Iran’s World Cup team arrives in Mexico amid visa complications

The ongoing political tensions in the Middle East are also spilling over to the World Cup football field. Diplomatic relations between Iran and the United States, one of the hosts of this year’s 2026 FIFA World Cup, are currently at their lowest point.
Due to these mutual tensions, Iran’s journey to this year’s World Cup was initially quite uncertain. However, overcoming various obstacles, from visa complications to changes in the plan to set up a base camp, the Iranian national football team has arrived in Tijuana, Mexico, to participate in the World Cup. The team flew from Turkey early Saturday and landed in this Mexican border city.
Earlier, the Iranian team had been in a training camp in Anatolia, Turkey for the past three weeks. They were mainly staying there to complete the visa procedures for the three host countries—the United States, Mexico and Canada. However, despite all this, Washington has refused to issue visas to some members of the Iranian team. This has created a new controversy. Although the team’s base camp was initially planned to be in Arizona, USA, it was changed at the last minute to Mexico due to visa uncertainties. The Iranian Football Federation claimed that while the players’ visas were finally approved, some key administrative and management officials of the team were not granted visas.
The decision, which comes just days before the start of the World Cup, has sparked outrage in Iran. The country’s embassy in Turkey said that visa applications for 15 administrative and management officials had been rejected. In a statement, the embassy accused the United States of “deliberate and discriminatory treatment” of the Iranian national team and called on world football’s governing body FIFA to investigate the matter.
The Iranian Football Federation described the decision as “the most egregious example of political interference in sports”. Local media reported that federation president Mehdi Taj was among those denied visas. Meanwhile, a new controversy has erupted over the Iranian team’s position in the United States. Iran’s ambassador to Mexico, Abolfazl Pasandideh, told reporters that the team had been told that their visa requirements required them to enter and exit the United States on the day of the match.
However, national team spokesman Amir Mahdi Alavi told state television that the team had been granted multiple entry permits and would be in the United States for one day before the first match and two days before the subsequent matches. Meanwhile, a US administration official said that visas had been granted to players and essential support staff required for the World Cup. He did not give details about those who were denied visas. He added, “We are vigilant to ensure that no one enters the United States under false identities.”
Earlier, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio had suggested that some members of the Iranian delegation may have links to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), which the US has designated a terrorist organisation. Iran, in Group G at the World Cup, will play their first match against New Zealand in Los Angeles on June 15. They will then face Belgium in the same city on June 21. Iran will play their final group match against Egypt in Seattle on June 26.