Expo Iran 2008

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Practical Sport: Football (Soccer)

History of the Sport Activity:

Football was an unknown sport in Iran, until the British introduced it in 1907. That was also the year that Iran had its first football tournament which was organized by the British ambassador, Cecil Spring-Rice. The footballers, at that time, were mostly made up of the British residents in Iran, with the occasional addition of local Iranians, if there weren’t enough players. In 1910, football was claimed the national sport and was introduced into school curriculums. As football became more and more popular amongst the locals, several football teams and leagues were created. Iran’s national football team (otherwise known as “Team Melli”) was founded in 1940 and is now amongst the strongest teams in Asia, according to FIFA world rankings. Soon, women’s football was founded in 1970. It has been said that the women football players of Iran are very talented and are at the same level as the men; but women are still not allowed to play without respecting the rules of the Islamic dress-code, they are not allowed to play in the same stadiums as men and aren’t supplied with good facilities. When playing a game, the spectators will only consist of women.

Factors making the sport or activity relevant to the country:

Football has been ranked Iran’s most popular sport since the 1940’s. It has been a part of many Iranians’ lives for decades and is now being seen played practically everywhere in the nation.

Social factors to the country (For example: number of participants, professional and amateur leagues, finance, government influences):

The national team and leagues are managed by the I.R.I.F.F (Islamic Republic of Iran Football Federation). The I.R.I.F.F was founded in 1920 and became a member of FIFA in 1945. The teams are financed by the Physical Education department of the government and by numerous companies.

Despite the popularity and the numerous stadiums, women, by law, are still not allowed to watch men’s football matches without the consent of their husbands and are forced to sit together in one corner of the stadium; this proves that the Iranian government still has a lot of power over its sports.

Any other information:

Their official jersey colors are red and white.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, May 14th, 2008 at 6:29 pm and is filed under PE. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.