Alireza Jahanbakhsh: "Carlos Queiroz brought personality and credibility to our football, significantly impacting our football structure. While some decisions he made can be critiqued, he was undoubtedly a high-quality coach."
[@HatamDaddy , @Tasnimnews_Fa]
AmirMahdi Alavi, spokesperson for the FFIRI: “The visa issued to the Iranian national team is a multi-entry visa, and we will go to the US one day before the game against New Zealand, and for the next two matches (Belgium and Egypt) we will go there two days before the game.”
Iran have departed from their training camp in Turkey and are heading to Mexico for the World Cup.
For months, it was unclear whether they would get to this point. Thirteen members of their delegation still do not have visas.
Adam Leventhal spent four days in Antalya following them, speaking to players and officials as they prepared to leave for North America.
🔗 https://t.co/fS7HddjBxF
Members of the Iranian national football team have departed Antalya to participate in the 2026 World Cup. The plane carrying the team is scheduled for a short stopover in Spain before heading to Mexico.
The President of @AIPSmedia (international Sports Journalist Association) Gianni Merlo publishes open letter severely criticizing “unacceptable” behavior by US Gov regarding visas issued calling on @FIFAcom to take direct action to allow African & Iranian football journalists to be able to cover their respective teams.
“In this difficult time for the entire world, on the eve of the futuristic 2026 FIFA World Cup, we find ourselves facing a long-standing and unacceptable problem for us journalists: the denial of entry visas to regularly accredited colleagues.
There are many cases: Iranian colleagues, African colleagues, some of whom have been given single entries, so if their team goes to play in Canada or Mexico and they follow it, they can no longer return to the States.
The cases are countless and, I repeat, unacceptable. Politicians always say that sport unites and builds bridges between young people in countries in conflict, but in this case, we are going in the opposite direction.
We believe it is important to allow colleagues to attend the event and work, because their presence will be crucial to the image of sport and what it represents, especially in a country like the United States of America, where freedom of the press is a must.
I hope FIFA can do everything possible to secure visas. We're already significantly behind schedule, and many colleagues have already lost the opportunity to use plane tickets booked on time, and they'll also face significant additional expenses.”
The International Sports Press Association (AIPS) has urged @FIFAcom to address the visa issues facing Iranian and African journalists ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
@fifamedia@FIFAWorldCup
✅According to Article 35.2 for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, the Iranian national football team will be allowed to visit Los Angeles and Seattle at least one or two days prior to their group stage matches. This will give them the opportunity to familiarize themselves with the turf ⬇️
FFIRI Statement Regarding the Non-Issuance of U.S. Visas
“On the eve of the FIFA World Cup, the U.S. government, continuing its hostile actions against our beloved nation’s national team, has, in a non-sporting and entirely political decision, refused to issue visas to key managerial and administrative members of Iran’s national football team. This decision is contrary to international sporting regulations.
This matter will certainly be pursued by the Football Federation through FIFA, and the world football governing body, as the responsible authority, has a duty to ensure that visas are issued for the managerial, executive, technical, and support staff of Iran’s national team, who are currently with the squad at its training camp and whose presence is urgently needed by the team.
The host nation, through its discriminatory and deliberate treatment of Iran’s national football team, has created a discriminatory and unequal environment. This represents political interference in sport in the worst possible way.
By extending its hostile policies against the Iranian people into the realm of sports, the norm-breaking and law-defying U.S. government has effectively denied Iran’s national team equal conditions and the opportunity to compete free from discrimination. It has prevented the team’s supervisory and administrative staff from being alongside the players and coaches during the sensitive and important World Cup competition, thereby depriving them of the support that would help increase the players’ and coaches’ peace of mind and concentration.”
More than twenty Iranian 🇮🇷 journalists who have officially obtained their accreditation for the World Cup have still not received their visas.
They have been told to follow the players’ example and go through the US Embassy in Ankara. The problem is that no appointments have been given to them so far, and many are wondering why this is the case...
As a reminder, due to the war, the accreditation process had taken longer than expected via FIFA’s media hub.
Having been duly accredited by world football’s governing body, Iranian journalists are now left in the dark, whether they work in print, radio or television. And no one is responding to them, whether it be FIFA or the US Embassy in Ankara...
✅According to Article 35.2 for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, the Iranian national football team will be allowed to visit Los Angeles and Seattle at least one or two days prior to their group stage matches. This will give them the opportunity to familiarize themselves with the turf ⬇️
🚨Which members of the Iranian national football team have not received a visa from the U.S. to participate in the 2026 FIFA World Cup?
- Mehdi Mohammad Nabi (Team Director)
- Hedayat Mombini (Secretary General of the FFIRI)
- Mehdi Kharati (Team Executive Director)⬇️
- Mohsen Motamedkia (Team Media Officer)
- Siamak Ghelichkhani (Team Media Member)
- One of the team's analysts
- Representatives from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Security and International Relations Committee