WOMEN'S FOOTBALL
Ahead of Women’s World Cup clash: The ties that bind Morocco and France
France and Morocco have little left to learn about each other ahead of Tuesday’s meeting in Adelaide in the round of 16 of the FIFA Women’s World Cup Australia & New Zealand 2023.
Bound by history, the two nations have strong footballing ties too. Summing up the relationship that exists between them on the pitch, France left-back Sakina Karchaoui recalled a very recent and high-profile encounter between the two: the semi-final between Les Bleus and the Atlas Lions at the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™.
“It was a match that was full of emotion for the two countries,” she said. “There’s no animosity between the two, anything but. We came together through sport then and we hope we can generate the same level of feeling now.”
The French defender is a symbol of the close links between the two teams. Proud to represent Les Bleues, she was born in southern France to Moroccan parents. “It’s a very emotional occasion, for me especially, but we have to switch off from all that on the pitch. We are elite athletes after all.”
Five of Reynald Pedros’ Morocco squad play their club football in France, among them Anissa Lahmari, the hero of the hour against Colombia. The midfielder runs out for Guingamp in the French top flight and also played for Les Bleues at youth level. “Anissa is a friend,” said Karchaoui, “I’ve kept in touch with her and I’m happy she’s in the team because she deserves it.”
When they arrive at Adelaide’s Hindmarsh Stadium on Tuesday, both sets of players will have good reason to share a chat and a hug or two. Though she is keen not to “pay any attention” to her opponents on the day, the France midfielder will no doubt catch up before the game with Morocco forward Kenza Chapelle, a former team-mate at French Division 1 club Fleury FC.
Pedros has a few familiar faces to meet up with too, with several of his former Lyon charges appearing in the France line-up: Wendie Renard, Selma Bacha, Amel Majri and Eugenie Le Sommer.
“I had two years with him at Lyon and we won some titles together,” said Le Sommer. “He’s played a big part in my career and it’s special to see him again at the World Cup, especially with Morocco and at this stage of the competition. It’s something I could never imagined.”
In this most Francophone of meetings, there are connections everywhere. Take Herve Renard’s team of assistant coaches, led by David Ducci, who have worked in Moroccan women’s football and know pretty much all there is to know about it.
Les Bleues coach also knows the Moroccan national team set-up well too, having taken charge of the Atlas Lions between 2016 and 2019, a tenure that included an appearance at the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia™. So strong is his attachment to them, in fact, that he made it clear he would be supporting his former players when they took on his native France in the semi-finals at Qatar 2022.
“It feels like we’re going to a big family reunion,” said Karchaoui.
With a place in the quarter-finals of the Women’s World Cup at stake, it is a reunion that promises to be a very exciting one.
-Caf
The Iranian women’s soccer team crossed the Turkish border into Iran on Wednesday to complete a fraught return journey from Australia, after five members withdrew asylum claims they had lodged there.
Australia had granted humanitarian visas to six players and one support staff member after they sought asylum, saying they feared possible persecution if they returned to Iran.
Concerns over their safety surfaced when several players failed to sing the national anthem at a women’s Asian Cup match earlier this month after the United States and Israel launched the war against Iran. Iranian state television had labelled them “wartime traitors”.
The team, which flew into Istanbul on Tuesday, took a flight to Igdir in eastern Turkey on Wednesday morning.
The players emerged from Igdir Airport, pulling their luggage and chatted in front of the terminal before boarding a bus to the border. One of them briefly smiled and waved at a TV camera before the bus departed. After a trip of around two hours to the frontier, they went through passport control at the Gurbulak border gate before crossing over into Iran.
A bus carrying members of the Iranian women’s national soccer team arrives at the Gurbulak Border Gate, a crossing point between Turkey and Iran, as they travel to their home country after five players withdrew the asylum claims they had lodged in Australia over safety concerns about returning due to not singing the national anthem at a women’s Asian Cup match earlier this month, in the eastern Agri province, Turkey, March 18, 2026. REUTERS/Ali Ihsan Ozturk
The team’s Asian Cup campaign began just as the United States and Israel launched strikes on Iran, killing Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. They were eliminated from the tournament more than a week ago.
Five of those who had sought asylum in Australia subsequently changed their minds and decided to return home, with Australian media reporting the latest withdrawal on Monday.
They rejoined the rest of the squad in Kuala Lumpur, where the team had been staying since leaving Sydney last week.
The Iranian Football Association (FFIRI) said last week that those who had changed their minds would travel home with the rest of the team “to once again be embraced by their families and homeland.”
Two players are still in Australia and have been pictured training with a local A-League club.
-Reuters
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The two players from the Iranian women’s soccer squad who chose to remain in Australia after seeking asylum have been pictured training with a local A-League club as they begin their new lives in the country.
Midfielder Fatemeh Pasandideh and defender Atefeh Ramezanizadeh were among seven members of Iran’s delegation granted humanitarian visas amid fears of possible persecution if they returned home after competing in the women’s Asian Cup in Australia.
Concerns over their safety emerged after the players failed to sing their national anthem before their opening match on the Gold Coast in the state of Queensland. Iranian state media labelled them as “wartime traitors”, with the team’s campaign beginning as the U.S. and Israel launched air strikes on Iran.
Five members of the group, however, subsequently changed their minds about Australia’s asylum offer and decided to return home.
Queensland-based A-League club Brisbane Roar announced on social media the remaining two players, Pasandideh and Ramezanizadeh, had joined a training session with its women’s team on Monday.
“Brisbane Roar officially welcomed both Fatemeh Pasandideh and Atefeh Ramezanizadeh to the club’s training facilities…and remain committed to providing a supportive environment for them whilst they navigate the next stages,” CEO Kaz Patafta said.
Photos posted by the club showed the two players meeting the Brisbane Roar squad and taking part in shooting drills.
“Thank you for everything,” wrote Ramezanizadeh, 33, under the post on Instagram.
Pasandideh, 21, also posted on her Instagram story on Monday a photo with FIFA Chief Football Officer Jill Ellis in Brisbane with a caption saying “everything will be fine”.
While the pair began their new lives in Australia, their former teammates made their way home to Iran from Malaysia.
The team was seen at Kuala Lumpur International Airport on Monday evening, checking in on an Oman Air flight, although their destination was unclear.
-Reuters
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WOMEN'S FOOTBALL
Three Iranian women soccer players to return home after seeking asylum in Australia
Three members of the Iranian women’s soccer team who had sought asylum in Australia have decided to return to Iran, Australia’s government said on Sunday.
Australia granted humanitarian visas to seven Iranian footballers last week after they sought asylum, saying they feared persecution if they returned home after they failed to sing the national anthem at a Women’s Asian Cup match.
Four of the seven members have decided to leave Australia so far. Another member changed her mind last week.
“After telling Australian officials they had made this decision, the players were given repeated chances to talk about their options,” Australian Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said in a statement.
“While the Australian Government can ensure that opportunities are provided and communicated, we cannot remove the context in which the players are making these incredibly difficult decisions,” he added.
The Iranian Football Association (FFIRI) named the players as Mona Hamoudi, Zahra Sarbali and Zahra Meshkehkar.
“After arriving in Malaysia and joining the rest of Iran’s women’s national football team, the three players will travel to Tehran in the coming days to once again be embraced by their families and homeland,” FFIRI added in a statement.
The Iranian team’s campaign in the Asian Cup started just as the U.S. and Israel launched air strikes on Iran, killing the Islamic Republic’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. They were eliminated from the tournament last Sunday.
-Reuters
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