Niloufar Ardalan, 30, who plays futsal -- a form of five-a-side -- missed the final of the Asian Championship in Malaysia in September, which Iran ended up winning. Before the tournament she had been captain of the national side but her husband, Mehdi Tutunchi, a TV sports presenter, enforced his right under Islamic sharia law to ban his wife from leaving Iran. State television's most popular football programme, "90" on Sunday announced Ardalan had left for Guatemala.