As the 2026 FIFA World Cup co-hosted by the United States, Mexico and Canada draws near, Iran’s national men’s football team faces a major unexpected barrier to competing in the tournament: no U.S. entry visas have been issued to any member of the squad, according to the head of the country’s football governing body. State media outlet IRNA carried comments from Iranian Football Federation president Mehdi Taj on Thursday, laying out the ongoing uncertainty around the critical administrative step that could determine whether Team Melli can take their place in Group G this summer.
Taj told reporters that a high-stakes, make-or-break discussion with global football’s governing body FIFA is scheduled in the next 48 hours to resolve the impasse. “We have not received any information from the U.S. side on which squad members have been approved for visas, and to date, no travel documents have been issued at all,” he said in comments carried by IRNA. He added that FIFA must provide clear guarantees that the visa process will move forward to allow Iran’s team to participate as scheduled.
Under current U.S. visa protocols for Iranian citizens, applicants are required to complete biometric fingerprint processing at U.S. diplomatic missions outside Iran. Originally, the entire Iranian squad was set to travel to Ankara, the capital of neighboring Turkey, to complete this step. But Taj revealed that federation officials are currently negotiating to shift the fingerprinting site to the Turkish coastal city of Antalya, a change that would eliminate the need for the team to make the longer trip to Ankara and streamline preparations.
The unresolved visa issue comes against a long-strained diplomatic backdrop between Tehran and Washington. The two nations have not maintained formal diplomatic relations since 1980, when ties were severed in the wake of the Islamic Revolution that ousted the U.S.-backed Shah, and the subsequent hostage crisis at the U.S. Embassy in Tehran. More recently, Iran has been engaged in open conflict with the U.S.’s close ally Israel since late February, though a fragile ceasefire has held between the parties since April 8, easing immediate regional tensions.
Just one day before Taj’s announcement, Iran held an official send-off ceremony in Tehran to mark the team’s departure for World Cup preparations. If the visa issues are resolved, the Iranian squad will set up their pre-tournament training base in Tucson, Arizona, located in the southwestern United States. Team Melli is scheduled to kick off their 2026 World Cup campaign on June 15 against New Zealand in Los Angeles, before facing off against Group G opponents Belgium and Egypt in subsequent matches.