Name: Australia’s secret operation to save Iran’s footballers | BBC News
Uploaded: 2026-03-12T16:27:40.000Z
Duration: 5 min 12 s
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If they want to stay in Australia, we would support them.

This is how a regular tournament turned into a life changing decision for these Iranian women's footballers who between matches came up with a plan to escape their home country for good.

Through whisper conversations, secret collusion between lawyers, police and activists.

It all started when they played their first match in the Women's Asian cup against South Korea.

They stayed silent during the national anthem.

There was a lot of criticism back home in Iran accusing they were warlike traitors and that they needed to be dealt with harshly.

And then a few days later when they were playing Australia, they did sing the national anthem and they also saluted, which worried people because they were concerned that the Iranian regime had pressured them to sing the anthem.

The day after the final football match, I was in the hotel where the players were staying and you could see some of the players milling around.

They went for walks in the hotel grounds, but they kept to themselves.

But later in the afternoon, I noticed that they were talking to some Iranian activists.

And that was interesting because Iranian activists are very against their regime.

And we'd been told that minders were watching the team and that they weren't really interacting with anybody outside that immediate community.

So I certainly started watching this group of people talking.

They were very casual, they were laughing.

At one point the hotel security joined as well, but again, it just felt like a normal conversation.

They then walked out of the hotel, sauntered out.

I assumed they would be going for a walk around the grounds, but

it did make me think, you know, where were their minders?

This isn't something that we normally see.

And then what, maybe 20 minutes later, two people from the Iranian delegation came running through the lobby, really looking panicked.

And they went to, to a stairwell and went down the stairs, tried to get out to the basement car park, but

The door was shut, so they had to retreat and come back.

Now that was sunset and it's Ramadan at the moment.

And I think what happened was that all of the team had met for Iftar to break their fast.

They realized that five women were not there and they realized they had to get into action and try and find out what had happened.

Iranian Australian activists played a big part in trying to encourage squad to remain here in Australia.

And I believe that started even before the tournament.

Now at the tournament, I, I went to one of the matches and you could see some of the community chanting, encouraging the women on the pitch that they would Be safe, they'd be protected, they'd be supported financially, that they needn't worry if they wanted to seek asylum in Australia.

And then after the match, there was a lot of chanting.

Five women escaped from the hotel the day after their final match.

And then the day after that, two more women also decided to seek asylum just before the bus left.

But a few hours later, one of those women had a change of heart.

Activists said that, that she'd been pressured by the regime, threatened her family.

She spoke to her teammates who were already on their way home.

They recommended that she get in touch with the Iranian embassy for them to come and pick her up.

But in doing so, she revealed the whereabouts of all the other women who had had stayed in Australia.

So they had to move all of that group to another safe location.

Then, two days after their final match, they headed towards the airport to fly out from Australia.

And again, the activists were lying in front of the bus.

It feels like a repeat of what we saw on Sunday evening after the match.

Many people in the community trying to stop the bus from moving forward.

When most of the team got to the airport, the authorities gave them another chance.

Most of the team were given one on one interviews with the immigration authorities with an interpreter there as well.

And that was when they were asked, with no pressure, no minders with them, what they really wanted to do.

Now, ultimately, nobody took Australia up on that offer.

All of the remaining members of the team got on that plane and left Australia.

But the authorities said that it was difficult, it was emotional, that there were lots of phone calls between family members.

The hope is that Iran does welcome them back.

They say that they want to welcome them back with open arms.

The six women who remain here in Australia have been given humanitarian visas, but

the authorities have made it clear that they will be fast tracked to get permanent residency.

As for their families, legally a permanent resident can ask for their families to join them here.

And that's something that the immigration minister said was.

Even getting Australian nationals out of Iran at the moment is proving pretty difficult.