It is unclear whether Iranian soccer officials have been issued Canadian visas to attend the AFC and FIFA meetings.
Published April 29, 2026
Representatives from the Iranian Football Federation did not attend the biggest official meeting of Asian soccer leaders ahead of the World Cup.
At the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) general meeting, attended by FIFA president Gianni Infantino, there was no discussion about Iran’s participation in the tournament or whether the team’s games should be moved outside the United States because of the U.S.-Israel war against Iran.
Concerns have been raised that visa issues could affect the Iranian delegation’s travel to the federation’s conference and FIFA plenary meeting in Vancouver on Thursday, as well as the World Cup, which begins on June 11.
The 48-team tournament is hosted by the United States, Canada, and Mexico.
It is unclear whether Iranian representatives will be unable to attend the AFC General Assembly due to visa issues. However, it was announced that Iran would receive the souvenirs “upon arrival”, as the nine AFC teams that qualified for the World Cup were presented with the souvenirs.
An Iranian government spokesperson said last week that the national team was preparing to play the World Cup in the United States with “pride and success.”
FIFA, soccer’s international governing body, has consistently said Iran would stick to the World Cup schedule decided on last December, before the United States and Israel launched a military offensive against Iran on February 28, and has refused to accept proposals to move the team’s games to Mexico.
“The world is currently going through a very delicate, difficult and dangerous time with many conflicts, especially now when so many of you are directly affected and involved in these conflicts,” Infantino told AFC leaders.
“Now we also need to find a way to build these famous bridges, or instead build soccer fields. And we need to build tournaments where people can come and come together.”
Iran is in Group G along with Belgium, New Zealand and Egypt.
Team Melli’s scheduled training camp is in Tucson, Arizona, and they are scheduled to begin their World Cup campaign against New Zealand on June 15 in Inglewood, California, near Los Angeles.
Iran will play Belgium in Inglewood on June 21, before facing Egypt in their final group match in Seattle on June 26.
