IN BRIEF
- Advocates warn that players might face challenges in both security and building a new life in Australia.
- The government has granted them temporary humanitarian visas, which provide a pathway to permanent residency.
The saga around the Iranian football team may have reached a final whistle as the squad left Australia, but for the six deciding to stay, advocates say the journey has only just begun.
SBS News has spoken to community members who warn the players may be monitored by the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), which Australia considers a sponsor of terrorism.
The players' plight gained international attention when the team refused to sing the national anthem in their first Asian Cup match in Australia, after which state media labelled them as "traitors", and Iranian-Australians asked for their protection.
Finally, while being under tight protection by Iranian officials, the Australian government stepped in.
SBS News understands that now five of the players, Fatemeh Pasandideh, Zahra Ghanbari, Zahra Sarbali, Atefeh Ramezanizadeh, Mona Hamoudi, and a member of staff, Zahra Soltan Meshkekar, have been granted humanitarian visas.
But while all the political and media drama surrounding the team has come to an end, advocates warn that these six might face challenges in both security and building a new life in Australia.
"It's just the beginning," Kon Karapanagiotidis, founder and CEO of the Asylum Seekers Resource Centre (ASRC), told SBS News.
"For refugees, the journey just begins at the point of getting asylum ... They would have had to leave behind family, loved ones, their community, their work. It's an incredible sacrifice.
"No one chooses to be a refugee. My heart goes out to these brave women."
Agents might keep 'a close eye on the girls'
As the team members are staying in Australia, some community members are raising concerns about their safety in the country.
Nos Hosseini, a spokesperson for the Iranian Women's Association, said that by refusing to sing the national anthem, the team "without intending to" made "a political statement," which might endanger them even here in Australia.
Hosseini has reportedly been targeted by foreign interference in Australia, as she faced threats in 2023 for campaigning against the regime.
Iran has a track record of foreign interference in Australia, according to security agencies. In its latest threat assessment in 2025, ASIO warned that Australia is "not immune to hostile nation states, such as Iran, undertaking acts of security concern on our shores or near region".
In February 2023, then-Home Affairs Minister Clare O'Neil revealed ASIO had disrupted an operation on Australian soil targeting an Australian-Iranian critic of the regime.
Hosseini fears that the same could occur to the six team members even while they are in Australia.
"Given how much publicity this story has received all over the world, it wouldn't surprise me if the Iranian regime and its agents, affiliates, and sympathisers would be keeping a close eye on the girls, or will keep a close eye on the girls in the near future when they start going about their lives," she told SBS News.
"Even though they've made it clear that they're not political and they don't want to be labelled as such, and just want to focus on their sport."
After declining to sing the national anthem ahead of the Women's Asian Cup opener, the players were labelled 'wartime traitors' by Iranian state TV, which said they "must be dealt with"
This made some worry about their potential persecution and even execution in Iran. Mehdi Taj, head of the Iranian Football Federation, later called these "baseless claims".
"As a member of the Iranian community, I can confidently say that over the course of the last couple of decades, we have told the Australian authorities and security agencies that there are IRGC agents living amongst us," Hosseini said.
She also said that the "high-profile nature of the protection being provided to the girls", could make them at risk of being monitored.
On Wednesday, one of the players who had been offered asylum changed her mind and called the Iranian embassy for assistance. Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said this compromised the others' location, and they have since been relocated.
"I do think that the girls need protection, but also they need to understand that you can't be intimidated in Australia," Hosseini said.
"They do need to be told that it's not acceptable and that the government and the community don't accept (any) level of intimidation and harassment," she said.
The visa question
While security concerns remain, advocates say adjusting to life in Australia and their visa situation could be another major challenge for the women.
The Australian government has granted them temporary humanitarian visas valid for 12 months, providing a pathway to permanent residency.
Karapanagiotidis said: "That visa most critically allows them safety to stay here, but at the moment, that gives you no work rights, it gives you no Medicare, so it gives you none of the basics you need to settle."
In the next step, the players are either going to be given the option to be granted a three-year visa to stay, which will give them all those basic rights, or invited to apply for a permanent visa at the minister's discretion.
"What I'm hoping and what I'm expecting is that they'll be offering them a permanent visa rather than a temporary one," Karapanagiotidis said.
"Being on a temporary visa is devastating. It impacts people's mental health, it impacts people's ability to find a new job, it impacts people's ability to start a family, and it impacts people's ability to call Australia home.
Burke said the women will soon start the process to be eligible for permanent residency and that his office would not attempt to prevent them from applying for residency.
Give them 'space'
The Iranian-Australian community has offered its support to the players in their settlement process, with a GoFundMe fundraiser by the Australian United Solidarity for the Iranian community organisation collecting over $50,000 for the players.
The fundraiser said they are collecting this money to help these players, who are "forced to rebuild their lives in a new country".
"Step one is just basic survival and trying to resettle and adapt to a whole new country. I know the Iranian community here in Australia has lots of love for them, and I'm sure they'll also be taking great care of them," Karapanagiotidis said.
Some football teams have also offered their support to the players.
Brisbane Roar FVC posted on social media saying they will offer the players "a place to train, play, and belong and will begin to explore how to make this happen".
Caroline Springs George Cross FC in Melton has also asked the players to join their team.
Before choosing their future career, the players need to choose which city they want to call home.
Karapanagiotidis said, as soon as that happens, "the local refugee charities will no doubt connect and support them in helping them look for work and providing them with any other support".
"But the big challenges, again, are the grief and trauma of the experience, the grief of missing family and home, and having to start again in a whole new country.
"There's a long road ahead."
On the other hand, there are some concerns that all the media and political attention will make it more challenging for the six women to face these challenges.
In his speech on Tuesday, Burke conveyed a message from the players saying "they wanted to make clear they are not political activists — they're athletes who want to be safe".
Karapanagiotidis said the media reported on the women "in a sensitive and responsible" way initially, but media attention could have an unintended consequence for them.
"Obviously, the Iranian government now is humiliated and angry about what's happened, and obviously, the anxiety for people will be, whether it be repercussions for family or friends back home," he said.
"The fear they would be having right now for family and friends back home would just be unimaginable. So I think right now, they just need a little bit of space to, to catch their breath, and settle".
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