‘Change the vision’: Iran Women push to break football barriers amid fan ban

Female fans not being allowed inside stadiums has long been the overriding international image when it comes to women and football in Iran and unsurprisingly so. Just over two weeks ago a number of Iranian women tried to get into the Imam Reza Stadium in the north-eastern city of Mashhad to watch the men play their final 2022 World Cup qualifier against Lebanon.

They could not see the game – the ban has largely been in place since not long after the 1979 revolution – and then, according to some reports, they were treated to pepper spray bysecurity guards. Despite requests from Fifa, criticism from around the world and calls from the players, authorities have yet to budge.

Now, though, Iranian women are competing around the world and aiming to change minds in Tehran. In January, the national team played at the Women’s Asian Cup, their first international tournament. The opening game produced a creditable 0-0 draw with India in Mumbai. A Covid outbreak meant the hosts withdrew from the competition and their results were voided. For Iran, it meant that only their 7-0 and 5-0 losses at the hands of the eventual winners, China, and Taiwan respectively will go down in the record books. There was more to it than mere scorelines however.

The coach, Maryam Irandoost, is confident the more the women play competitively around Asia, and one day the world, the greater the push will be to introduce equality in the stands back home, where the regime has made the occasional gesture in allowing women inside only to backtrack soon after. “I have tried for years to change this,” she says. “Our girls qualifying for and playing in the Asian Cup has changed the beliefs of a lot of people in Iran and I think this barrier will disappear in the