You cannot rewrite history by choosing a convenient starting point. The story of sport in the Islamic Republic of Iran begins in 1979, with a revolution forged by an alliance of Islamists and Marxists. From its first days, sport was placed in the service of the new state. Its function was not limited to competition or national pride. It became a vehicle for political projection and the export of revolutionary ideology through international arenas.
Iranian sport did not develop as an independent civic institution. It was structured as an ideological instrument. Like systems once seen in the Eastern Bloc, it treated medals as tools of legitimacy and geopolitical messaging. But Tehran added a distinct religious dimension. Participation in sport became conditional on compliance with doctrine, and institutions were reshaped to reflect ideological priorities rather than athletic freedom.
Women bore the brunt of this transformation. In the early years after the revolution, they were effectively excluded from meaningful public sporting life and reduced to second-class status under ideological supervision. When international scrutiny increased, the authorities recalibrated their approach, but they did not dismantle the system. Women were permitted to compete in selected disciplines under strict and unequal conditions. Mandatory hijab, gender segregation and structural discrimination remained embedded. These were not matters of cultural preference. They were state-imposed rules.
For years, many senior officials within the International Olympic Committee and the International Paralympic Committee failed to confront the full implications of this structure. Compulsory veiling was frequently described abroad as tradition rather than enforcement. The line between respecting diversity and tolerating coercion became dangerously blurred.
In that environment, international sports leaders promoted Iranian representatives into influential governance positions, believing they were strengthening inclusion and dialogue. What was often overlooked is that many of these officials operate within a political system where sport is inseparable from state authority.
Soraya Aghaei, member of IOC
The Islamisation of Iranian sport
The takeover of Iranian sport after the 1979 revolution was not a side effect of political change. It was part of the plan. As Islamist forces consolidated power, sport became one of the first institutions to be reshaped. The aim was clear: to bring it into ideological alignment with the new Islamic order. Federations were purged, administrators were dismissed, and structures built over decades were dismantled. Professional credibility was replaced with political loyalty.
This transformation was imposed on a country that, before the revolution, had been deeply integrated into Asian and international sport. Iran was not peripheral. It hosted the headquarters of several continental federations, and Iranian officials held senior leadership positions across Asia.
Among those removed were Kambiz Atabay, then president of the Asian Football Confederation, Dr Mohammad Tavakkol at the FILA in Asia, Georges Aftandilian at the Asian Tennis Confederation, and Houshmand Elmasi at the Asian Fencing Confederation. Their departures were not administrative reshuffles. They were political clearances designed to eliminate influence associated with the pre-revolutionary order.
Control soon extended beyond boardrooms. Major stadiums, particularly large football venues capable of drawing tens of thousands of spectators, were placed under structures aligned with the state, including networks linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. In the calculus of the new leadership, sport was not merely competition. It was a space of public mobilisation, and public mobilisation required surveillance and control.
The ideological reset was uncompromising. Chess, boxing, fencing, tennis and kung fu were banned in the early revolutionary years. Women were prohibited from participating in sport altogether. Entire disciplines were declared incompatible with the new moral doctrine. Female athletes disappeared from public arenas almost overnight.
Iran’s sports minister and Olympic chief, both member of IRGC
Hijab and Olympic Charter
Compulsory hijab in Iranian sport remains a central and controversial feature of the system. The International Olympic Committee has maintained long-standing cooperation with Iranian sporting authorities, a relationship critics say has helped legitimise policies that conflict with principles of gender equality and individual choice. Cooperation intensified during the presidency of Juan Antonio Samaranch, when Faezah Hashemi Rafsanjani became vice president of the Iranian National Olympic Committee and head of its women’s division. Her appointment was viewed by supporters as a step toward greater inclusion, but by critics as evidence of the political character of sport governance in Iran.
Hashemi Rafsanjani subsequently launched the Islamic Women’s Games, allowing female athletes wearing the hijab to compete in selected disciplines against participants from other Muslim nations, provided Islamic dress rules were observed. Advocates argued the initiative created opportunities for women within existing cultural frameworks. Opponents countered that it reinforced compulsory dress requirements and did not address broader restrictions on equal participation.
A persistent misunderstanding within the IOC has been that Iranian female athletes choose Islamic dress purely for cultural reasons. Women argue this view minimises the impact of state policy and compulsory regulations. They maintain that the IOC’s accommodation of hijab requirements has placed it in tension with the Olympic Charter’s principles of non-discrimination and universal participation.
Recent years have seen growing public opposition in Iran to mandatory dress codes. Numerous women, including athletes and cultural figures, are actively fighting for change and challenging restrictions on personal choice. These actions reflect a broader social movement demanding greater individual freedoms. While the outcome of these efforts remains uncertain, the issue of compulsory hijab continues to shape debates about sport and civil rights in Iran and its engagement with the international community.
Commission of Olympic athletes of IRI
Export of the ideology through sport
Iran’s sport system has been reshaped into an ideological instrument, with governance engineered at every level from federation leadership to athlete commissions. Athletes increasingly assert that the international presentation of Iranian sport is tightly controlled and politically engineered to serve state objectives through competitors on the world stage
Security officials linked to the state accompany national teams at international events. Reports over many years indicate monitoring of athletes’ behaviour and social interactions, including efforts to prevent competition against Israeli opponents. Authorities describe these measures as protective, while observers contend that they compromise sporting independence and reduce athletes to ideological representatives of the state.
Religious and political minorities in Iran face systemic exclusion from many institutions. Members of the Baha’i community encounter significant barriers to participation in sport and governance, according to human rights organisations. Although official documentation rarely acknowledges an explicit public ban, practical restrictions effectively prevent involvement. Critics describe this as evidence of broader discrimination within the system.
Hostility toward Israel within the sports diplomacy of the Iranian regime in Iran remains evident. Iranian athletes contend that the government has used international sporting institutions to gain influence and legitimacy rather than reform domestic practices.
Several Iranian figures have secured positions in global organisations. IOC director Kaveh Mehrabi, previously faced scrutiny over decisions not to compete against Israeli athletes. Alireza Dabir holds a governance role within United World Wrestling, while representation has also been obtained in other bodies including World Aquatics. Mohsen Rezvani has likewise held positions in international sporting structures. Critics note that despite their roles, none of them have publicly addressed conditions inside Iranian sport.
More recently, Soraya Aghaei joined the athlete commission of the International Olympic Committee. Supporters described the appointment as a step toward representation, while critics viewed it as largely symbolic in the absence of broader reform.
