Why Did Iran's Women's National Football Team Get Eliminated?

Iran's women's national football team was eliminated in the first round of the Olympic qualifiers after losing 1-0 to Taiwan. Iran had previously defeated Laos and could have advanced with a draw against Taiwan. The team had undergone a three-month training camp with two friendly matches against Uzbekistan. The highest number of players from a single province included Shabnam Behesht, Parvin Farhadi-Khah, Maryam Yektaei, Sara Zohraabinia, Fereshteh Khosravi, Mahdieh Amighi, Kouyestan Khosravi, and Zahra Ghanbari from Kerman. Other players included Azar Mousavi and Neda Abdollahzadeh from Bushehr, Melika Motavali from Mazandaran, Tanin Naraghi, Pariya Norouzi, and Fereshteh Karimi from Tehran, Sara Ghomi and Fatemeh Gerayeli from Gilan, Fatemeh Arzhangi from Hormozgan, Zahra Hatamnejad from Ilam, Fatemeh Rahmati from Zanjan, and Halaleh Abdollahi from Kermanshah. Mahnaz Amirshaghaghi was the head coach. In the final standings of Group C in Asia, Taiwan topped the group with six points to advance, while Iran finished second with three points, and Laos came last with no points. Despite the limitations, the Iranian women's football team had the technical ability to overcome Taiwan, but this did not happen. To analyze the reasons for Iran's failure, one must look back at the events of the previous year and the controversial winter of 1392. There was pressure on the families of women's football and futsal, attempts to downplay the activities of girls in these two sports, sudden cancellations of all adult programs in successful football and futsal, and finally, pressure from the Ministry of Sports on the federation to change the coaches of both national teams. Shahrzad Mozafar, a FIFA instructor who had achieved historic results in women's futsal, along with Maryam Irandoost, stepped down. Ali Kaffashian, who had previously denied any issues in women's football and futsal on program 90, quickly changed his position. He stated, 'Irandoost had no contract with the federation and is not actually the head coach of the senior national team.' Maryam Irandoost replied, 'We worked for six years without any expectations, accepting everything that was put in front of us. The federation has issued us a directive, so how can they say I was not the head coach? I kissed football goodbye, but Mr. Kaffashian, conscience remains with a person until the end.' Farideh Shojaei, the vice president of women's football at the federation, also faced the same fate as Mozafar and Irandoost. Meanwhile, the players of the women's national football team criticized the suspension of the national team's training camps. Neda Abdollahzadeh told Fars News Agency, 'Both Mozafar and Irandoost have resigned. The resignation of the coaches is regrettable. This alarming situation does not befit players with ten years of national experience. Is this the response to coaches who have suffered for years?' Farideh Shojaei stated that the National Olympic Committee had issued permission for the women's team to participate in the Incheon Asian Games, but Kaffashian said, 'Ms. Shojaei is living in a dream, and these statements are not true!' Consequently, the national team was not sent, resulting in another heavy blow to women's football, which was on a path of growth. Now, Elaheh Arab Amiri, the head of the women's committee of the football federation, says, 'I hope that next year, with the establishment of a dormitory specifically for women at the national teams' camp, we can introduce Iranian women's football to the world.' Despite these expressions of hope, it seems that establishing a dormitory will not resolve the issues facing women's football in Iran. Non-technical interventions in women's football, discussions about 'security issues,' and the removal of the few specialists working in women's football are among the most significant obstacles to the advancement of women's football in Iran.