As Reza watched the four-metre-high waves crashing down on the boat, he didn’t believe he would ever make it to Australia. Even if he did, he had no guarantee he would be allowed to stay.
Wanted by the Iranian government for protesting for economic equality in impoverished regions in the south-west of the country, Reza felt he had no choice but to flee. As wave after wave crashed against the small fishing boat in the pitch black of night, fear punctuated Reza’s worries about his future and thoughts of the life he had left behind. “I was so scared. The waves at night, they came four or five metres up both sides of the boat and then it went over the top,” says Reza, whose full name has not been published at his request. “But luckily I made it.” Today, three years after that dangerous voyage to Australia from Indonesia, there are only two things Reza misses about his homeland. Family is one; the Iranian national football team is the other Reza describes himself as a proud Persian. He shares the local community’s passion for their homeland, culture and identity, despite being at ideological loggerheads with the present regime. He says he has little chance of returning home and opportunities to show national pride are rare, which is why supporting “Team Melli” is so important to him. “What does Team Melli mean to me? Everything. I love it. It is my identity,” Reza says. So, despite his disdain for the government, Reza will be proudly waving the flag of Iran inside ANZ Stadium on Thursday night. Reza’s story highlights why Iran are proving to be one of the hottest tickets in town for the Asian Cup, with more than 25,000 fans expected to turn out for Thursday’s match against Qatar. It is not just because they are the highest-ranked team in Asia or that they are among the favourites to win the Cup, but also because the Iranian-Persian community regards Team Melli as a symbol that breaks down cultural and political divides. Inside the stadium, three national flags will be waved – one with the emblem of the present Islamic Republic, another with the historic lion and sun of Persia, and the three-coloured former national flag. All three reflect the divide that prompts nationals to refer to themselves as “Persians” or “Iranians” based on their political orientation. The two sects say they rarely mix in Australia, but inside a stadium they stand together. Football is a game of the people in Iran. A team drawn almost entirely from the working class led the nation to an Asian Cup title in its first attempt in 1968, before two more crowns were added in succession in 1972 and 1976. Football overtook wrestling as the predominant sport. “They had low-profile families and most of the Iranians were working class,” Iran-Australia Football Association president Alireza Ehsani says. “They raise from these backgrounds, and that is why we love our national team players.” Both sides of Iran’s political spectrum love the storyline of their national team’s success, struggles and resurgence. Such is football’s popularity in Iran that the sport has been used as a tool by both the Shah and the Ayatollah. One of the country’s biggest clubs, Taj (crown), was renamed Esteghlal (Independence) after the 1979 revolution and, despite the change, its fanbase remained. Those from Iran say there is a sense of pride in their football sides that transcends social and political splits. Australian footballer Aram Tayebi was called up to Team Melli’s youth team in 2008 and experienced the passion for himself when 10,000 turned out just to watch an unofficial friendly match. “Iranians may believe in different political ideologies but this is Team Melli. Just the name gives it away – the national team,” Tayebi says. Ali Moubasseri, a Persian-Australian, is travelling around the country to follow Iran at the Asian Cup. He says Team Melli gives members of a community who can’t return to their homeland for political reasons the chance to celebrate their identity. “Most of my family friends say they can’t go back to Iran. My dad says he can’t go back to Iran. I know some of my family members have served some jail time or have been harassed because of the revolutionary police,” he says. “There’s always going to be massive divides in the Persian community due to what happened in 1979, but when football comes around, we don’t care about our differences.” In a tournament holding a message of “Unite for the Asian Cup”, Team Melli is doing just that, with Persians and Iranians standing together inside ANZ Stadium, showing football’s power to bridge the cultural divide. “I will be there because it is very important for me to show that I am Iranian – that I am Persian,” Reza says. “It is very important for me to see them for the first time in three years.” - See more at:
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