When the United States needed to beat Iran to make the knockout stage of this World Cup, the story of the ongoing protests in Iran captured the attention of American media. How thousands of protesters had been arrested and hundreds had been killed while fighting for the basic rights of women. How players on the Iranian national team were being threatened for being sympathetic to that cause. And how the country’s tangled history with America now seeped into the soccer being played. But then America won…Iran was sent home… and it felt like an even bigger story — the story of how specifically important soccer has been to this movement, a movement spanning generations of women in Iran — was lost. So today, we ask Shima Oliaee, host of the upcoming 30 for 30 podcast series, PINK CARD, to tell us about that story…and why it resonates right now, more than ever.

You can listen to Pink Card here: https://30for30podcasts.com/

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