Iran's Women's Futsal National Team Makes History

The Iranian women's futsal national team claimed the championship title of the first Asian Championship by defeating Japan 1-0. Fereshteh Karimi scored the championship goal in the 18th minute, marking her sixth goal in the tournament, achieved against the most successful women's futsal team in the continent. Farzaneh Tosli had a brilliant performance as the goalkeeper, saving all opportunities from professional Japanese players. Other players included Fereshteh Karimi, Nasimeh Gholami (captain), Fahimeh Zarei, and Fatemeh Etedadi. The team is coached by Forouzan Soleimani, who has a championship history in the Iranian futsal league and replaced Shahnaz Yari three months ago. This is the first championship for Iranian women in ball sports in the history of women's sports in Asia. Two years ago, the Iranian women's futsal team finished as runners-up in the Asian Indoor Championship after losing to Japan in extra time, which was considered the first medal for Iranian women's sports in ball games at the continental level since the revolution. Although at the end of the year, Shahrazad Mozaffar, the head coach of the team, was forced to resign. Farzaneh Tosli was also the main goalkeeper in those competitions. Other players included Nasimeh Gholami, Sepideh Zarrinrad, Fahimeh Zarei, Fatemeh Etedadi, Pariya Norouzi, Fereshteh Karimi, Soheila Malmouli, Leila Iqbali, Niloufar Ardalan, Nasrin Moghimi, Arzoo Sadeghiani Zadeh, Naghmeh Moradi, and Behnaz Khayyat (backup goalkeeper), with Leila Iqbali retiring from the national team after the competitions. Fereshteh Karimi achieved another milestone by becoming the first Iranian female athlete to be among the top ten players in the world in ball sports history. Iran had previously secured fifth place in the small World Cup and won a silver medal in Asia. Consequently, Fereshteh was nominated for the Best Female Player in the World in 2013. In response to this nomination, Karimi stated, 'We were recognized worldwide except in our own country. Unfortunately, when we returned from the World Cup and the Asian Championship, we were not appreciated by the officials. I don't think anyone among the officials knows that such an honor has been achieved. I have been in the national team for eight years, but I didn't even receive the two coins that were supposed to be given after the Asian competitions.' The issue of honoring futsal players was not only discrimination but also had humiliating aspects. Fahimeh Zarei, who lived in Bashagard County, mentioned that due to financial issues, she could not attend the 'honoring ceremony' at Azadi Stadium. She insisted on getting her team captain, Leila Iqbali, to Tehran. The women's futsal team was officially invited, but the travel expenses were their own responsibility! On that day at Azadi Stadium, beach teams, youth teams, futsal, and men's football teams went down, received awards, took photos, were broadcast live, and gave interviews. However, Fahimeh from Bashagard and her teammates were moved behind the glass stand of Azadi Stadium and returned to their counties without any recognition, contrary to what had been promised! The Iranian women's futsal national team has become the Asian champion under such conditions and history. Even on the brink of departure, Niloufar Ardalan could not accompany the national team due to her husband's opposition to her leaving the country. The extensive presence of Iranian spectators in the final of the 2015 Asian Championship and their comprehensive support for the Iranian girls was a notable aspect of this match. Ali Kafashian and Elaheh Arab Amiri, the vice president of women's federation, were also among the spectators of this match. In these competitions, the Iranian women's team won 6-0 against Hong Kong and 9-1 against Uzbekistan. They advanced to the semifinals as the top of Group A. In the final group battle, they managed to defeat the host Malaysia 4-2. Iran then reached the final by overcoming Thailand. The national players of Iran, in the semifinal match against Thailand, played a tactical and calculated game, scoring the leading goal in the second half and defending it until the end of the match. Zahra Mithaemi scored the goal that led to the final against Thailand. In the ranking match, Thailand managed to defeat Malaysia to stand third, below Iran and Japan.