Ongoing Internet restrictions may cause the popularity of football streaming in Iran to fall

The 2022 World Cup is the first one that is being held in the Middle East and in a neighboring country to Iran. The first in history to be held in November and December, the major event will see 32 nations striving for the title.

The Iranian team, also known as Team Melli, has also advanced the world-class event and is set to take on England, Wales, and the US in the group stage. This is the third back-to-back qualification of the Iranian team to the World Cup finals, although the team has never managed to advance from the group stage into the knock-out round.

Football-crazy fans in Iran, however, may face difficulties in streaming the event due to the internet restrictions that have been imposed in the past two months following the eruption of protests inside the country.

The Iranian state TV has officially bought the broadcast rights of the event and, for a first in its history, is set to even broadcast the matches in 4K resolution through one of its channels. However, some Iranians may opt to watch the games through streaming or satellite channels.

One of the main reasons is that state TV usually censors women spectators due to so-called Islamic principles, which results in interrupted broadcasting that irritates viewers.

According to a recent report on sports streaming, football is still the number one sport to stream, with the World Cup seeing some of the highest viewership of all sports events.

Meanwhile, fans of Iran’s rivals in the group stage have no such difficulties in watching their national teams’ performance in Qatar.

For instance, in the US, thousands are expected to stream the event via designated platforms. The arrival of the 2022 World Cup and global coverage of the event may encourage more Americans to follow the event and their team’s performance. Latest studies show that American football and basketball are far more popular among people in the United States.

The people of England and Wales, however, seem more excited about the World Cup as the English people are eyeing the title, and the Welsh people are expecting a good performance as their team qualified for the event after 64 years.

Iran’s matches are estimated to draw the attention of many Iranian nationals inside and outside the country, as anyone who can afford and has the means to access live streaming may opt to do so to enjoy an uninterrupted football match.