Zahra Ghanbari is the fifth member of the delegation to change her mind amid claims players had received threats against their families
3-MIN READ3-MIN ListenAgence France-PressePublished: 2:00am, 16 Mar 2026The captain of the Iranian women’s football team which played in the Asian Cup in Australia has withdrawn her bid for asylum, state media said on Sunday, making her the fifth member of the delegation to change her mind.
Captain Zahra Ghanbari, a striker and the national team’s top goalscorer, has withdrawn her asylum application and will now head from Australia to Malaysia and from there fly back to Iran, the state-run IRNA news agency said.
