Iranian national women's ice hockey team wins 26-0 in FIRST EVER televised women’s sports game

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Two nights ago Iran televised their FIRST EVER women’s sports game watching their women’s national ice hockey team shut out the Kyrgyzstan women’s national team 26-0…

But how did they get here and more importantly why did it take so long?

History of Hockey in Iran

Iran banned ice hockey in the 1970’s due to the Iranian Revolution but the sport was revived in 2016 as an all male sport and became a member of the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) in 2019. But during the 2018 Asian Roller Sports Championship in South Korea something changed for the women.

The women on the national incline hockey team defied the odds, as the defined underdogs of the tournament, and earned themselves bronze medals. That same year the Iranian men’s team won the championship.

Inline hockey is a variant of hockey with very similar rules but played on hard flooring with inline skates since ice rinks are not always easy to come by.

Reactions to their accomplishments were dry at best but a few years later director Sam Kalantari filmed the documentary No Place for Angels showcasing the teams journey to the semifinals following the players and coaching staff’s story. The release of the documentary sparked national pride and attracted the attention of the country, celebrities, and teeming local media.

Captain Azam Sanaei stated that “The main message of this documentary for women is to not give up hope in the face of obstacles.”

The women’s national ice hockey team was then formed in 2020 but could not make their unofficial debut until October of 2021 due to the pandemic but that wasn’t the only obstacle the team faced as they got underway.

In the Iranians first ever away tournament in the United Arab Emirates head coach Kaveh Sadeghi was barred from traveling with the team to UAE and other abroad tournaments. Despite this disadvantage the Iranian women still beat the UAE on their own turf winning second losing to Russia in the finals.

One other 'slight' disadvantage that they were able to overcome was the refusal of sponsorship from the National Ice Hockey Federation of Iran for he team, but thankfully they were presented with sponsorship by the enormous Tehran shopping complex Iran Mall.

Despite the complete lack of support they were shown by their country these women showed them what they were capable of and what they were able to go out and accomplish with all of the push back.

Just imagine how well they could do with the support though.

Where they are now

This year the women’s national team made their debut in the 2023 IIHF Women’s Asia and Oceania Championship in Thailand. They are one of eight teams competing, India, Kyrgyzstan (who are also making their tournament debut), Kuwait, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, United Arab Emirates being the other seven.

The tournament has been divided into two round robin pools

- Group A: Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, United Arab Emirates

- Group B: India, Iran, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan

It was declared that the team was expected to be a “potential surprise medal contender” but after outscoring their opponents 77-1 so far in the tournament (defeating UAE 14-0, India 17-1, Kuwait 20-0, and Kyrgyzstan 26-0) I think it is safe to say it won’t be a surprise anymore if (when) they medal.

In the televised game against Kyrgyzstan Iran’s superstar forward Fatemeh Emsmaeili, the team's leading scorer with 16 of her own goals in this tournament, scored 7 times.

The team plays again tonight at 8:30 ET against Singapore where they will have a chance to win their way to the finals for the first time in the teams history, in their debut appearance as a team no less.

This championship marks an important cultural shift in the world of ice hockey and is not something that can be ignored as we see more women showing doubters why they deserve the chance to win.

Women in Iran were only granted the ability to watch sports in person in 2019 after FIFA threatened to suspend the Islamic Republic due to their male-only policy on the basis that “they must be shielded from the masculine atmosphere and sight of semi-clad men.”

This demand also came about, due to the outcry from people around the world, after the tragic death of Sahar Khodayari when she attempted to attend a football match at Tehran’s Azadi (freedom in Farsi) stadium, which you read more about here (Trigger warning: mention of suicide (self-immolation))

Who knows how many other women have been punished for just wanting to watch their team play and succeed, or been ridiculed for supporting a sports team and having national pride.

These gifted women have the opportunity to turn the tide on the view of women's sports in their country and while it has been an uphill battle for them so far and they shouldn't have to prove themselves this is the chance to show everyone why they deserve the opportunity.