On Sunday, Iran’s squad for the 2026 World Cup arrived in Mexico amidst escalating diplomatic tensions, following the US government’s refusal to grant visas to some support staff members.
Upon their arrival at Tijuana airport, head coach Amir Ghalenoei expressed his dissatisfaction, stating, “We should have been here last week because a 12-hour time difference requires two weeks for proper adjustment. Ethical and humanitarian considerations should take precedence in these tournaments, but unfortunately, that was not the case for us.”
Having departed from their training base in Turkey the previous day, the team touched down in Tijuana around 5 a.m. local time (1 p.m. BST) on Sunday. Ghalenoei’s team will remain in Tijuana for the duration of the tournament, despite their group-stage matches taking place entirely in the US.
The Iranian players and coaching staff exited their aircraft under heavy security, which included a presence of Mexican national guard troops. Only a small group of fans, waving Iranian flags, were present at the airport to greet them from a distance.
This controversy arises just days ahead of the World Cup’s opening match on Thursday, co-hosted by the United States, Mexico, and Canada.
Ghalenoei acknowledged the efforts of FIFA to facilitate their entry, but he added, “We are upset about this behavior. It has certainly never happened before.”
Team captain Ehsan Hajsafi voiced his frustrations regarding the US visa delay, asking, “Why so late? In the past year, we’ve endured two wars imposed on our country.” He emphasized that “the team is 100% ready” and expressed confidence in their ability to progress beyond the group stage.
Iran’s matches in Group G are scheduled to occur in Los Angeles, where they will face New Zealand on June 15 and Belgium on June 21, and in Seattle, where they will play against Egypt on June 26. This World Cup marks the first instance where a host nation will welcome a team from a country it is currently at odds with.
The squad spent nearly three weeks training in Turkey, utilizing that time to secure visas for their travel to Mexico, Canada, and the United States. On the eve of their flight, the players finally received their US visas, as confirmed by Tom Barrack, the US envoy to Turkey.
However, Iran’s embassy in Turkey reported that support staff members were denied visas, with fifteen administrative and management personnel affected, according to an Iranian diplomat and state television.
The embassy condemned what it described as “deliberate and discriminatory treatment” towards Iran’s national football team, urging FIFA to hold the US accountable for these violations of its regulations.
Compounding the situation, Iran’s ambassador to Mexico revealed that the squad has been informed they must enter and exit US territory on the same day as their matches. “We can enter in the morning and must leave the same day,” Iranian envoy Abolfazl Pasandideh told reporters, which seemed to contradict earlier statements from the team’s spokesman, Amir Mahdi Alavi.
Alavi had previously stated, “The visas issued for the national team are multiple-entry visas, and the national team will arrive at the match venue one day before the first game and, for each subsequent match, two days prior.”
FIFA regulations require that the head coach of each team holds a press conference the day before their match at the respective venue.
Iran’s football federation, whose president Mehdi Taj was reportedly among those denied a visa, has labeled this decision as “political interference in sport at its worst.”
A US administration official refrained from addressing the visa denials directly, merely stating, “We will not allow the Iranian team to exploit this system to smuggle terrorists into the United States under false pretenses.”
