Persian Rugs and the FIFA World Cup

Persian Rugs and the FIFA World Cup

With Soccer being the most popular sport in the world, people are tuning in everywhere to watch the FIFA World cup that started this past week. To most living outside the US, this is a bigger deal than the Olympics or even American Footballs Super Bowl. Teams representing their countries see this as an opportunity to showcase their soccer talents, compete globally and build comradery with their worldwide competition. Some teams even see the World Cup as a chance to exchange gifts while putting aside political differences in the spirit of said competition. This is exactly what Iran’s National Team did as they arrived the host country of Russia last week.

Irans Persian Rug Diplomacy

The Iranian team gifted the host country Russia, its competitors and the FIFA organization, 2018 World Cup-themed Persian Rugs. These rugs took over 6 months to be sewn together and don this year’s FIFA Mascot, a cartoon-like fox kicking a soccer ball. This also wasn’t the first time Iran brought Persian Rugs as gifts for the global soccer competition. Back in 1998, Iran, after qualifying to compete for the cup, started the tradition and supplied elegant, hand sewn original Persian rugs to its first-round competitors and the host country. Since then, Iran has continued the tradition of supplying tournament themed rugs for each competition they are fortunate enough to play in.

These rugs may not be able to solve the world’s problems, the ability to appreciate the craftsmanship of a cultural tradition is something that knows no boundary. And while we may not have World Cup-themed rugs in stock, contact our staff today for any questions regarding our selection or services!

To see the rugs gifted by Iran, click here for the original article!