MEXICO CITY, Mexico — Iran’s national football team is set to lodge a formal complaint with FIFA over travel and visa restrictions that have disrupted the country’s participation in the 2026 FIFA World Cup in North America, following the denial of entry visas to 15 Iranian federation officials.
The complaint comes after Iranian federation members, including team supervisor Mahdi Mohammad Nabi, were denied US visas to attend the team’s three matches in the United States. Nabi, who also served as Iran’s supervisor at the 2018 and 2022 World Cups, has criticised FIFA President Gianni Infantino for failing to deliver on promises to secure full access for the Iranian delegation.
“We hope Mr Infantino will indeed implement the words and promises he made to the Iran national team,” Nabi told Reuters on Thursday. “The FIFA regulations and protocols must be properly followed by both member federations and hosts.”
The visa denials have forced the Iranian team to relocate its training base from Arizona to Tijuana, Mexico, and require repeated cross-border travel for matches hosted in the United States. Iranian officials argue that the situation has created significant operational and competitive difficulties for the squad, disrupting their ability to prepare adequately for the tournament.
The U.S. State Department defended the visa rejections, stating that it “will not allow the Iranian team to abuse this system to sneak terrorists into the U.S. under false pretenses.” The U.S. has also denied visas to Iranian and African journalists covering the World Cup and implemented travel bans against nationals from four countries that qualified for the tournament.
Despite the controversy, FIFA has maintained that immigration decisions remain the responsibility of host nations. Infantino defended FIFA’s position on Wednesday, saying soccer’s world governing body could not dictate immigration decisions to World Cup host nations. “We don’t control everything. Maybe it’s good to just chill, relax,” he said.
However, Nabi noted that he had never before experienced “such lack of coordination” at a World Cup. The entire visa saga, he said, “has disrupted our players’ ability to adapt” and put the team at a disadvantage compared to other competitors.
Iran player Saeid Ezzatollahi told Reuters that the team accepted that players cannot have their families attend the tournament because of visa restrictions, but said FIFA had promised that staff would get visas. “We need all of our staff and especially our main guys that can help us through this tournament,” he said.
The visa restrictions stand in stark contrast to other World Cup tournaments. For example, Russia loosened its strict visa requirements for the 2018 World Cup, implementing a visa-free system for fans with tickets to the tournament. This is the first World Cup since its inception in 1930 in which a host nation is set to receive a country it is at war with.
As the tournament continues, Iran is expected to seek clarification and assurances from world football’s governing body. For now, the Iranian team faces an uphill battle both on and off the pitch, as the visa saga casts a shadow over their World Cup campaign.
