A View From The Stands – Iran vs Bahrain – From The Stands Asian Cup

Below is a collection of photos, stories and videos from the night from our people at the game in the stands. If you have photos or content from any games across the tournament, feel free to contact us on twitter @FTSAUS.

Attending this game as a neutral, I wasn’t sure what to expect going into it. Iran were obviously the superior football team, having qualified for the World Cup and being the highest ranked side in Asia but I was hoping to see an entertaining match at least. I left the ground considering the night one of the best spectacles I have ever attended.

The train trip on the way into the stadium let me see many Iran fans travelling to the game, including these great fans here who I was able to chat to on the way in. They had all migrated to Australia around 4 years ago and were passionate for the home team.

They predicted a comfortable win for their side on the night and their hopes for the tournament were for Iran to make the final. They were more than happy to tell me their greatest national team memory was from 1997 when they eliminated Australia in World Cup qualification to make it to the finals.

Arriving at Aami Park was a pleasant surprise, considering it was about 2 hours before kick off, I would not have thought there would be such an enormous turnout. Thousands of Iran fans flooded the entrance stairs, singing for their team and beginning to create an amazing atmosphere.

The support was infectious for the Iran side even before kick off, with a nice crowd beginning to fill Aami Park, more than a lot of A-League games get at the venue.

It wasn’t until the very end of the second half when Iran managed to score a wonderful volley, and the crowd celebrated it in their customary fashion.

Drums and dancing were featured throughout, with bongos around the ground enticing the Iranians to get up and dance. The community atmosphere was fantastic, and the people there were more than happy to talk and take part in making a tremendous noise to support their side throughout, shown in the video below.

 Iran wound out winners of the game, although I’d argue the bigger winners of the night were those who got to attend such a night and witness just what football is, a global game that brings people from all different backgrounds, cultures and religions together.

I had an Iran man come up to my mate at the game after it had finished, with quite poor English, and say that he loves Australia and thanked us for being kind to him, showing just what kind of people they really are and how affected they are by racial stereotyping and the generalisation of people from the Middle East area.

Elsewhere in the ground, a sign was held up by an older Iranian lady that said “Iran loves your country and people Australia”, while another FTS member at the game, Chris Avnell, saw a man let Chris’ partner down the steps and said “Thank you Australia”, a statement showing incredible kindness and good heart.

I

I left the game amazed at the night I had enjoyed and was left filled with good hope for the future, with the match not only showing how football can bring nations and people together, but also that tension between peoples should cease to exist once they have an understanding of each other.

I hope many other people can witness occasions like this during the Asian Cup and that many more are to come. I would definitely recommend attending future Iran games to enjoy what they offer in the stadium, not to mention the impressive and exciting football supplied by both sides on the night.

Written by Luke Hall – @hally_101

Google+