Iranian women footballers to play German team

TEHRAN - Iran's women's national football team is to play a friendly next month against a German selection, the Tehran sports daily Iran-Varzeshi reported Thursday.

The match, which is the first for Iranians against a European team, will be held in Tehran between Iranian female national footballers and German amateurs, the daily reported giving no exact date for the match.

According to the report, the 19-strong German squad, known as "Berliner female footballers" will be accompanied by eight other persons including 2 female filmmakers who are going to make a documentary.

The Iranian national team ranked second behind hosts Jordan in the West Asia's women football

competitions last month in its first participation in an international contest. Its FIFA ranking is 114 out of 145 teams.

The Islamic country's women sports teams are not freely able to attend international competitions where women compete without gown and scarf.

An Islamic sports tournament, exclusively for women, was held in Tehran last month. The Islamic games is a unique opportunity for many Muslim sportswomen to compete at international level as due to Islamic laws on dress code - gown and scarf for hiding body contour and hair - they are not allowed to attend international games on behalf of their Islamic countries.

Due to the restrictions, film and photo coverage of those sports where women compete without gown and scarf are strictly prohibited. Those games, the same for the coming football match, can only be watched by a female audience.