Iran will play all of their Group G matches in the World Cup in the United States. But the team’s base camp for the entire tournament will be in the Mexican city of Tijuana. The Iranian football team will be able to enter the United States from there one day before each of their matches. The US Department of Homeland Security confirmed this information on Tuesday.
Earlier, at the end of last week, various media reports quoted Iran’s ambassador to Mexico, Abolfazl Pasandidah, as saying that Iran would have to enter the United States on the day of the match and return after the match.
But a Homeland Security spokesman said the claim that the Iranian team was forced to arrive on the day of the match was untrue. “The claims are not accurate. With the generosity of President (Donald) Trump, the Iranian team will have the opportunity to arrive at the venue the day before the match,” he said in a statement.
The World Cup will be held in the United States, Canada and Mexico.FIFA
“The entire team will travel to the United States on a chartered flight in accordance with FIFA regulations,” Iran Football Federation spokesman Amir Mehdi Alavi said in a statement, carried by Iran’s state news agency ISNA. Alavi added, “The team will arrive in the venue city a day before the match against New Zealand. However, for the next two matches, we will leave for the venue two days in advance.”
In an interview with Reuters through an interpreter in Tijuana on Monday, the Iranian ambassador strongly criticized the revocation of visas for some federation officials. However, he clarified that there is no restriction on overnight stays for those who have been granted visas. “There is no condition in their visas that they have to leave the country within a certain period of time,” he said.Read more
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After weeks of uncertainty, the United States granted visas to all of its footballers last Friday, just 10 days before Iran’s first match.
According to the Iranian Football Federation, several key team officials have yet to receive visas. The Iranian embassy in Mexico said the list of those who have not received visas includes the team manager, two analysts, the media director and a representative from the Foreign Ministry.
An Iranian fan in front of the Marriott Hotel in Tijuana, where the Iranian football team is staying.AFP
According to the World Cup schedule, Iran will face New Zealand in Los Angeles on June 15. They will then play Belgium in the same city on June 21 and Egypt in Seattle on June 26. The Iranian footballers were supposed to have a base camp in Arizona, USA for the World Cup. But that plan was changed after the US and Israel started a war against Iran last February.
Earlier in March, US President Donald Trump said he had no objection to Iran’s participation in the World Cup, but said it would not be appropriate for the Iranian team to be in the United States “for the sake of their lives and safety.”
