Atefeh Ramezanizadeh and Fatemeh Pasandideh, two former players for the Iranian women’s national football team, have received Australian citizenship following their asylum requests last year. The two athletes attended a citizenship ceremony in Brisbane alongside Australian Minister for Home Affairs Tony Burke.
Ramezanizadeh and Pasandideh were among seven members of the Iranian women’s national team who received Australian humanitarian visas following the AFC Women’s Asian Cup. The remaining five players later reversed their decision and returned to Iran.
Initial reports regarding the Iranian national team players’ asylum applications were published on March 9, 2026. At the time, Fatemeh Pasandideh, Zahra Ghanbari, Zahra Sarbali, Atefeh Ramezanizadeh, and Mona Hamoudi were named as applicants, with the total number of team members holding humanitarian visas later reaching seven.
On March 2, during their opening match against South Korea, members of the team declined to sing the Islamic Republic’s national anthem. The act was carried out in protest against the crackdown on and killing of protesters in January 2026 and occurred two days after news emerged regarding the death of Ali Khamenei during U.S. and Israeli strikes.
