Iran’s World Cup team departs for training camp in Mexico, while 14 accompanying officials remain stranded due to U.S. visa rejections

TechFlow News, June 6: According to an Associated Press report, Iran’s national men’s football team departed from Turkey on Saturday for its training base in Tijuana, Mexico, to prepare for three World Cup group-stage matches scheduled to be held later this month in the United States. However, Iran’s state television reported that 14 administrative and logistical officials accompanying the team—including Hedayat Mombeini, Secretary-General of the Football Federation of the Islamic Republic of Iran (FFIRI), and Vice President Mehdi Mohammad Nabi—have yet to obtain U.S. visas.

The team’s travel plans have faced repeated disruptions due to tensions between Iran and the United States and Israel. Earlier visa-processing delays prompted Iran to relocate its training base from Tucson, Arizona, in the U.S., to Tijuana, a border city in Mexico. An anonymous U.S. official revealed that visas have been approved for all Iranian players, coaches, and some support staff, but applications from certain FFIRI-affiliated personnel were denied on grounds of “fraudulent intent.”

As scheduled, Iran will face New Zealand and Belgium on June 15 and 21, respectively, in Inglewood, California, and then play Egypt on June 26 in Seattle. Previously, the FFIRI insisted that the U.S. issue visas to all team members—including those with prior service in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). The federation is now appealing to FIFA over the visa denials affecting its officials.