Latest news with #IranFootball
BBC News
4 hours ago
- Sport
- BBC News
World Football The struggle for Iranian women to attend football matches
This week marks the 20th anniversary of the start of a campaign for female football fans in Iran to be allowed in to stadia to watch men's matches. On the 8th June 2005 Iran's men's team played their final World Cup qualification match against Bahrain. A group of women went to the Azadi stadium to reclaim what they had lost after the 1979 revolution, including the right to go to stadiums and watch football. So what impact did the events of that day have on football in Iran? World Football's Mani Djazmi has been across the story. Photo: Players of Iran celebrate after the 2026 FIFA World Cup Asian Qualifiers Group A game between Iran and Uzbekistan at Azadi Stadium on March 25, 2025 in Tehran, Iran. Iran's national football team celebrated after securing qualification for the 2026 FIFA World Cup with a 2-2 draw against Uzbekistan. (Credit: Anadolu via Getty Images)
Malay Mail
5 days ago
- Politics
- Malay Mail
Politics 1–Football 0: Washington bars Iranians from cheering team in US
TEHRAN, June 5 — A year out from kick-off, Iranian football fans are watching their World Cup dream slip away after a US travel ban barred them from entering the land of 'Great Satan' to cheer on their team. The 2026 tournament will be co-hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico, but most matches, including the final, are scheduled to be played on American soil. Many in Iran had clung to hopes of cheering from the stands until Wednesday when US President Donald Trump rolled out a new travel ban on 12 countries including Iran, which will take effect from Monday. 'My friends and I have been waiting for years to watch Team Melli (a nickname for the national team) play in a World Cup on US soil, and when they qualified, it felt like a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,' Sohrab Naderi, a real estate agent in Tehran, told AFP. 'Now with the new travel ban, that dream is shattered because of politics that we don't care about and have no control over,' said the 46-year-old who attended the 2022 World Cup in Qatar which saw the US side defeat Iran 1-0 in the group stage. The prospect of Iran competing in a US-hosted tournament comes against the backdrop of a decades-long enmity, with diplomatic ties broken since the 1979 Islamic revolution. The two sides are currently engaged in high-stakes talks over Iran's nuclear programme, with the United States threatening military action if no deal can be reached. 'Degrading to all Iranians' Trump said the new travel ban was prompted by a makeshift flamethrower attack on a Jewish protest in Colorado that US authorities blamed on a man they said was in the country illegally. The ban will not apply to athletes competing in either the 2026 World Cup or the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, the order said. Nonetheless, supporters who had dreamed of crossing the Atlantic to cheer on their team will no longer be able to make the trip. 'Every Iranian has the right to support their team, just as much as any other country, whether the game is in America or in any other country,' said Hasti Teymourpour, a 16-year-old football fan. Since his return to office in January, Trump has reinstated his 'maximum pressure' policy of sanctions against Iran and vowed that 'something bad' would happen unless the Iranians 'move quickly' towards a nuclear deal. Naderi, who called the ban 'inhumane' and 'degrading to all Iranians', still hopes the Iran-US nuclear talks will yield a deal that might persuade Trump to reconsider. The outcome of the US-Iran talks that began in April remains unclear, and many fans worry that even if they result in a deal, it may be too late for them. Some Iranians have refused to give up hope, however, seeing in the World Cup an opportunity to thaw relations. 'Sports diplomacy can act as a strong catalyst and bring the efforts of political diplomats to fruition sooner,' said political commentator Mohammad Reza Manafi. It could be 'a great opportunity to help advance diplomacy between the two countries'. Friendly? In a memorable 1998 World Cup clash, Iranian players handed flowers to their American adversaries and posed together for photos – a rare public gesture of goodwill between the nations. Iran won 2-1, a victory celebrated in Tehran as a source of both sporting and political pride. With the 2026 draw expected in December, it remains unclear whether Iran and the United States will face off again, but anticipation is building. 'The two countries are not hostile to each other, this political discussion is for the governments,' said 44-year-old day labourer Siamak Kalantari. Another fan, Mahdieh Olfati, said: 'If we face the US again, we'll definitely win.' 'Ours are real players,' the 18-year-old added. Manafi, the commentator, said a friendly before the tournament, possibly hosted by a third country, could help ease tensions. Such a game, he said, could help 'achieve what politicians from both sides have not managed to do for years'. — AFP
News.com.au
5 days ago
- Politics
- News.com.au
Iranians' World Cup dream crushed by US travel ban
A year out from kick-off, Iranian football fans are watching their World Cup dream slip away after a US travel ban barred them from entering the land of "Great Satan" to cheer on their team. The 2026 tournament will be co-hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico, but most matches, including the final, are scheduled to be played on American soil. Many in Iran had clung to hopes of cheering from the stands until Wednesday when US President Donald Trump rolled out a new travel ban on 12 countries including Iran, which will take effect from Monday. "My friends and I have been waiting for years to watch Team Melli (a nickname for the national team) play in a World Cup on US soil, and when they qualified, it felt like a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity," Sohrab Naderi, a real estate agent in Tehran, told AFP. "Now with the new travel ban, that dream is shattered because of politics that we don't care about and have no control over," said the 46-year-old who attended the 2022 World Cup in Qatar which saw the US side defeat Iran 1-0 in the group stage. The prospect of Iran competing in a US-hosted tournament comes against the backdrop of a decades-long enmity, with diplomatic ties broken since the 1979 Islamic revolution. The two sides are currently engaged in high-stakes talks over Iran's nuclear programme, with the United States threatening military action if no deal can be reached. - 'Degrading to all Iranians' - Trump said the new travel ban was prompted by a makeshift flamethrower attack on a Jewish protest in Colorado that US authorities blamed on a man they said was in the country illegally. The ban will not apply to athletes competing in either the 2026 World Cup or the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, the order said. Nonetheless, supporters who had dreamed of crossing the Atlantic to cheer on their team will no longer be able to make the trip. "Every Iranian has the right to support their team, just as much as any other country, whether the game is in America or in any other country," said Hasti Teymourpour, a 16-year-old football fan. Since his return to office in January, Trump has reinstated his "maximum pressure" policy of sanctions against Iran and vowed that "something bad" would happen unless the Iranians "move quickly" towards a nuclear deal. Naderi, who called the ban "inhumane" and "degrading to all Iranians", still hopes the Iran-US nuclear talks will yield a deal that might persuade Trump to reconsider. The outcome of the US-Iran talks that began in April remains unclear, and many fans worry that even if they result in a deal, it may be too late for them. Some Iranians have refused to give up hope, however, seeing in the World Cup an opportunity to thaw relations. "Sports diplomacy can act as a strong catalyst and bring the efforts of political diplomats to fruition sooner," said political commentator Mohammad Reza Manafi. It could be "a great opportunity to help advance diplomacy between the two countries". - Friendly? - In a memorable 1998 World Cup clash, Iranian players handed flowers to their American adversaries and posed together for photos -- a rare public gesture of goodwill between the nations. Iran won 2–1, a victory celebrated in Tehran as a source of both sporting and political pride. With the 2026 draw expected in December, it remains unclear whether Iran and the United States will face off again, but anticipation is building. "The two countries are not hostile to each other, this political discussion is for the governments," said 44-year-old day labourer Siamak Kalantari. Another fan, Mahdieh Olfati, said: "If we face the US again, we'll definitely win." "Ours are real players," the 18-year-old added. Manafi, the commentator, said a friendly before the tournament, possibly hosted by a third country, could help ease tensions. Such a game, he said, could help "achieve what politicians from both sides have not managed to do for years".
