Iran - Andrew Burke [30]
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As of February 2008, Iran ranked 39 in the FIFA World Rankings, making it the second highest-ranking team in Asia, after Japan. Iran’s highest ever ranking was 15.
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Skiing is the sport travellers are most likely to participate in. Iran has sent both cross-country and downhill skiers to the Winter Olympics, though with limited success so far. Mountaineering is also becoming more popular, which is not surprising given how many Iranians hike in the mountains or take a leisurely walk (accompanied by elaborate picnics) in the city parks on holidays.
Football
Iran has been competing in international football since 1941 and won three Asian Cups during the ’60s and ’70s. But it wasn’t until the 1998 World Cup that it really made its mark on the world stage. Having been the last country to qualify after a dramatic away goals victory over Australia (a victory we’re still being gleefully reminded of 10 years later!), Iran faced up to the USA and won a match charged up with two decades of political enmity. In Iran the success was greeted by the largest crowds since the revolution; so big, in fact, that the government became seriously worried that all this unity might morph into something more dangerous to the regime.
As it happened the team didn’t progress beyond the group stage but when it returned home hundreds of women forced their way into the Azadi Sports Complex in Tehran to welcome them, to which the authorities turned a blind eye. That same year a women’s football league was formed. All-women football matches are held indoors and no males – including male managers – are allowed to watch. In 2008 the Iranian women’s team will compete in its first Asian Women’s Cup.
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Offside, Jafar Panahi’s 2006 film, follows a handful of women who disguise themselves as men to get into Azadi Stadium to watch Iran’s 2006 World Cup qualifying match. It is funny, eloquent and offers a fascinating glimpse into the realities of life in Iran.
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Iran’s men’s professional league has 18 teams in the top division and runs from August to May, with games played most Thursdays and Fridays. For a word on the teams you need to know about, see the boxed text Esteghlal or Persepolis?, opposite.
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ZURKHANEH
Unique to Iran, the zurkhaneh (literally, ‘house of strength’) dates back thousands of years. As it was refined through the ages, the zurkhaneh picked up different components of moral, ethical, philosophical and mystical values of Iranian civilisation, making it unique. Incorporating the spiritual richness of Sufism, traditional rituals of Mithraism and the heroism of Iranian nationalism, its appeal lies somewhere between sport, theatre and religion. A group of men, standing around the perimeter of a lowered pit, perform a series of ritualised feats of strength, all to the accompaniment of a leader pounding out a frenetic drumbeat. The leader sings verses from epics such as the Shahnameh and recites poetry by Hafez, while the performers whirl dervishlike in the centre of the floor. The performance, which takes place in a small, traditional gymnasium often decorated like a shrine, is open to the public and usually free (a small donation is sometimes expected); Esfahan, Yazd and Kerman are good places to look. You won’t see too many local women in attendance – Western women are welcomed as honorary men.
For more information about zurkhaneh, see www.pahlavani.com.
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IMMIGRATION & EMIGRATION
For almost three decades Iran has hosted huge populations of refugees with little international assistance. In 2007 more than 950,000 refugees were officially registered