FIFA President Gianni Infantino says soccer’s world governing body “cannot wait anymore” and has been “assured” by Tehran that the authorities will allow women spectators into the arena when Iran hosts its next international match.
Infantino’s September 22 comments follow a FIFA delegation visit to Iran over the conservative Shi’ite leadership’s longtime ban on women at major men’s sporting events — a policy that turned more tragic with the recent death of a young woman who was being punished for trying to sneak into a stadium disguised as a man.
Iran is scheduled to play Cambodia in a 2022 World Cup qualifier on October 10 at Azadi Stadium in Tehran.
“In these productive discussions, FIFA reiterated its firm and clear position that women need to be allowed to enter football matches freely and that the number of women who attend the stadiums be determined by the demand, resulting in ticket sales,” FIFA said in a September 21 statement summarizing the delegation’s visit to Tehran and Azadi Stadium.
FIFA further said it would work with Iran’s national football (soccer) federation, the FFIRI, to ensure that women spectators could get into the Iranian soccer league’s matches in future.
