Iran women to attend soccer match freely

Source:AFP Published: 2019/10/9 23:28:40

An Iranian fan waits for the members of Iran's National team outside Imam-Khomeini Airport in Tehran, Iran, on June 27, 2018. (Xinhua/Ahmad Halabisaz)


Thousands of Iranian women fans are to attend a soccer match freely on Thursday for the first time in decades, after FIFA threatened to suspend the country over its controversial male-only policy.

The Islamic republic has barred female spectators from soccer and other stadiums for around 40 years, with clerics arguing they must be shielded from the masculine atmosphere and sight of semi-clad men.

World soccer's governing body FIFA ordered Iran last month to allow women access to stadiums without restriction and in numbers determined by demand for tickets.

The directive came after a fan dubbed "Blue Girl" died ­after setting herself on fire in fear of being jailed for dressing up as a boy to attend a match.

Women were quick to get their hands on tickets to attend Iran's 2022 World Cup qualifier against Cambodia at Tehran's Azadi Stadium on Thursday.

The first batch sold out in less than an hour, and additional seats were also snapped up in short order, state media said.

The sports ministry said the 100,000-capacity stadium - whose name means "Freedom" in Farsi - was ready to host even more women.

One of the 3,500 women to have secured a ticket was Raha Poorbakhsh, a soccer journalist. "I still can't believe this is going to happen because after all these years of working in this field, watching everything on television, now I can experience everything in person," she told AFP.

But Poorbakhsh said she was aware of many other ­women without tickets and some were expected to travel from as far away as Ahvaz in southern Iran in the hope of still getting one.

There have been rare occasions in recent years when Iranian women have been allowed to watch matches, but this time they were free to buy their own tickets, albeit a set number.

Those lucky enough to attend will be segregated from men and watched over by 150 female police officers.

Ahead of Qatar 2022, FIFA has pressed Iran to allow women to attend qualifiers.

But Iran denied its decision to allow women into Thursday's match was a result of "foreign pressure."



Posted in: SOCCER

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