Women in Iran will be allowed to attend men’s soccer matches moving forward, according to Gianni Infantino, the president of FIFA, soccer’s governing body.
Iranian women have been banned from stadiums when men’s teams have been playing for over 40 years.
"We need to have women attending — we need to push for that with respect but in a strong and forceful way and we cannot wait any more," Infantino told a FIFA conference on women's football on Sunday per BBC.
"We have been assured that, as of the next international game of Iran, women will be allowed to enter football stadiums," he said.
"This is something very important, it is 40 years that this has not happened, with a couple of exceptions, but it is important to move to the next level and to the next stage," he added.
Earlier this month, Sahar Khodayari died after being arrested for trying to attend a match disguised as a man.
After being jailed for three days, she set herself on fire in front of the courthouse and later died in the hospital. Her death caused widespread outrage in Iran and internationally.
FIFA officials have spent a week in Iran discussing the country’s upcoming match against Cambodia, Iran’s first home game of the 2022 qualifying competition.
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