Reclaiming the Lion and Sun

With the start of the FIFA World Cup, a question has arisen among us: Does attending the matches of the Iranian national team reinforce the narrative of the Islamic Republic, or can it be an opportunity to reflect the true voice of the Iranian nation to global public opinion? It is a question that, contrary to its simple appearance, is rooted in the political and identity-driven conflicts of the Iranian nation with a regime that survives solely through the force of weapons and slaughter.

In today’s world, football is not just a sport, and the World Cup is not merely an athletic event at the level of competition between nations. In an era where media, television networks, and global digital communications play a pivotal role in connecting human beings, sports competitions—and chief among them, the FIFA World Cup—serve as one of the most critical arenas that can be utilized to influence public opinion. Therefore, since a vast majority of the world’s population watches the World Cup matches, and since the football team bearing the title of the Iranian national team has qualified for this tournament, a great opportunity has been created for us, nationalist Iranians, to use the images captured by the camera lenses as a vehicle to convey the political, cultural, and social messages of the Iranian nation.

Over the past four decades, the Islamic Republic has repeatedly attempted to turn athletic successes and the zeal of Iran’s proud youth into part of its own political capital. The widespread infiltration of governmental and security apparatuses into the country’s sports structure has ensured that the national football team has not remained immune to this process of politicization. Consequently, the power structure in Iran has consistently exploited the popularity of football to bolster its own political legitimacy, particularly on the international stage, presenting a normalized and acceptable image of the Islamic Republic.

On the other side of this issue, however, stand millions of Iranians who believed, and still believe, that the Iranian national team belongs to the nation, not to the regime. The national team players are the children of this very land; young people who, through their own hard work and talent, have reached the highest levels of football and represent the name of Iran in the world, not the ruling ideological Ummah!

This is precisely why the field must not be left empty. If the stadiums and World Cup stands are left entirely to the official narrative of the regime, a completely false image of Iran will be broadcast to the world. An organized presence of Iranians holding national symbols can showcase a different narrative—a narrative that distinguishes the Iranian nation from the Islamic Republic.

This is where the “Lion and Sun” flag, which is considered the symbol of identity, memory, and historical continuity of the Iranian nation, takes center stage.

Iranian patriots want to display the Lion and Sun flag in World Cup stadiums. However, FIFA regulations and restrictions regarding the entry of certain symbols into stadiums could prevent such an action. Even if that happens, the world of modern communication opens up other ways to make an impact.

Imagine thousands of Iranians present in various parts of the stadium wearing white T-shirts adorned with the Lion and Sun emblem. No conflict or tension is created, yet global cameras repeatedly capture a single, unified image—an image of a shared symbol displayed over and over. The power of such a movement lies in its simplicity. Before reading texts and manifestos, the global audience sees the image and receives the message through that very visual.

The war of narratives

In the era of the war of narratives, the image is the most important weapon. Governments spend billions of dollars on propaganda to present their desired narrative to public opinion. But sometimes, a simple image is more impactful than a thousand words. The coordinated and organized presence of Iranians with the Lion and Sun symbol can convey the message to the world that Iran’s national identity extends far beyond the ruling political structure, and millions of Iranians do not define themselves within the framework of the official narrative of the Islamic Republic.

While the Islamic Republic has so far utilized official tools, state media, and extensive resources to promote its narrative, the World Cup provides an exceptional opportunity to showcase the power of the Iranian nation. It is an opportunity to introduce the “Lion and Sun Revolution”—a collective movement of millions of Iranians inside and outside the country toward reclaiming national identity and establishing freedom, secularism, and popular sovereignty. In this opportunity, the instruments of power for those Iranians who have the chance to attend these matches will consist of raised Lion and Sun flags and attire decorated with the Lion and Sun emblem. Through this national movement, they will represent the Iranian nation’s battle against the rule of Islamic fundamentalists, and by echoing the symbolic slogans of the Iranian nation, they will cry out for a future in which Iran is recognized in the eyes of the world as a free and democratic country.

An exceptional opportunity to showcase the power of the Iranian nation has arrived. For a few weeks, the eyes of the world’s media and public opinion will be focused on the stadiums and spectator stands of the World Cup. Under such conditions, every smart, coordinated, and peaceful move can gain global resonance. Success in this arena does not mean eliminating football or opposing the football team that represents Iran; rather, it means utilizing the global capacity of football to deliver the message of the Iranian nation.

Reclaiming the narrative of sports is reclaiming Iran!

Let us not forget that in recent years, inside Iranian stadiums and in opposition to the anti-national regime of the Islamic Republic, crucial and strategic slogans were chanted, and the slogan “Reza Shah, bless your soul” echoed through the stadiums time and again. At the matches of the Iranian national team, we must bring these cries—which are the echo of the great Iranian nation’s voice—to the ears of the world.

The World Cup is not merely a tournament to determine the world champion of football; it can also be a global stage for the competition of narratives. In this arena, the ultimate winner will not only be the team that claims and lifts the golden trophy, but it can also be the great nation of Iran, which, through the solidarity of its compatriots in the stadiums, succeeds in making its voice heard by the world.

By Raghu Kondori and Behrouz Fathali

Translated by Raghu Kondori, originally published on shahvand.org