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IFA World Cup 2026: The United States has granted visas to Iran’s football team, allowing them to enter the country for the tournament.
The decision reportedly covers the 26-player squad, while also approving entry for head coach Amir Ghalenoei, despite ongoing geopolitical tensions between Iran and the United States.
The United States has reportedly denied visas to several officials of the Iranian football team. The Iranian Football Federation (FFIRI) president Mehdi Taj, secretary general Hedayat Mombeini, and media director Mohsen Motamedkia, along with around 14 key officials, have been blacklisted.
As a result, only the players and head coach will be allowed to travel to the United States.
Earlier as well, Mehdi Taj was not allowed entry into FIFA-related events due to sanctions.
Iran responded strongly and said that this is hostile and discriminatory behavior by the United States. They also questioned how the team can perform well without its full supporting staff.
The US Department of Security stated that certain Iranian officials applied for visas under the guise of sports-related activities but failed to clear security checks. The US government believes that some officials attempted to enter the country by providing false information, which is unacceptable from a national security standpoint. Consequently, their visa applications were rejected on security grounds.
Iran has devised a new plan following the cancellation of visas for some of its support staff. According to reports, the staff members have obtained visas through the Mexican embassy and will be based in the Mexican city of Tijuana. From a camp set up in Mexico, officials will handle technical and logistical support for the team.
The visas granted by the United States to Iran’s football team are multiple-entry visas.
Iran’s football team will travel to the United States only for their matches, and after each game they will return to their base camp in Mexico. The team will operate in this model throughout the tournament.
When Iran’s football team crosses the Mexico–US border, there will be extremely strict security arrangements from that point until the team returns to Mexico after the match. The team’s security will be tightly controlled throughout the entire period.
FIFA is very unhappy with the situation, as it believes that politics should be kept separate from sports and that all countries should be treated equally.
For the first time in FIFA history, a team will reportedly travel across borders from one country to another to play World Cup matches, moving between countries for each game.
Iran is in Group G, where it will play a total of three matches. If the team finishes in the top two of the group or qualifies among the best top-placed teams across all groups, it will advance to the knockout stage. In that case, Iran’s number of matches will increase as it progresses further in the tournament.
1st Match: 16 June 2026 — Iran vs New Zealand (06:30 AM) — Los Angeles Stadium
2nd Match: 22 June 2026 — Belgium vs Iran (12:30 AM, midnight of 21 June) — Los Angeles Stadium
3rd Match: 27 June 2026 — Egypt vs Iran (08:30 AM) — Seattle Stadium
Goalkeepers (3 players): Alireza Beiranvand, Seyed Hossein Hosseini, and Payam Niazmand.
Defenders (8 players): Captain Ehsan Hajsafi, Shoja Khalilzadeh, Milad Mohammadi, Ramin Rezaeian, Hossein Kanani, Saleh Hardani, Ali Nemati, and Danial Eiri.
Midfielders (10 players): Saeid Ezatolahi, Alireza Jahanbakhsh, Saman Ghoddos, Rouzbeh Cheshmi, Mehdi Torabi, Mohammad Mohebbi, Mehdi Ghayedi, Mohammad
Ghorbani, Amir Mohammad Raghineh, and Aria Yousefi.
Forwards (5 players): Star striker Mehdi Taremi, Ali Alipour, Amirhossein Hosseinzadeh, Shahriar Moghanlou, and Dennis Eckert.
