This archive report was first published on 5 October 2019.
On September 14, 2019, Iranian women attended the Asian Men's Volleyball Championship between Iran and Qatar in Azadi stadium in Tehran, Iran.
However, Iranian women have faced restrictions in attending men's football matches, with the ban dating back to shortly after the 1979 Islamic revolution.
But in a positive development, Iranian authorities have allowed women to attend the World Cup qualifier against Cambodia in Tehran, with 3,500 tickets allocated for women's sections selling out within minutes of going on sale on Friday morning.
According to FIFA, a total of 4,600 tickets for women would be made available in the initial batches, with more expected to be put on sale to meet the demand from female fans.
A spokesman for FIFA said the organisation would be sending a delegation to the Azadi Stadium in Tehran to monitor the access for women.
Activist group 'Open Stadiums' welcomed the sale but expressed concerns that women-only sections would stop mothers taking their sons to matches and that it was unclear how women with disabilities would be accommodated.
Iran's ban on women attending football matches has led to widespread outrage, including the death of Sahar Khodayari, a female Iranian fan who died after setting herself on fire to protest against her arrest for trying to enter a match.
Human Rights Watch (HRW) called on FIFA to reject restrictions on how many women could attend, saying that any concessions would empower Iran's hardliners who have maintained discriminatory restrictions in place.
