Iranian women will officially be able to enter and watch a men’s soccer match for the first time in decades on Thursday.
FIFA, soccer’s governing body, ordered Iran to sell tickets to women for Thursday’s match in Tehran’s Azadi Stadium. Thousands of women have now bought tickets to watch the 2022 World Cup Qualifier against Cambodia.
Women have been kept from attending men’s games for 40 years because of a ban imposed after the Islamic Revolution. Last month, 29-year-old activist Sahar Khodayari, known as “Blue Girl,” drew international attention to the ban after she set herself on fire and died because she feared going to prison for previously dressing as a man to watch a game.
