What it means
فوتبال (futbâl) means football, the sport played with a round ball where players try to score by kicking the ball into the opposing team’s net. The word is a direct borrowing from English “football” and entered Persian in the early twentieth century when the sport arrived in Iran. In everyday speech Iranians use فوتبال for what North Americans call soccer. A related term is فوتسال (futsâl) for the indoor version of the game.
How to use it
- دیشب بازی فوتبال دیدم. (Dishab bâzi-ye futbâl didam.) “I watched the football match last night.”
- بچهها توی کوچه فوتبال بازی میکنند. (Bachehâ tu-ye kuche futbâl bâzi mikonand.) “The kids are playing football in the alley.”
- تیم ملی فوتبال ایران خیلی طرفدار داره. (Tim-e melli-ye futbâl-e Irân kheyli tarfadâr dâre.) “The Iranian national football team has a lot of fans.”
- میخوای بریم فوتبال بازی کنیم؟ (Mikhây berim futbâl bâzi konim?) “Do you want to go play football?”
Cultural note
Football is the most popular sport in Iran by a wide margin, with millions of devoted fans. The Iranian national team, known as Team Melli, has qualified for multiple FIFA World Cups and commands intense national attention when it plays. Club football is followed passionately too, with Tehran-based teams Esteghlal and Persepolis holding a historic rivalry that draws tens of thousands to Azadi Stadium. The sport was introduced to Iran in the early 1900s, largely through British engineers and diplomats working in the country.