Roughly 500 women were reportedly allowed into Tehran's Azadi Stadium for Saturday's match.GETTY IMAGES
Iran allowed hundreds of local women to attend the Asian Champions League final in Tehran on Saturday, Iranian news agencies reported, in a "possible step" toward ending their decades-old exclusion from top football matches in the country, according to REUTERS. Semi-official news agency Tasnim said that an "unspecified number of women had entered the Azadi (Freedom) Stadium" to watch Persepolis play Japan's Kashima Antlers. Women have not been allowed to attend "matches involving top clubs since 1981." Iranian social media reports said that most of the women who had been let into the stadium "were relatives of players or members of Iran's female football and futsal teams and football federation employees." The ISNA news agency said that fans around the stadium "cheered as the women entered the stands set aside for them," which an official said had a capacity of 850 seats. ISNA reporter Elaheh Hamidikia said on Twitter that about 500 women were admitted. Parliament member Fatemeh Zolqadr said that FIFA had "demanded women be allowed to attend top-level games" (REUTERS, 11/10).
