Since the 1979 revolution, sports stadiums in Iran have served not only as venues for athletic events but also as spaces for political mobilisation and logistical operations linked to security forces associated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Human rights organisations have documented cases in which detained protesters were held in enclosed sports facilities. Stadiums have also hosted state-organised gatherings and activities connected to security and paramilitary units.

At the same time, Iranian citizens have used stadiums as platforms for political expression. Supporters of Prince Reza Pahlavi have amplified political messages originating in stadiums, with slogans spreading beyond sporting venues and appearing in demonstrations abroad, including in London and in protests across the United States and Australia.

Protests in Iran are driven by political and national identity concerns as well as economic grievances. The authorities have long used different instruments to shape public life, including the mobilisation of athletes and the use of stadiums for official messaging. When anti-government slogans emerge in stadiums, authorities have frequently responded by restricting public attendance or holding matches behind closed doors, particularly in major cities such as Tehran.

According to political activist and researcher Iraj Mesdaghi, the leadership of Iranian sport was dramatically reshaped after the 1979 revolution. Two prominent sports officials, Ali Hojat and Nader Jahanbani, were executed. The headquarters of the Taj sports organization was converted into a revolutionary committee base and detention centre.

Ahmad Donyamali

Mesdaghi also refers to executions of football players following the establishment of the Islamic Republic, stating that with the rise of the Islamic regime a bloody purge took place within Iranian sport. According to his research, Aladdin Atrati, a player for Daraei and Persepolis F.C., along with Ebrahim Houshmand, a youth player from Rah Ahan F.C., and Habib Kheyberi, a player from Homa F.C., were executed during the early years of the new regime.

Mesdaghi further documents that several other sports figures were imprisoned, including Mahshid Razaghi, Iraj Omidvar, Amanollah Naghdí, Ali Sajjadi, Ahmad Sajjadi, Saeed Pahlavan, Ebrahim Habibi and Hassan Jashnivand.

Today, sports stadiums in Iran remain state-owned and are managed by the Ministry of Sport and Youth. The current minister, Ahmad Donyamali, is a member of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. In his prison memoirs, former Marxist political prisoner Mohammad Khoshzoogh, who now lives in Sweden, describes Donyamali as one of his interrogators and prison guards during his detention.

During nationwide protests in January 2026, in which the regime killed tens of thousands of protesters, indoor stadiums were used as logistical bases by security forces. In several cases, the bodies of protesters killed in the crackdown were transferred to sports facilities.

In several cities, including Shiraz, Isfahan and Tehran, stadiums have also been used as operational locations and temporary shelters for security personnel during periods of military tension. Following military strikes by the United States and Israel targeting Iranian security installations, security personnel evacuated Azadi Stadium, a 12,000-seat indoor facility originally built during the Pahlavi era. Video footage circulating online shows security forces withdrawing from the stadium during the period of aerial operations.