Iran’s national football team received a farewell ceremony in Tehran as preparations continued for the 2026 World Cup in the United States. The federation chief said no US visas have been issued yet for the team to play the matches. He said a decisive meeting with FIFA is planned soon and that FIFA must provide guarantees because the visa issue remains unresolved. He added that no information has been received about which visas have been granted. Players were expected to travel to Ankara for fingerprinting, but arrangements are being pursued to complete fingerprinting in Antalya instead. The team is set to be based in Tucson, Arizona, and will open against New Zealand in Los Angeles on June 15, followed by matches against Belgium and Egypt in Group G.
"Iran's football federation chief says no visas have yet been issued for the national team to play World Cup games in the United States, state media reported. Tomorrow or the day after tomorrow, we will have a decisive meeting with FIFA. They must give us guarantees, because the visa issue has still not been resolved, the state news agency IRNA quoted federation chief Mehdi Taj as saying on Thursday. He added that no visas have been issued yet."
"We have not received any account from the other side regarding who has been granted visas. No visas have been issued yet, he added. The players were expected to travel to the Turkish capital Ankara for fingerprinting as part of the visa process. The players must travel to Ankara for fingerprinting, but we are trying to arrange for this to be done in Antalya, so there will be no need to travel to Ankara, Taj said."
"Iran held a send-off ceremony on Wednesday for the team prepared to play in the 2026 World Cup, co-hosted by the United States, Mexico and Canada. Iran's national team, also known as TeamMelli, will be based in Tucson, Arizona during the World Cup. The Iranians open their World Cup campaign against New Zealand in Los Angeles on June 15 before lining up against Belgium and Egypt in Group G."
Read at www.aljazeera.com
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