FIFA President Gianni Infantino has welcomed the attendance of women and girls at a Hazfi Cup soccer match in the Iranian city of Mashhad on Sunday as an "encouraging development".

With few exceptions, female fans have been banned from sports events in the Islamic republic since the 1979 revolution and FIFA faced calls for the men's team to be banned from the 2022 World Cup over the issue.

Infantino has preferred a policy of personal engagement with the country's leadership and hailed the access to the Imam Reza Stadium for some women and girls as another step forward.

"I was very pleased to learn about the attendance of women and girls at an Iranian Hazfi Cup game between Nassaji Mazandaran and Shahid Ghandi Yazd," he said in a post on social media on Monday.

Subscribe to CNA's Recomm

See Full Page