The Iranian national football team arrived in Mexico on Sunday for the 2026 World Cup, facing significant frustrations due to a diplomatic clash with the United States. This dispute arose after several members of the support staff were denied entry visas.
Upon landing at Tijuana airport, head coach Amir Ghalenoei expressed his dissatisfaction, stating, “We should have arrived last week. Adjusting to a 12-hour time difference requires at least two weeks. Ethical and human considerations must come first in these tournaments, which we feel were overlooked in our case.”
The squad departed their training facility in Turkey just a day prior and touched down in the Mexican border city around 5 AM local time. Ghalenoei’s team will remain in Tijuana for the duration of the tournament, despite all their group stage matches taking place in the United States.
Upon disembarking, the players faced strict security measures, including a presence of Mexican national guard troops. A small group of fans, holding Iranian flags, gathered at the airport to greet the team from afar.
This conflict has escalated just days ahead of the World Cup kickoff on Thursday, which is being co-hosted by the United States, Canada, and Mexico.
Ghalenoei acknowledged FIFA’s efforts to assist with their entry, remarking, “We are upset about this behavior. This situation has never occurred before.”
Team captain Ehsan Hajsafi voiced his frustration regarding the delayed visa process, questioning, “Why so late? In the past year, we have endured two wars imposed on our nation.” He affirmed that the team is fully prepared and optimistic about advancing beyond the group stage.
The matches for Iran in Group G are scheduled in Los Angeles against New Zealand on June 15 and Belgium on June 21, with another game in Seattle against Egypt on June 26. This World Cup marks the first time a host nation will welcome a team from a country it is currently in conflict with.
The squad spent nearly three weeks training in Turkey, applying for visas to enter Mexico, Canada, and the U.S. They finally received their U.S. visas just before their departure, as confirmed by Tom Barrack, Washington’s envoy to Turkey.
However, the Iranian embassy in Turkey reported that numerous support staff had their visa applications denied. Reports indicate that 15 administrative and management personnel are affected, according to an Iranian diplomat and state television.
The embassy criticized what it described as “deliberate and discriminatory actions against Iran’s national football team,” and urged FIFA to hold the U.S. accountable for breaching its regulations.
Further complicating matters, Iran’s ambassador to Mexico, Abolfazl Pasandideh, stated that the team must adhere to a strict visa condition that requires them to enter and exit U.S. territory on the same day as their matches.
“We can enter in the morning and must leave the same day,” Pasandideh told reporters. This seemed to contradict earlier comments from Amir Mahdi Alavi, the team’s spokesperson.
Alavi had indicated to Iranian state television that the national team had been issued multiple-entry visas, stating, “The national team will arrive at the match venue one day before the first game and, for the subsequent games, two days prior to each match.”
FIFA regulations require that a team’s coach hold a press conference the day before the match at the venue where the game is set to take place.
Iran’s football federation, whose leader Mehdi Taj reportedly faced visa challenges, has condemned the situation as “political interference in sports at its worst.”
A U.S. administration official did not directly address the visa denials, stating only, “We will not allow the Iranian team to exploit this system to smuggle terrorists into the United States under false pretenses.”
