Girls in Iran, who’ve lengthy been barred from attending soccer matches aside from uncommon events, might be allowed into stadiums throughout the upcoming season, a prime official mentioned Sunday. “This 12 months, one of many outstanding options of this league… is that we’ll witness the entry of ladies into stadiums,” mentioned Mehdi Taj, head of Iran’s Soccer Federation. He was talking throughout a reside broadcast of the draw ceremony for the upcoming season of Iran’s prime stage soccer league. The 16-team match is about to start subsequent month.

Iran has largely barred feminine spectators from soccer and different sports activities stadiums because the Islamic revolution of 1979, regardless of no regulation banning their participation.

Clerics, who play a serious position in decision-making in Iran, have argued that girls have to be shielded from the masculine environment and sight of semi-clad male athletes.

Some officers have blamed missing infrastructure in sports activities services.

Taj on Sunday mentioned some stadiums within the cities of Isfahan, Kerman and Ahvaz — however not the capital Tehran — had been “prepared” to host ladies.

In August, ladies had been allowed for the primary time in years to attend a nationwide soccer championship match, when Tehran membership Esteghlal took on Mes Kerman.

In one other uncommon occasion in October 2019, some 4,000 ladies had been allowed to attend Iran’s 2022 World Cup qualifier towards Cambodia at Tehran’s Azadi Stadium.

Iran has confronted mounting stress to permit ladies into matches after the 2019 dying of soccer fan Sahar Khodayari, who set herself on hearth for concern of being jailed after attempting to attend a match disguised as a person.

Khodayari turned generally known as the “blue woman” after the colors of her favorite facet, Esteghlal.

(This story has not been edited by NDTV employees and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)