TEHRAN: After a wait of two years a limited number of Iranian women will be able to attend a football match to support the men’s team next Tuesday against South Korea in the 2022 World Cup qualifiers.

However whether this means a long-term change of authorities’ restrictions remains open to doubt.

The Young Journalists Club, an agency linked to state television, said: “The presence of women has been authorised for the match between the teams of Iran and South Korea.”

This match will be played at the Azadi stadium in Tehran, the same stadium that last welcomed some women fans on October 10, 2019, to see the Iranian men’s team beat Cambodia 14-0 in the second round of the qualifying phase for the 2022 World Cup.

After the 1979 Islamic Revolution, Iranian women were denied access to stadia, officially to protect them from male misbehaviour.

FIFA has pressed for years for Iran to open its stadia to women but, until 2019, Tehran had allowed only a limited number on rare occasions.

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