FIFA Secretary-General Mattias Grafström is due to meet with the officials of the Football Federation of the Islamic Republic of Iran in Istanbul this Saturday. Mr Grafström intends to reassure Iranian officials regarding their qualification and participation at the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Iran’s participation at the event had been put in doubt due to rising tension between the US and Iran after the recent armed conflict between Israel and the US at the beginning of this year. The doubt intensified after it was widely reported that Mr Mehdi Taj, president of the Iranian FA, was denied entry into Canada to attend the FIFA Congress, as he has alleged links with the IRGC.
IRGC is categorized as a terrorist organization by both the USA and Canada, which are co-hosts of the World Cup along with Mexico. Hence, these countries had severe entry restrictions imposed on individuals connected with the group.
Following this incident, Iranian officials demanded that FIFA guarantee the participation of all qualified countries without any discrimination. It was warned by Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi that such a restriction on the entry of the Iranian players or federation members would affect the reputation of the tournament.
Although reports suggest that Iran had requested their games to be moved to Mexico, the FIFA president, Mr Gianni Infantino, is reported to stick to the idea of hosting the games at their proposed location in the USA.
Iran is scheduled to have a training camp in Turkey prior to their 2026 World Cup games and is set to depart for Arizona in preparation for their opening match against the New Zealand national football team at Los Angeles on 15th June.
