Iran's womens national team improving with the help of the Women's Super League

TEHRAN (Iran) - Everyone knows how strong the Iranian national team is in the men's basketball scene with four FIBA Asia Cup triumphs and numerous appearances in the FIBA Basketball World Cup and the Olympics. It's a proven fact!

However, you might have to keep an eye out for Iran's women's national team as they are improving with a women's professional basketball league set in place.

The Iranian Women’s Super League

The five-month league pits twelve professional clubs against each other, featuring the best talents in the country. The twelve clubs are separated into two groups - A and B - and play in a home-and-away format for ten games per team. The top four from each group then advance to the playoffs.

These eight clubs clash in the best of three series up from the Quarter-Finals until a champion is crowned. The top two teams of this current season are Gorgan Women of Group A and Bahman Tehran of Group B, who played their way through to the Finals. Gorgan took only one loss the entire regular season and another in the Semi-Finals, led by national team star Edna Issaeian who has been averaging a double-double alongside lead guard Shadi Abdolvand. Bahman meanwhile are doing even better as they are undefeated in regular season play, armed with the trio of Delaram Vakili, Saeide Elli, and Golshid Omidian.

Professional standards

The standardized set of the league, whether it's the court, the scoreboard, the shot clock, the use of digital score sheet, and live stats, put the players and clubs in a position to develop and improve each other while competing.

The Iranian Women's Super League undoubtedly plays a significant role in the development of women's basketball in the country, but it's only one aspect of a growing program.

"It's really good," said Talin Tahmasian, head of competition and refereeing for IRIBF Women's Federation. "In Iran, we have five leagues for women, including the U16, U18, second Division, First Division, and the Super League." With this set in place, there is no surprise that women's basketball in Iran is slowly climbing and catching some attention.

National Team

Iran’s U16 women’s team played for the first time ever in the FIBA U16 Asian Championship in 2017 in Bengaluru, where they finished fourth. The U18 team followed suit in 2018, making their first appearance in the FIBA U18 Women's Asian Championship appearance since 1977. They won games against Singapore and Guam to finish fifth.

The senior women's national team are eyeing their way back onto the radar. It will be an uphill battle towards promotion to Division A, but they are already on a promising path.

Only last August, they made history in securing their first medal by finishing third at the WABA Women's Championship in Amman. Jordan.

The men's national team program for Iran has already firmly planted themselves as one of the best in Asia. Now it's time for the women to rise, slowly and steadily with the help of Women's Super League.

FIBA