Iranian Football Federation Thwarts Bid to Allow Women in Stadium

Iran’s Premier League football club Malavan Bandar Anzali FC says the national football federation has rejected its request to host female fans in its stadium for a match against Tractor FC on April 15.

The club of Bandar Anzali, in northern Iran, apologized to its female fans on April 14 for their continued exclusion from Sirous Ghayeghran stadium. 

For more than four decades, Iran's clerical establishment has opposed the idea of women being allowed in stadiums with male fans. 

But the president of the football federation, Medi Taj, has claimed in an interview that women would be allowed to attend matches starting this week.

After the announcement, Malavan Bandar Anzali FC asked the authorities’ permission to host female fans in its stadium for the match against Tractor FC. The club said it had received permission from the Provincial Security Council.

In 2019, a football fan named Sahar Khodayari died after setting herself on fire over fears that she would be jailed for trying to attend a match while wearing a disguise. 

This incident led football’s world governing body, FIFA, to push for changes in the Islamic Republic’s policy toward women fans. However, only a restricted number of women have been allowed to attend a few games in recent years.