World Cup
Iranians’ World Cup dream crushed by US travel ban
A year out from kick-off, Iranian football fans are watching their World Cup dream slip away. A US travel ban barred them from entering the land of “Great Satan” to cheer on their team.
The 2026 tournament will be co-hosted by the United States, Canada, and Mexico. However, most matches, including the final, are scheduled to be played on American soil.
Many in Iran had clung to hopes of cheering from the stands until Wednesday. On that day, US President Donald Trump rolled out a new travel ban. It affects 12 countries, including Iran, and will take effect from Monday.
“My friends and I have been waiting for years to watch Team Melli (a nickname for the national team) play in a World Cup on US soil. When they qualified, it felt like a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” Sohrab Naderi, a real estate agent in Tehran, told AFP.
“Now with the new travel ban, that dream is shattered. It’s because of politics that we don’t care about. We have no control over it. The speaker, a 46-year-old, attended the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. During the event, the US side defeated Iran 1-0 in the group stage.”
The prospect of Iran competing in a US-hosted tournament comes against the backdrop of a decades-long enmity, with diplomatic ties broken since the 1979 revolution.
The two sides are currently engaged in high-stakes talks over Iran’s nuclear programme, with the United States threatening military action if no deal can be reached.
‘Degrading to all Iranians’
Trump said the new travel ban was prompted by a makeshift flamethrower attack on a Jewish protest in Colorado that US authorities blamed on a man they said was in the country illegally.
The ban will not apply to athletes competing in either the 2026 World Cup or the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, the order said.
Nonetheless, supporters who had dreamed of crossing the Atlantic to cheer on their team will no longer be able to make the trip.
“Every Iranian has the right to support their team, just as much as any other country, whether the game is in America or in any other country,” said Hasti Teymourpour, a 16-year-old football fan.
Since his return to office in January, Trump has reinstated his “maximum pressure” policy of sanctions against Iran and vowed that “something bad” would happen unless the Iranians “move quickly” towards a nuclear deal.
Naderi, who called the ban “inhumane” and “degrading to all Iranians”, still hopes the Iran-US nuclear talks will yield a deal that might persuade Trump to reconsider.
The outcome of the US-Iran talks that began in April remains unclear, and many fans worry that even if they result in a deal, it may be too late for them.
Some Iranians have refused to give up hope, however, seeing in the World Cup an opportunity to thaw relations.
“Sports diplomacy can act as a strong catalyst and bring the efforts of political diplomats to fruition sooner,” said political commentator Mohammad Reza Manafi.
It could be “a great opportunity to help advance diplomacy between the two countries”.
Friendly?
In a memorable 1998 World Cup clash, Iranian players handed flowers to their American adversaries and posed together for photos — a rare public gesture of goodwill between the nations.
Iran won 2–1, a victory celebrated in Tehran as a source of both sporting and political pride.
With the 2026 draw expected in December, it remains unclear whether Iran and the United States will face off again, but anticipation is building.
“The two countries are not hostile to each other, this political discussion is for the governments,” said 44-year-old day labourer Siamak Kalantari.
Another fan, Mahdieh Olfati, said: “If we face the US again, we’ll definitely win.”
“Ours are real players,” the 18-year-old added.
Manafi, the commentator, said a friendly before the tournament, possibly hosted by a third country, could help ease tensions.
Such a game, he said, could help “achieve what politicians from both sides have not managed to do for years”.
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With just a year to go until the 2026 FIFA World Cup kicks off in the United States, concerns are mounting over the impact of extreme summer heat on players and fans.
According to experts interviewed by the BBC, FIFA may be forced to adjust match schedules drastically—possibly even staging the World Cup final as early as 9 a.m.—to mitigate the risks posed by soaring temperatures.
The warnings follow sweltering conditions witnessed during recent international and Club World Cup matches held in the U.S., where athletes and spectators alike were exposed to intense heat and humidity.
One of the leading voices raising the alarm is Professor Mike Tipton, an expert in thermal physiology at the University of Portsmouth. Speaking to BBC Sport, he emphasised the potential health risks of playing in extreme conditions and recommended that matches begin as early in the day as possible.
“From a thermo-physiological point of view, for health and performance reasons, I would look to start matches as early as possible,” Tipton stated, suggesting that even the final—traditionally held in the afternoon or evening—could be moved to a morning kickoff.
Tipton went further, noting that the ideal solution would be to host the tournament during a cooler time of year, as was done with the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, which was shifted to November and December due to extreme heat.
However, with the 2026 tournament already locked in for June 11 to July 19, FIFA’s only remaining flexibility lies in scheduling match times.
The 2026 edition will be jointly hosted by the United States, Canada, and Mexico across multiple cities, some of which are known for intense summer heat.
Health experts are urging organisers to prioritise player safety and fan well-being, warning that failing to act could lead to performance issues, heat-related illnesses, or worse.
FIFA has yet to publicly comment on any proposed changes to match schedules, but as temperatures continue to rise, pressure is mounting for the governing body to take decisive action ahead of football’s biggest tournament.
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FIFA’s Global Football Development chief Arsene Wenger acknowledged that the quality of pitches hosting Club World Cup matches in the U.S. was not good enough, but insisted it would be better when the country co-hosts the 2026 World Cup.
The pitches, often very dry and sprinkled with water during cooling breaks or at halftime, have been widely criticised, mainly by coaches and players of the European teams taking part.
“I’ve been personally on the pitch at Orlando,” former Arsenal manager Wenger said on Saturday. “It’s not at the level that the European clubs are used to because it’s not perfect, but that will be rectified for the World Cup next year.”
Paris St Germain coach Luis Enrique raised the issue early in the expanded Club World Cup tournament.
“The ball bounces like a rabbit,” Luis Enrique said after his team’s opening 4-0 win over Atletico Madrid.
“Today, for example, the field used to be artificial turf, and now it’s natural grass laid over it, which means it has to be watered manually. It’s a big problem for the way we play.”
“FIFA really needs to take this seriously. Not just the stadium fields but also the training pitches. If we’re calling this the best club tournament in the world, it should have world‑class facilities. I can’t imagine an NBA game played on a court full of holes.”
-Reuters
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Congo will be allowed to continue participating in the World Cup qualifiers despite missing two fixtures in March when they were banned, world football’s governing body FIFA said on Wednesday.
Congo were suspended from February to May because of government interference in the running of their football association (FECOFOOT) but the ban was lifted when officials returned to their positions and were handed back access to their headquarters and technical training centre.
Sports minister Hugues Ngouelondele had appointed an ad-hoc committee last year to run the association, claiming it needed to sort out disputes among association office bearers, but FIFA suspended FECOFOOT due to third-party interference, which violates its statutes.
During the ban, Congo were not allowed to participate in any international competition, which meant they did not honour 2026 World Cup qualifiers against Tanzania and Niger in March.
A FIFA spokesman told Reuters the points from those fixtures were forfeited and a 3-0 victory awarded to their opponents.
But they will continue in the qualifiers when they resume in September, even if they have no chance of qualifying.
Congo are scheduled to play Tanzania at home in September and conclude their fixtures in October with matches at Niger and Morocco.
Congo have no points in the group, which Morocco lead with 15 points, six more than Tanzania in second place.
The group winner qualifies for next year’s World Cup in North America while the runner-up has a possibility to participate in playoffs if they are among the four best second-placed teams in the nine African qualifying groups.
FIFA has taken a hard line on government interference in football matters with the likes of Chad, Kenya, Pakistan and Zimbabwe among those banned in recent years.
Congo were African champions in 1972 but have never been to a World Cup.
-Reuters
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