Australia has granted sanctuary to five members of the Iranian women's soccer team who were visiting the country for a competition when the Iran conflict broke out, Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke announced on Tuesday (March 10, 2026).
The announcement came after days of appeals from Iranian groups in Australia and US President Donald Trump for the Australian government to assist the ladies, who had not publicly expressed a desire to seek asylum. When the team failed to sing the Iranian anthem before their first match, it sparked great discussion and media coverage in Australia.

Five ladies were escorted from their hotel in Gold Coast, Australia "to a safe location" by Australian federal police officers in the early hours of Tuesday local time, after they requested asylum. They met with Burke, and the processing of their humanitarian visas was completed, the minister informed reporters in Brisbane hours later.
"I can't begin to imagine how difficult that decision is for each of the individual women, but last night it was joy, it was relief," said Burke, who shared photographs on social media of the women beaming and cheering as he signed documents. "People were very excited about embarking on a life in Australia."

He claimed the women who were granted asylum were pleased to have their identities and photographs published. Burke went on to say that the players wanted to it clear that they were "not political activists".
The future remains undetermined for 21 squad members and others. The Iranian team landed in Australia for the Women's Asian Cup last month, before the Iran war broke out. The team was eliminated from the tournament over the weekend, leaving them with the prospect of returning to a bombed-out country. According to Australian news agency AAP, Iran's head coach Marziyeh Jafari stated on Sunday that the players "want to come back to Iran as soon as we can".An official squad roster included 26 players, Jafari, and other coaching personnel. Burke stated that the offer of asylum was offered to everyone on the squad.
"These women are tremendously popular in Australia, but we realise they are in a terribly-difficult situation with the decisions that they are making," Burke told the audience. "The opportunity will continue to be there for them to talk to Australian officials if they wish to." It was unclear when the remaining players were scheduled to leave Australia.
Burke did not elaborate on the threats the players would face if they returned to Iran.

During the competition, the ladies have mainly refrained from commenting on the situation at home, however Iran forward Sara Didar held back tears in a news conference on Wednesday as she expressed her concern for her family, friends, and all Iranians during the turmoil.
The Iranian squad has received national media attention in Australia after the players' quiet during the national anthem before an opening loss to South Korea last week was seen as an act of resistance by some and a display of sadness by others. The team hasn't clarified. They later sang and saluted during the anthem before their final two matches.
"Australians have been moved by the plight of these brave women," Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Tuesday."They are safe here and they should feel at home here." According to Albanese, Australian officials made "clear" offers of support to the athletes.
"They then had to consider that and do it in a way that did not present any danger to them or to their families and friends back home in Iran," according to him.Asylum came amid Trump's urging Australia's announcement came after Trump on Monday in Washington called on Australia to offer asylum to any team member who requested it. Earlier that day, Trump had criticized Australia on social media, claiming that it was "making a terrible humanitarian mistake by allowing the... team to be forced back to Iran, where they will most likely be killed".Trump urged Australia to give the squad refuge, saying, "The US will take them if you won't." Less than two hours later, Trump congratulated Albanese again on social media, writing, "He's on it! Five have already been taken care of, and the rest are on their way. The president's offer of asylum was a departure for Trump, whose administration has pushed to limit the number of immigrants who can seek asylum for political reasons.
Albanese stated that Trump contacted him for "a very positive conversation" about the problem. The Australian leader described "the action that we had undertaken over the previous 48 hours" to assist the women.
He applauded Australian news sources for not reporting on developments in the matter earlier.