The Iranian national team arrived in Turkey this Monday (18) for a period of training before the scheduled trip to the United States for the World Cup, amid uncertainty about the team’s participation in the tournament following the attacks carried out by
FIFA Secretary General Mattias Grafstrom told Reuters on Saturday that he had a “constructive and positive” meeting with the president of the Iranian Football Federation (FFIRI), Mehdi Taj, and said he was confident in the country’s presence at the
Players and delegation members left Antalya airport wearing black team attire and carrying suitcases of the same color before boarding buses heading to the concentration hotel in Belek, a nearby resort that has hosted national teams in recent years.
Iran is scheduled to play its three group stage matches in the United States, but the team’s participation in the tournament, scheduled between June 11 and July 19, came into question after the attacks carried out by Washington and Tel Aviv.
Iranian authorities and FIFA reported that the delegation’s visa applications will be processed in Türkiye. Doubts surrounding the granting of visas increased after Taj was prevented from entering Canada to participate in the FIFA Congress, held this month in Vancouver, due to his links with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
The United States and Canada, which will jointly host the World Cup alongside Mexico, classify the IRGC as a “terrorist entity” and have made it clear that they will not allow the entry of people linked to the elite Iranian military force.
Iran even requested that its World Cup matches be transferred to Mexico, reiterating that all games will be played in the originally defined stadiums.
The Iranian delegation is expected to head to its base in the United States, at the Kino Sports Complex, in Tucson, Arizona, in early June.
Iran’s World Cup debut is scheduled for June 15, against New Zealand, in Los Angeles. The team will also face Egypt in Group G.
