Iranian dad melts hearts for helping blind son feel Iran's World Cup goal through a cardboard tactics board

A few days ago, an Iranian father captured the attention of the entire footballing world when a video of him helping his blind son follow a World Cup match went viral. Using a handmade cardboard tactics board, he guided his son's hands across a makeshift pitch, narrating every pass, every run, every moment of the action in real time.

The video moved millions of people. Then he did it again.

This time, it was not a Ronaldo goal or a Switzerland match. It was Iran's own. And somehow, watching a child feel his own country score — through his father's hands and his father's voice — hits differently.


In the video, the father is seen doing exactly what he has done before. His son's hands rest on the cardboard board as he walks him through the build-up, describing where the ball is, who has it, where they are going. And then the moment arrives. Iran score. The father tells his son. And the boy's reaction is everything.

It is the kind of moment that reminds you what sport actually is, underneath the television deals and the transfer fees and the group stage points tables.

Watch the video here:

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A post shared by Alireza Babajani (@alirezapiano95)

Iran's World Cup campaign ended in the group stages on Saturday, knocked out after Algeria and Austria played out a 3-3 draw that closed the door on any path through as one of the best third-place teams. It was Iran's seventh World Cup appearance, and like every one before it, they did not make it past the groups.

The campaign itself was far from smooth. Iran trained out of Tijuana in Mexico rather than on United States soil, travelling back and forth across the border for each of their three matches due to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East. Their coach, Amir Ghalenoei, was blunt after the final match, saying his team had been treated "very unfairly" and calling on FIFA president Gianni Infantino to take a firmer stance with host nations in future tournaments.

But somewhere in the stands, or in a living room, or wherever this father and his son were watching — none of that was the story.

The story was a nine-year-old boy feeling his country score a World Cup goal through a piece of cardboard and his father's hands, and reacting the way only a child watching his team score can.

Iran may be on their way home. But that father made sure his son got to feel every moment of the journey while it lasted.

(Disclaimer: This article is based on a viral social media post and online reactions. The Economic Times cannot independently verify the authenticity of the content and does not claim or endorse it.)