Infantino did not raise the issue of the ban on women publicly while in Iran, but he later said that he had brought it up privately, and had been assured by Rouhani that there were plans to end it.

“It is really stressful, it is difficult when you are living in such conditions,” Sara said of her efforts to end the ban as a private citizen. “Any move you make, you have to think, is going to put myself or my family in danger. You feel terrorized.”

But with only a few hours until kickoff on Friday in St. Petersburg, Sara was torn. On the one hand, she wanted to enjoy a match without pressure, the way most women in the world can. Yet she was also aware that the World Cup was a platform to let a wider audience know her cause in Iran.

“It is their right, they have to be in the stadiums,” she said of Iranian women. “Football is not for men only.”

On Friday, many Iranian women joined the procession of fans to the St. Petersburg stadium. Some of the women were from Tehran, others were drawn to Russia from the global Iranian diaspora. Sara met another Iranian activist who lives in the United States, and they unfolded two banners. The one held by Sara said: “Support Iranian Women to Attend Stadiums #NoBan4Women.” Passing Iranian fans, buoyed by their pregame excitement, offered support, or took a moment to pose for photographs with the signs.

Russian police officers looked on but did not intervene.

As the start of the game approached, the groups that had gathered split up and began to head to their seats. Sara found her gate, and took her place in line. Ever since getting off the bus that had brought her near the stadium, she said, she had been unable to suppress a smile.