TEHRAN – Iran international setter Negin Shirtari joined Portuguese volleyball club CD Aves.

Shirtari, 23, represented Iran volleyball team in the 2019 Asian Women's Volleyball Championship, where the Persians finished in seventh place.

She is the first Iranian woman player to join a Portuguese team.

Iranian men volleyball players Mohammadreza Beik and Ehsan Ahmadi currently play for Sporting Clube das Caldas.

Komeil Akbari also plays for Castelo da Maia.

Iranian women volleyball players have already started to play at the European leagues.

Maedeh Borhani, Zeinab Giveh, Farnoosh Sheikhi and Mahsa Saberi have played abroad.