Iran allows women to attend top football league matches

Women in Iran, who have long been barred from attending football matches except for rare occasions, will be allowed into stadiums during the upcoming season, a top official has said.

"This year, one of the prominent features of this league... is that we will witness the entry of women into stadiums," Mehdi Taj, head of Iran's Football Federation, said on Sunday.

Taj said some stadiums in the cities of Isfahan, Kerman and Ahvaz - but not the capital Tehran - were "ready" to host women.

He was speaking during a live broadcast of the draw ceremony for the upcoming season of Iran's top level football league. The 16-team tournament is set to begin next month.

Iran has largely barred female spectators from football and other sports stadiums since the Iranian revolution of 1979, despite no law banning their participation.

Few exceptions to the ban

Clerics, who play a major role in decision-making in Iran, have argued that women must be shielded from the masculine atmosphere and sight of semi-clad male athletes.

Some officials have blamed lacking infrastructure in sports facilities.

Last year in August, women were allowed to attend a national football championship match for the first time in years, when Tehran club Esteghlal took on Mes Kerman.

In another rare instance in October 2019, some 4,000 women were allowed to attend Iran's 2022 World Cup qualifier against Cambodia at Tehran's Azadi Stadium.

Iran has faced mounting pressure to allow women into matches after the 2019 death of football fan Sahar Khodayari, who set herself on fire for fear of being jailed after trying to attend a match disguised as a man.

Khodayari became known as the "blue girl" after the colours of her favourite side, Esteghlal.