Al-Monitor | Holly Dagres: Teenage Iranian girls, in conservative soccer uniforms, screamed for joy and chanted, “Iran! Iran!” The video of the country’s under-19 national team was posted in an Instagram story March 21 by Iranian-American coach Katayoun “Kat” Khosrowyar, after Iran beat Romania 2-1 at the 2018 Kuban Spring Tournament.


Born in Tulsa, Oklahoma, Kat first visited Iran during the summer of 2005, right before her senior year of high school. At the time, Kat was being scouted to play soccer at the collegiate level. But three days before her flight back to the United States, the head coach of post-revolutionary Iran’s first women’s national team discovered Kat while she trained at a local gym. This marked the beginning of her journey.

“With all the negative media regarding Iran, I wanted to do something historic to help build a bridge between my two countries via football,” Kat told Al-Monitor. “My coach back in America was supportive of my move and told me there would be good things coming my way.”

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