( CNN ) Since Iran 's Islamic Revolution in 1979 , women have been barred from attending most sports events involving men . But the situation appears set to improve in the coming months after a top Iranian sports official said that the ban will be lifted for some events . A plan to allow `` women and families '' to enter sports stadiums will come into effect in the next year , Deputy Sports Minister Abdolhamid Ahmadi said Saturday , according to state-run media . But it is n't clear exactly which games women will be able to attend . According to the state-run Press TV , Ahmadi said the restrictions would be lifted for indoor sports events . The rules wo n't change for all matches because some sports are mainly related to men and `` families are not interested in attending '' them , Press TV cited him as saying . Iranian authorities imposed the ban on women attending men 's sports events after the revolution , deeming that mixed crowds watching games together was un-Islamic . During the ensuing decades , the crowds at soccer games , Iran 's most popular sport , have been all male . Iranian women were briefly permitted to attend volleyball matches under the moderate President Mohammad Khatami , but the ban was reinstated in 2005 after the more hard-line Mahmoud Ahmadinejad came to power . The Iranian government has come under pressure from international sports officials over the restrictions . FIFA President Sepp Blatter called on Iran last month to end its `` intolerable '' ban on women attending soccer matches , saying the situation `` can not continue . '' Iran had been in the running to host the 2019 edition of soccer 's Asian Cup , but the tournament was awarded to the United Arab Emirates . The ban on women attending matches was widely seen as a major impediment to Iran 's chances of securing the event . The ban came under the spotlight at the Asian Cup in Australia earlier this year , when thousands of female Iranian fans watched their soccer team without restriction . During the match against Iraq , activists called for the ban to end and unfurled a banner showing the face of Ghoncheh Ghavami , a British-Iranian woman detained in Iran last year while trying to watch a volleyball match . Iranian officials have denied that Ghavami was arrested for attending the volleyball game , saying she was taken into custody for `` anti-Iran activities . '' The news agency Reuters reported that she was recently pardoned by the Court of Appeal . CNN 's Annie Ramos contributed to this report .
Iranian sports official : The ban will be lifted for some events in 2019 . But he says `` families are not interested in attending '' some sports matches .