‘The fact we exist is huge’: Iran’s women plotting course to world stage

The Guardian – TEHRAN, Twelve years ago Kat Khosrowyar arrived in Iran on holiday. Now she’s driving a revolution in women’s football there.

To say things have changed for women’s football in Iran since Katayoun Khosrowyar first arrived in the country more than 12 years ago would be as understated as the coach of the newly established under-19 side herself. Back then the 30-year-old from Oklahoma known as “Kat” arrived in Tehran on a family holiday, was scouted for Iran’s newly formed futsal team and ended up captaining the national side after moving there permanently.

“I didn’t speak the language or know anything about my culture – all I knew was that the food was really good,” Khosrowyar tells the Guardian. “Twelve years ago there were a lot of restrictions – people would ask: ‘Why do you want to play football? Just stay at home and learn to be good wives.’ But now we get lots of help from people who are outspoken about supporting women’s football.”

Football had been widely played before the revolution in 1979 but strict laws that required all women to wear a headscarf in public meant that for more than two decades riflery was the only international sport open to Iranian women. That began to change after students from the Alzahra University in Tehran set up a futsal team in the early 1990s, with the formation of a national league soon after. In 2005 Jordan invited Iran to send a team to compete in the West Asian Championships and the new national side was born.

“There was a lot to be learned from those years because men weren’t allowed to be physically involved with women’s football, even though they had all the education,” Khosrowyar recalls. “We had to get special permission to put on training courses but after all these years things are beginning to change.”

Having retired from playing in 2013 after eight years’ service in which Iran climbed from the very bottom of Fifa’s rankings to the top 50, Khosrowyar had already planned the next stage of her career. Since becoming the first Middle Eastern woman to earn her Fifa A-licence, she has taken on the task of coaching two of Iran’s youth sides as well as appearing regularly as a speaker, including a TED talk in 2015 entitled Empowering Women Through Sports.

“We get hardly any budget so the fact that we exist is huge,” she says. “The federation is doing the best that it can to get sponsorship for us but it’s difficult. My role in this is to create a pathway for the youth in order to be able to compete in world events.”

With no domestic youth leagues in the country for prospective players to hone their skills, that is easier said than done. But Khosrowyar describes the introduction of new regulations that will allow 16-year-olds to train with senior clubs as a “huge step” as Iran prepare to qualify for the 2022 Olympics in September.

“This will help prepare a squad for the Asian games because at least they have experience of training camps and competitions. The shift is going to take a few more months but we will get there. I’m always on the lookout for more players and I really select them randomly sometimes – I’ll be walking down the street and see a girl beating up boys. That’s my player right there!”

In April a group of Iranian women made global headlines when they disguised themselves as men so they could watch a league match at the Azadi Stadium in Tehran. While that is not illegal Khosrowyar says many are discouraged by the large number of hooligans who often go to matches at the national stadium but is hopeful that this is starting to change, with men now permitted to attend female matches as spectators.

“They’re like: ‘So what if a man wants to come and watch me play?’ We’ve made the topic a bit more comfortable for everyone and not such a big deal,” she says.

Iran’s men are contesting their third successive World Cup finals after breezing through qualification but face an uphill struggle to get out of a group containing Spain and Portugal despite their victory over Morocco in the opening match. But Khosrowyar, who knows all about upsetting the odds, is confident Team Melli can cause a shock.

“I really believe in Carlos Queiroz and his method,” she says. “Hopefully we will be in for a big surprise at the World Cup. He has really changed the face of Iranian football. When I was appointed he said he was always here if I ever need any help.”

Not that she has needed it so far.