In January, earlier this year, Iran became the first Asian country to qualify for the 2022 World Cup. Iran, an enormous country with a population of over 84 million people, is absolutely football mad. It is by far the biggest and most watched sport for the Iranian people. We even noticed this on some of 433’s social media posts, especially the huge number of 433 followers that originate from Iran. Did you know that more than 1.5 million of our Instagram followers are from Iran? That’s almost 5% of our entire following, meaning only four countries in the world have more 433 followers.  These revelations made us want to dive into the Iranian football culture. What is football culture like in Iran? What’s the place of football in the Iranian society? How is the local football league structured? What are the challenges for an upcoming football talent in Iran? And what’s the role of female football fans in the Islamic Republic? In this podcast episode we'll speak to three people from Tehran, Iran’s capital, to get the answers to those questions and get to know the true story behind Iran’s passionate football culture. - See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.