Sport

CHRI – The world pop band “Abjeez,” Persian slang for “sisters,” was born out of a desire by lead singers Safoura and Melody Safavi to discuss social justice issues in Iran through their music. Influenced by a mixture of styles including Reggae, Flamenco, Ska, and rock, the duo band has released three studio albums since 2007, including several singles.

PayvandNews – The four-member Iranian team traveled to Urgench, Uzbekistan to participate at the 25th Asian Junior Women Weightlifting Championships.

PayvandNews – The adult competitions for the 13th edition of RoboCup Iran Open kicked off on April 5 at Tehran International Exhibition Center, with participation of about 500 teams.

PayvandNews – The Iran men’s national football team, domestically known as Team Melli, has defeated Algeria in a friendly match as part of its preparations for the 2018 Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) World Cup.  On Tuesday evening, Team Melli beat the Fennecs 2-1 at the Liebenauer Stadium, sponsored as the Merkur-Arena, in the Austrian city of Graz.

Radiofarda – Top Iranian military commanders have warned coaches and athletes to keep out of the ring of diplomacy after a handful of Iranian sportsmen criticized the Islamic Republic’s unwritten rule of forbidding athletes from competing against Israelis in international sports competitions.

Iran-HRM – The Minister of Interior said that the ban on women’s presence in stadiums was still effective. “When something is banned by the law, everyone has to abide… For soccer fans, this ban is still in effect and those who wanted to get into stadiums were prevented by the police,” Abdul-Reza Rahmani Fazli added, the state-run ISNA news agency reported on …

Radiofarda – The controversy over not allowing Iranian athletes to compete against Israelis continued as the former president of Iran’s Wrestling Federation Rasoul Khadem released a new statement telling Iranian politicians not to sacrifice the country’s national champions to further their own political agenda.

CHRI – Gianni Infantino Visited Iran to Discuss Ban, Says Tehran Newspaper

RFL/RE – FIFA chief Gianni Infantino says Iranian President Hassan Rohani has assured him that women will soon be allowed to attend soccer matches in the country, although it could “take a bit of time.”

VOA —Iran has blocked several dozen women from attending a major Tehran football match witnessed by the head of FIFA, the sport’s world governing body, prompting criticism from rights activists. Iranian state news agency ISNA said police “transferred” 35 women who had gone to Azadi Stadium on Thursday to try to watch the match between local rivals Esteghlal and Persepolis. …