Iran received visas for matches in the USA, but the dispute over the delegation remains open ahead of the World Cup
Five days before the start of the 2026 World Cup, which will be played in the USA, Canada and Mexico from June 11 to July 19, the Iranian national football team has removed the biggest immediate obstacle to appearing in the United States of America, but the political-sporting dispute over U.S. visas has not ended. According to an Associated Press report, U.S. officials confirmed that Iranian players received approvals to enter the USA, which made it possible for the national team to travel from its base in Tijuana to Group G matches in California and the state of Washington. At the same time, some members of the federation, administrative staff and the accompanying delegation are still without visas or, according to available information, are facing rejected applications. The Iranian Football Federation therefore accuses U.S. authorities of politically motivated conduct and claims that the national team has not been given fully equal conditions ahead of the tournament. The federation announced that it will appeal to FIFA, while U.S. officials, who spoke about the case anonymously because they were not authorized to discuss visas publicly, say that visas were issued to players, coaches, part of the technical staff and essential accompanying personnel.
Players and technical staff received approvals, but not the entire delegation
According to the Associated Press, one U.S. official said that all Iranian national team players had been approved for visas, while another stated that visas had been issued to players, coaches, fitness and medical staff members and part of the support staff. A third official suggested that some applicants connected with the national team had been rejected because, according to the U.S. side, they sought visas under false pretenses. That claim has not been publicly elaborated in detail, and from the available reports it is not possible to confirm which persons it refers to. The Iranian federation rejects such an interpretation and claims that it is a discriminatory approach toward official members of the delegation. This created a gap between the formal approval for the team’s participation and the status of the wider operational entourage, which at major tournaments performs administrative, security, logistical and communication tasks.
Iranian state television, according to the Associated Press report, stated that among the people who did not have U.S. visas before the trip were federation secretary general Hedayat Mombeini and vice president Mehdi Mohammad Nabi. The same report also mentions that it was unclear whether the president of the Iranian Football Federation, Mehdi Taj, had received a visa. In a statement, the federation accused the USA of retaliatory behavior toward key management and administrative members of the national team. According to the federation’s position, the refusal or delay of visas could undermine preparation and competition conditions because at major tournaments it is not only the players on the field who compete, but also the organizational system that accompanies them. The U.S. side, on the other hand, emphasizes that the athletes and essential personnel received approvals that enable participation in the matches.
The route through Antalya and Tijuana instead of preparations in Arizona
The Iranian national team prepared in Antalya, Turkey, from where it departed for Mexico on June 6, 2026. The Associated Press reported that the team had already earlier received visas from the Mexican Embassy in Ankara, while the U.S. visas were processed through the U.S. Embassy in the same city. U.S. Ambassador to Turkey Tom Barrack publicly praised the work of embassy staff in processing the applications, but the Iranian embassy in Ankara responded that such messages do not remove what it claims is a violation of the host’s sporting obligations and politically biased interference in sport. Such an exchange of messages shows that even after visas for the players were approved, the diplomatic polemic continued over the scope of the delegation that should be allowed to travel. For the national team itself, the most important thing is that it has been given an operational route to the stadiums, but for the federation the issue is not only technical but also political.
The original plan provided for Iran to be based in Tucson, Arizona, but the base was moved to Tijuana, Mexico. FIFA confirmed in its official list of team base camps that Iran will use Centro Xoloitzcuintle in Tijuana. According to FIFA’s list, 39 national teams have a base in the USA, seven in Mexico and two in Canada, which shows that the Iranian case is part of the wider logistical picture of a tournament being played for the first time in three host countries. Tijuana is important in this case because of its proximity to California, as it is located directly along the U.S. border and enables travel toward the stadium in Inglewood. Moving the base nevertheless means additional planning of border crossings, security procedures, transport and the team’s daily routines, especially because Iran is playing all three group matches on U.S. territory.
The schedule in Group G remains unchanged
According to FIFA’s official schedule, Iran has been placed in Group G with New Zealand, Belgium and Egypt. It plays its first match against New Zealand at the stadium in Inglewood in the Los Angeles area of California, then a match with Belgium follows at the same stadium, and the final group duel is played against Egypt in Seattle. Associated Press reports listed the dates of June 15 for the match with New Zealand, June 21 for the meeting with Belgium and June 26 for the duel with Egypt according to the local context of the host. FIFA’s digital schedule for users in a European time zone may display some fixtures as the following calendar day because of the time difference, which is especially important for viewers following the timetable outside North America. Despite the diplomatic dispute, for now there have been no official announcements of changes to the venues of Iran’s matches.
Group G carries major sporting stakes for all four national teams. Belgium enters the tournament as the group’s most prominent European name, while Iran, Egypt and New Zealand are looking for an opportunity to make a step forward in the expanded competition format. The 2026 World Cup is the first edition with 48 national teams, which changes the competitive dynamics and opens additional possibilities of progressing to the knockout stage. In its preview of Group G, FIFA emphasized that Belgium will play against Egypt, Iran and New Zealand, and the official schedule confirms that the Iranian national team will not have a match in Mexico in the first phase, although it will be based there. Such a schedule further explains why U.S. visas were a key operational issue, regardless of the fact that the base was moved from the USA to Mexico.
The dispute is a continuation of a problem that has lasted for months
The issue of U.S. visas for Iranian football officials did not appear only in the final stage of preparations. Even ahead of the World Cup draw in Washington, according to earlier reports by international media, the Iranian federation warned about rejected or unissued visas for members of its delegation. That case already then opened the question of how political tensions between the USA and Iran would affect a tournament being held in the United States of America, Canada and Mexico. Additional complexity is created by the U.S. screening regime for travelers from countries covered by security restrictions, with official U.S. information for the World Cup stating that applicants may be subject to special rules and checks. In practice, the sporting calendar therefore collides with immigration and security procedures that are outside the direct control of the national team and the competition organizers.
For FIFA, this is a sensitive issue because World Cups depend on host guarantees that national teams, official delegations and accredited persons will be able to participate in the competition under comparable conditions. The Iranian federation refers precisely to that argument when it claims that visa decisions affected the equality of the competition. However, the final assessment of whether there has been a breach of the host’s obligations will depend on documents, the scope of issued and rejected visas and communication between the federation, FIFA and U.S. authorities. For now, it has been confirmed that the players can travel to the matches, but it has not been confirmed that all issues related to administrative and accompanying staff have been resolved. This leaves room for the dispute to continue even after the national team arrives in Mexico.
Sporting focus under pressure from the geopolitical context
Iran comes to the World Cup at a moment when sporting preparations overlap with international tensions, security issues and internal pressures. The Associated Press states that Iranian clubs from which a large share of the national team players come had their competitive rhythm disrupted because of war, and reports also emphasize that part of the preparations was carried out in Turkey before departure for North America. In such circumstances, the choice of base, travel across the border and the status of officials are not merely administrative details but elements that can influence the staff’s daily work. Although the football team can formally focus on the matches, the political context constantly follows every phase of its arrival at the tournament. That is why Iran’s appearance has already, before the first referee’s whistle, become one of the most sensitive stories of the start of the championship.
The United States of America, Canada and Mexico are organizing the largest edition of the World Cup so far, with 48 national teams and matches distributed across several time zones. Such a format brings complex security, traffic, immigration and diplomatic challenges, and the case of Iran shows how sharply they can intensify when competitive interest meets relations between states. For U.S. authorities, the priority is security screening of entries into the country, while for national teams and federations the key role is played by the predictability of travel and access to all official functions that accompany participation. FIFA, if the Iranian federation formally initiates proceedings, will have to position itself between these two frameworks. In the meantime, the Iranian national team must deal with sporting tasks in Group G, while off the field the debate continues over the boundary between security policy and the sporting obligations of the host.
Sources:
- Associated Press – report on the approval of U.S. visas for Iranian players, coaches and essential personnel ahead of World Cup matches (link)
- Associated Press – report on the departure of the Iranian national team from Antalya toward Tijuana and on delegation members who, according to Iranian claims, remained without visas (link)
- FIFA – official list of national team base camps for the 2026 World Cup, including Iran’s base in Tijuana and Centro Xoloitzcuintle (link)
- FIFA – official page of the Iran national team with the schedule of matches in Group G (link)
- U.S. Department of State – official visa information for travelers coming to the FIFA World Cup 2026 in the USA (link)
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