Team Melli
Team Melli means National Team in Farsi. But for a state whose identity has become increasingly fractured, what does "National" mean? Does Team Melli represent the Iranian government, or the Iranian people? And how have the players managed to straddle the middle ground between these two groups?
Nationalism and Sport in Iran
Since Team Melli's first World Cup appearance in 1978, men's football has dominated the Iranian sports news sphere, making up 85% of all nationwide sports coverage in 2018.¹ And in a country whose media is controlled so heavily by the government,² it's no wonder that the Iranian government views the World Cup as an opportunity to promote nationalism on both a state-wide and international scale. In a study by Ahmadi et al, Iranian citizens showed a higher degree of nationalism after Iran's 2014 qualification for the World Cup.³ More specifically, Ziaee et al explored how Iranian politicians may have used the 2018 World Cup coverage as a way to create an image of social coherence in the country.¹
What's apparent at the beginning of this year's World Cup is Iran's lack of social and political coherence. Although the regime remains largely in control of news media, social media has allowed Iranian citizens to document the country's increasing political upheaval.² While Team Melli has historically served as a patriotic symbol for Iran, recent media tells a different story. In one video, a large mural of the players is shown hanging over a busy highway, only to be lit on fire seconds later. Another shows Iranians cheering "America, America" after Team Melli's loss against the United States on November 29th. Such incidences beg the question, how do Iranian players navigate the crossfire between Iran's people and its government? |
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Team Melli's Degree of Dissent
In a letter addressed to World Cup teams, FIFA president Gianni Infantino and security general Fatma Samoura wrote "Please, now let's focus on football!... [Let's] not allow football to be dragged into every ideological or political battle that exists."⁴ But for the friends and families of over 450 Iranian protestors who have been killed by security forces since September, or the additional 18,000 who have been detained, conflict in Iran feels like more than just another ideological battle.⁵ Naturally, some Iranians have completely withdrawn their support of the National Team, considering it to be no more than an instrument of the regime. Others have called upon the players to use the World Cup as an international stage for protest. An Iranian beach football player recently celebrated a goal by mimmicing cutting his hair, thereby demonstrating solidarity with the women who publicy cut their hair in protest of strict Islamic dress code laws.⁶ While many have called for Team Melli players to perform a similar gesture, doing so could put them at risk. Three former Iranian football players have already been arrested, one of whom was cited for "insulting the national soccer team and propagandizing against the government."⁷
Perhaps it was this governmental pressure that led Team Melli's Roozbeh Cheshmi to bow to President Abrahim Raisi during a controversial conference, photos of which spurred nation-wide disdain for the team.⁸ But despite threats of arrest, on Monday, November 21st, the entire National Team courageously refused to sing the national anthem before their match against England. For this, players were applauded by protesters across Iran, although the large number of Iranian security forces who had been granted free tickets to the match by the state were less pleased. In their next game against Wales, after suffering from pro-regime lashback, the players forcibly mumbled the anthem, later winning against Wales in a 2-0 upset.⁹
For many, Iran's victory against Wales was bittersweet. For a people who has historically involved themselves so enthusiastically in the success of their men's National Team, the former fans' lack of support for the team proves even more telling. Although Iran will not continue past the group stage, the conflicts that have been highlighted in this year's World Cup will continue, and should not be forgotten.
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Perhaps it was this governmental pressure that led Team Melli's Roozbeh Cheshmi to bow to President Abrahim Raisi during a controversial conference, photos of which spurred nation-wide disdain for the team.⁸ But despite threats of arrest, on Monday, November 21st, the entire National Team courageously refused to sing the national anthem before their match against England. For this, players were applauded by protesters across Iran, although the large number of Iranian security forces who had been granted free tickets to the match by the state were less pleased. In their next game against Wales, after suffering from pro-regime lashback, the players forcibly mumbled the anthem, later winning against Wales in a 2-0 upset.⁹
For many, Iran's victory against Wales was bittersweet. For a people who has historically involved themselves so enthusiastically in the success of their men's National Team, the former fans' lack of support for the team proves even more telling. Although Iran will not continue past the group stage, the conflicts that have been highlighted in this year's World Cup will continue, and should not be forgotten.
To learn more, please visit our other tabs under the menu section.
Notes
1. Ali Ziaee, Arshin Adib-Moghaddam, Agnes Elling, Jacco van Sterkenburg & Ivo van Hilvoorde (2021) Football and the media construction of Iranian national identity during the FIFA World Cup 2018 and AFC Asian Cup 2019, Soccer & Society, 22:6, 613-625, DOI: 10.1080/14660970.2021.1952691
2. Protest, social media, and censorship in Iran. Protest, Social Media, and Censorship in Iran | Center for Strategic and International Studies. (2022, November 18). Retrieved December 3, 2022, from https://www.csis.org/analysis/protest-social-media-and-censorship-iran
3. Sharifian, E., K.G. Tabrizi, and P. Zaraki. Content Analysis of National Newspapers by Emphasizing on the Role of Sport Subjects‘. Strategic Studies of Sport and Youth 23 (2015): 127–146. [Google Scholar]
4. Press, A. (2022, November 4). FIFA on Qatar World Cup: Nations told to stick to football, not politics. ESPN. Retrieved December 3, 2022, from https://www.espn.com/soccer/fifa-world-cup/story/4790519/fifa-on-qatar-world-cup-nations-told-to-stick-to-footballnot-politics
5. Press, T. A. (2022, November 29). Iran acknowledges more than 300 are dead from unrest from nationwide protests. NPR. Retrieved December 3, 2022, from https://www.npr.org/2022/11/28/1139625631/iran-acknowledges-more-than-300-are-dead-from-unrest-from-nationwide-protests
6. Williams, S. et al. (2022, November 7). Iranian soccer player mimics hair-cutting in solidarity with protests. The Times of Israel. Retrieved December 3, 2022, from https://www.timesofisrael.com/iranian-soccer-player-mimics-hair-cutting-in-solidarity-with-protests/
7. Press, T. A. (2022, November 24). Iran arrests a soccer player for criticizing government and insulting the soccer team. NPR. Retrieved December 3, 2022, from https://www.npr.org/2022/11/24/1139162898/iran-arrests-soccer-player-voria-ghafouri-world-cup
8. Younesipour, P. (2022, November 15). Iranian football star gives "Zero" grade to national team after Raisi meeting. IranWire. Retrieved December 3, 2022, from https://iranwire.com/en/politics/109869-iranian-football-star-gives-zero-grade-to-national-team-after-raisi-meeting/
9. Yee, V. (2022, November 28). A u.s.-iran soccer showdown intensifies with protests as a backdrop. The New York Times. Retrieved December 3, 2022, from https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/28/world/middleeast/iran-us-soccer-protests.html?searchResultPosition=3
2. Protest, social media, and censorship in Iran. Protest, Social Media, and Censorship in Iran | Center for Strategic and International Studies. (2022, November 18). Retrieved December 3, 2022, from https://www.csis.org/analysis/protest-social-media-and-censorship-iran
3. Sharifian, E., K.G. Tabrizi, and P. Zaraki. Content Analysis of National Newspapers by Emphasizing on the Role of Sport Subjects‘. Strategic Studies of Sport and Youth 23 (2015): 127–146. [Google Scholar]
4. Press, A. (2022, November 4). FIFA on Qatar World Cup: Nations told to stick to football, not politics. ESPN. Retrieved December 3, 2022, from https://www.espn.com/soccer/fifa-world-cup/story/4790519/fifa-on-qatar-world-cup-nations-told-to-stick-to-footballnot-politics
5. Press, T. A. (2022, November 29). Iran acknowledges more than 300 are dead from unrest from nationwide protests. NPR. Retrieved December 3, 2022, from https://www.npr.org/2022/11/28/1139625631/iran-acknowledges-more-than-300-are-dead-from-unrest-from-nationwide-protests
6. Williams, S. et al. (2022, November 7). Iranian soccer player mimics hair-cutting in solidarity with protests. The Times of Israel. Retrieved December 3, 2022, from https://www.timesofisrael.com/iranian-soccer-player-mimics-hair-cutting-in-solidarity-with-protests/
7. Press, T. A. (2022, November 24). Iran arrests a soccer player for criticizing government and insulting the soccer team. NPR. Retrieved December 3, 2022, from https://www.npr.org/2022/11/24/1139162898/iran-arrests-soccer-player-voria-ghafouri-world-cup
8. Younesipour, P. (2022, November 15). Iranian football star gives "Zero" grade to national team after Raisi meeting. IranWire. Retrieved December 3, 2022, from https://iranwire.com/en/politics/109869-iranian-football-star-gives-zero-grade-to-national-team-after-raisi-meeting/
9. Yee, V. (2022, November 28). A u.s.-iran soccer showdown intensifies with protests as a backdrop. The New York Times. Retrieved December 3, 2022, from https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/28/world/middleeast/iran-us-soccer-protests.html?searchResultPosition=3