
— Iran International English (@IranIntl_En) August 25, 2022
But Ahmad Alamolhoda, an influential Friday prayer leader in Mashhad who was appointed by the country's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said he is against the presence of women as spectators in men's sports competitions, calling it a "vulgarity."
On Thursday, videos posted on social media showed women inside the stadium as the national league game between Esteghlal FC, the second most popular team in Iran, and Mes-e Kerman kicked off.
The footage shows women waving blue team flags of Esteghlal and cheering from their seats, in a special area designated for women at the 100,000-seat at the Tehran Azadi stadium.
AP
