In December 2023, the presence of 3,000 women at the Tehran derby between Persepolis and Esteghlal seemed to indicate progress in the Islamic Republic of Iran.
Female fans had been banned from attending men’s matches across the country since 1981, two years after the nation’s Islamic Revolution. For more than four decades, female protestors and campaigners tried to circumvent the ban — often by dressing up as men. The state responded with arrests, beatings and forced exiles.
Despite women returning to some football stadiums in restricted numbers, they are still not universally allowed to attend matches in Iran. They remain forbidden in several stadiums and there is no clarity from Iranian authorities or FIFA on their attendance, though the two parties are in ongoing dialogue about these issues.
Following the Tehran derby, FIFA president Gianni Infantino wrote on Instagram in December: “Thanks to the ongoing dialogue between FIFA and the Islamic Republic of Iran Football Federation (FFIRI), progress is being made.” In the same post, Infantino said that at a recent meeting with then-Iranian president Ebrahim Raisi — who died in a helicopter crash in May of this year — he had raised the “development of women’s football in the country and progress made regarding…
