Iran’s national football team, Team Melli, will play in the 2026 FIFA World Cup, which is being co-hosted by the US, Canada, and Mexico, amid tensions between the US and Iran that continue to dominate international news.
The team’s participation has been overshadowed by visa concerns, political tensions and logistical complications because of the US-Iran war. However, Iran remains part of the tournament and is scheduled to begin its World Cup campaign on June 15.
Due to visa concerns and a growing perception in Iran that the team’s presence in the United States should be limited, Tehran arranged for the team’s base to be moved at the last minute from Arizona to Tijuana, Mexico.
The team is expected to arrive in Tijuana early on Sunday.
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Why was Iran’s World Cup participation in doubt?
Iran, known as Team Melli, secured qualification for the expanded 48-team World Cup through the Asian qualifiers and is set to face New Zealand, Belgium and Egypt in the group stage.
However, there has been uncertainty in recent weeks regarding the Iranian authorities and players’ ability to travel to the United States, where all three of their group-stage matches are set to take place.
Abolfazl Pasandideh, Iran’s ambassador to Mexico, stated late on Thursday that the squad had not yet gotten their U.S. visas.
The semi-official Fars news agency also reported on Friday that several members of the Iran team’s technical and administrative staff had not yet received visas from the United States. “The U.S. embassy has so far refused to issue them,” the news agency said without citing a source.
Iranian Football Federation president Mehdi Taj had repeatedly called on FIFA to provide guarantees regarding visas. The federation argued that players and staff required multiple-entry visas because they would be travelling back and forth between Mexico and the United States throughout the group stage.
The issue was further complicated by comments from US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Tuesday, who said individuals linked to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) would not be eligible for entry. “We have no problem with the athletes, as we stated earlier, or their support staff,” Rubio added.
Reports indicated that some support staff members remained under review even as players received approval.
The situation became serious enough that Iran relocated its planned World Cup base camp from Arizona to Tijuana, Mexico, allowing players to stay outside the United States and travel in only for matches.
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Visa got cleared on Friday
The Associated Press was informed by a US official that players, coaches, trainers, and certain support personnel had received visas. Since they were not permitted to discuss the visas in public, the officials talked on condition of anonymity.
In a post on X on Friday, U.S. Ambassador to Turkey Tom Barrack seemed to confirm the visa approvals.
“Proud of our outstanding team at the U.S. Embassy in Ankara for their work processing visas for Iran’s national football team on their road to the FIFA World Cup in the United States,” Barrack wrote.
With visa approvals now reportedly secured, Iran is expected to travel from its temporary base in Tijuana to Los Angeles for its World Cup opener against New Zealand on June 15.
The team recently completed its final warm-up fixtures in Turkey, defeating Mali 2-0 before departing for North America.
