Special Order from Rouhani to Resolve Issues for Women's Futsal Team's Departure to Guatemala

After the participation of Iran's women's national futsal team in the world competitions in Guatemala was put in doubt due to visa issues, the government is now working to send this team to Guatemala following a special order from Hassan Rouhani. ISNA news agency reported on Saturday evening, November 6, quoting Mohammad Reza Tabesh, a member of the Sports Commission of the Parliament, that the President's special order has mandated the Ministries of Sports and Foreign Affairs to facilitate the national women's futsal team's departure for the competitions in Guatemala. Mr. Tabesh quoted the Foreign Minister as saying that 'efforts are underway to obtain airport visas in Guatemala,' and noted that the Ministry of Sports is also expected to cover the travel expenses. As of the time of this report, none of the official websites of the Presidency, Foreign Ministry, or Ministry of Sports of Iran had mentioned this news. Meanwhile, the state news agency IRNA also reported the President's special order regarding the women's national futsal team's departure to Guatemala without mentioning Mohammad Reza Tabesh's name. The world futsal competitions in Guatemala will be held on November 19 and 20, and the Iranian women's futsal team is placed in Group A with Brazil, Portugal, and Costa Rica in the preliminary round. Last week, the President of the Football Federation of Iran announced that the women's national futsal team would not be sent to the World Cup due to 'financial problems' and 'lack of sufficient time to obtain a visa for Guatemala.' This issue sparked a wave of reactions and criticisms, including Abouzar Nadimi, a member of the Sports Commission of the Parliament, who called 'poor sports management' the reason for the cancellation of Iran's team's participation in these competitions. This parliament member emphasized in an interview with the House of the Nation news agency that there should be no discrimination between women's and men's sports, adding that 'in many competitions, female athletes show more than male athletes and appear to be more medal winners, and therefore they should be supported.' However, social media users also reacted to this issue by launching a campaign to encourage representatives and government officials to follow up on the matter, sharing contact information for relevant officials and demanding accountability. Among them, a Twitter user on Saturday shared a screenshot of a text message sent to Mohammad Reza Tabesh and his response, claiming that this member of the Sports Commission was not even aware of the main issue of the futsal girls' team's non-departure to Guatemala. An hour later, another Twitter user published another screenshot of a text message sent and the response from Mr. Tabesh, indicating that this parliament member was following up on the matter. One Twitter user also wrote that when contacting the Iranian Foreign Ministry, he was told that no request for assistance had been made from this ministry; otherwise, they would have followed up and announced their influence. It is still unclear whether these efforts in less than two weeks can pave the way for the Iranian women's futsal team's participation in the world competitions in Guatemala. This team, which this year also won the Asian championship title, faced controversy when the captain's husband prevented her from traveling abroad, which was a sensational aspect of this event.