The football match that opposed this Thursday in Tehran (Iran) the national team to Russia was followed by hundreds of women present in the stands. For the first time in more than a year, the government had allowed female fans to enter a football stadium. They were several hundred to have made the trip to attend the friendly meeting.

The purchase of tickets allowed but not the presence at the stadium

The last international football match Iranian women were allowed to attend was in January 2022. It was a match between the national team and Iraq, counting towards qualification for the World Cup. Two months later, women were allowed to buy tickets for a match between Iran and Lebanon played in Mashhad, Iran. However, they were denied access to the stadium before the match.



"Mismanagement" was at the time mentioned to explain the ban on entering the sports arena. Before January 2022, the country's authorities had banned the presence of women in stadiums for nearly three years. For the past 40 years, the Iranian regime has mostly refused to allow female spectators to attend football matches.

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  • Women's rights
  • Football