Iran received visas for players at the World Cup, part of the staff still without approval to enter the USA
The Iranian national football team has arrived in Tijuana, Mexico, where it will be based during its appearance at the 2026 World Cup, but the issue of U.S. visas for part of the delegation continues to burden the team’s preparations several days before the start of the tournament. According to Associated Press reports, the team arrived in Mexico on Sunday, June 7, 2026, after preparations in Antalya, Turkey. The players had previously, according to original information and reports from international agencies, departed from Turkey on Saturday and arrived at the agreed base in Tijuana, a city on the Mexican side of the border with California.
According to a White House official who spoke to Reuters, the players of the Iranian national team have been approved for visas to enter the United States of America in order to participate in the World Cup. The U.S. State Department, according to reports from several media outlets, said that the visas Iran needs to participate in the tournament had been issued, including those for athletes and essential accompanying staff. Iranian state television and the semi-official Tasnim agency, however, reported that some members of the accompanying staff and officials still do not have the necessary approvals. The reports state that this concerns 14 members of the delegation, while some later sources also mention the number of 15 people, so the exact scope of the problem, according to available information, has not been officially clarified.
Among the people reported not to have received the necessary permit are Hedayat Mombini, secretary general of the Iranian Football Federation, and Mehdi Mohammad Nabi, vice-president of the federation. The Associated Press, citing statements after the team’s arrival in Tijuana, reported that some members of the operational part of the national team, including people responsible for organization, executive duties and media activities, also remained without U.S. visas. Captain Ehsan Hajsafi publicly called on FIFA to get involved in resolving the problem, stating that certain members of the staff are important for the normal functioning of the national team during the tournament.
Preparations moved from Arizona to Tijuana
Iran was originally supposed to use a base in Tucson, in the state of Arizona, but due to uncertainty surrounding visa processing, the training camp was moved to Tijuana. The Associated Press states that the team arrived from Antalya by private charter flight and that Mexican officials and a smaller number of fans welcomed it at the airport. Tijuana was chosen as a practical base because it is located immediately next to the border with the United States, but such an arrangement at the same time creates additional logistical challenges for a national team that plays all of its group matches on U.S. territory.
According to FIFA’s schedule for the 2026 World Cup, Iran will compete in Group G with Belgium, Egypt and New Zealand. It plays its first match against New Zealand on June 15 at the stadium in Los Angeles, then meets Belgium on June 21 in the same area, and finishes the group stage on June 26 against Egypt in Seattle. Considering that the base is located in Mexico, the national team must organize repeated border crossings and travel to U.S. host cities, which is more sensitive than for national teams whose camps are in the same country in which they play their matches.
Additional uncertainty was caused by differing information about the conditions for using the issued visas. Iran’s ambassador to Mexico, Abolfazl Pasandideh, according to a Guardian report and agency sources, said that the team had been informed it could enter and leave the USA on the same day the match is played. National team spokesman Amir Mahdi Alavi presented a different version, according to which the visas are multiple-entry and the team should arrive for its first away fixture one day before the match, and for later matches two days earlier. Since these rules have not been presented in the same way in all sources, it is currently not completely clear how the entry regime will be applied in practice.
U.S. rules provide exceptions for major sporting competitions
The dispute over Iranian visas is taking place within the broader framework of U.S. entry restrictions. The State Department announced that, as of January 1, 2026, the issuance of visas to nationals of a number of countries, including Iran, has been fully suspended for all nonimmigrant and immigrant categories, but with limited exceptions. Among the exceptions, according to the same official document, are participants in certain major sporting events. This means that athletes and essential personnel may be considered differently from ordinary travelers, but each individual application is still processed through U.S. security and consular procedures.
The U.S. State Department, in separate information on the visa bond for the World Cup, states that the visa bond requirement may be waived for athletes and team members, including coaches, persons providing essential support and immediate family members, if they come from countries participating in the FIFA World Cup 2026 and meet the visa requirements. The same document emphasizes that no visa is issued before a consular officer completes the review and determines whether the applicant meets the requirements under U.S. law. For that reason, the U.S. side presents the dispute as a matter of security and administrative assessment, while the Iranian side claims it is a politically motivated restriction on the work of the national team.
The Guardian carried a statement from a U.S. official saying that the visas needed for Iranian participation in the World Cup had been issued, including those for athletes and essential accompanying staff. The same outlet states that Iranian diplomats and state media responded by claiming that a large part of the managerial, executive and technical staff remained without permits, which, in their interpretation, makes it more difficult to compete under equal conditions. According to those reports, the Iranian Football Federation announced it would appeal to FIFA, claiming that the host must provide normal conditions of participation for all national teams that have qualified.
FIFA under pressure over equal competition conditions
For FIFA, the case is sensitive because the 2026 World Cup is the first edition with 48 national teams and 104 matches, and the hosting is shared by the United States of America, Canada and Mexico. According to FIFA’s official schedule, the tournament begins on June 11 and lasts until July 19, 2026, with matches played in 16 host cities. Such a format requires complex cross-border organization, especially for national teams that during the group stage travel between different U.S., Canadian and Mexican locations or, like Iran, are based outside the country in which they play all their matches.
The usual operational standards at World Cups include national teams arriving in the match city early enough for official training sessions, media obligations and tactical preparation. The Guardian recalls that FIFA rules require a pre-match press conference by the head coach at the venue of the match. If the same-day entry and exit rule were indeed applied to the Iranian national team, this could raise questions about the compatibility of such an arrangement with usual competition procedures. For now, however, there is no publicly announced final FIFA decision that would explain in detail how all practical aspects of travel and media obligations will be resolved.
Iranian captain Ehsan Hajsafi, according to the Associated Press, said after arriving in Tijuana that the team is in good condition, but expressed dissatisfaction with the length of the process and the fact that visas had not been approved for all people the national team considers key. His statement further focused attention on the difference between the sporting and administrative parts of preparations: players can train and prepare for matches, but the absence of people responsible for logistics, media and day-to-day organization can be felt in the rhythm of a major tournament. In such circumstances, FIFA, according to the expectations of the Iranian side, will have to mediate at least in communication with U.S. authorities.
The sporting challenge in Group G remains overshadowed by the administrative dispute
Iran arrives at the tournament as an Asian representative that has regularly appeared on the world stage in recent years, but still faces the challenge of advancing from the group. Group G brings different football profiles: Belgium enters as a European national team with extensive international experience, Egypt relies on African competitive tradition and strong individuals, and New Zealand represents Oceanian football in the expanded tournament format. According to FIFA’s announcements for Group G, the opening matches on June 15 include Belgium against Egypt in Seattle and Iran against New Zealand in Los Angeles.
In the expanded World Cup format, the two best national teams from each of the 12 groups qualify directly, while the round of 32, the new knockout round, is completed by the eight best third-placed teams. This increases the competitive importance of every match, but at the same time gives additional value to stable preparations and recovery management between fixtures. For Iran, travel logistics from Tijuana to Los Angeles and Seattle will therefore be more than an administrative detail, especially if it remains unclear how early the national team can enter the USA before each match.
The match against New Zealand is especially important because it opens Iran’s appearance at the tournament and can significantly affect its position in the group. After that comes the match against Belgium, which according to the schedule also takes place in Los Angeles, while the final round against Egypt in Seattle could decide qualification for the knockout stage. In such a schedule, a stable coaching staff, clear travel rules and uninterrupted communication with the organizers have direct sporting value. That is why Iran’s request for the status of the remaining delegation members to be resolved before the start of the competition is not only a diplomatic issue, but also a matter of the national team’s operational readiness.
Open questions ahead of the first match
As of June 8, 2026, it has been confirmed that the Iranian national team has arrived in Tijuana and that the players have received the necessary U.S. visas to participate in the World Cup matches. It has not, however, been fully clarified whether all members of the accompanying staff and officials whom the Iranian side considers necessary will receive approval before the first match against New Zealand. It is also not clear whether the national team will be subject to an entry regime allowing entry into the USA one day earlier, two days earlier or only on match day, because different statements have been published on that issue.
The dispute shows how a major sporting competition can become sensitive when the security rules of the host country, diplomatic relations and the demand of sports organizations for equal competition conditions intersect. The United States, as one of the three hosts of the tournament, emphasizes security checks and consular powers, while the Iranian side claims that denying visas to part of the delegation is an obstacle to the normal work of the national team. FIFA will face pressure in the coming days to ensure that the schedule and obligations are carried out without further disruption to preparations. Until then, Iran will continue its work in Tijuana, while an administrative battle over entry into the United States is being conducted in parallel with training sessions.
Sources:
- Associated Press – report on the arrival of the Iranian national team in Tijuana, Ehsan Hajsafi’s statements and the status of part of the delegation without U.S. visas (link)
- FIFA – official match schedule for the 2026 World Cup and data on Group G (link)
- FIFA – overview of Group G and preview of the matches of Belgium, Egypt, Iran and New Zealand (link)
- U.S. Department of State / Travel.State.Gov – official information on the suspension of visa issuance and exceptions for participants in major sporting events (link)
- U.S. Department of State / Travel.State.Gov – information on the visa bond and exceptions for athletes, team members and essential accompanying staff at the FIFA World Cup 2026 (link)
- The Guardian – report on the dispute over U.S. visas, statements by U.S. and Iranian officials and possible restrictions on the movement of the Iranian national team during the tournament (link)