The Iranian Football Federation has stated that it will attend the event, but has set conditions to ensure the safety and integrity of its delegation.
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Image source, Getty ImagesCaption, Iran qualified for the 2026 World Cup, but due to attacks by the US and Israel, its participation had been called into question. Author, BBC News Mundo*Author title, BBC News Mundo14 minutesReading time: 6 minIran has stated that it will be in this summer's World Cup, but has demanded a series of guarantees from the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) and the host country due to growing tensions surrounding its participation in the tournament. The Iranian Football Federation (FFIRI) has made it clear that it will be at the World Cup, "without abandoning our beliefs, culture and convictions," while noting that the US, the country where its matches will be held, "must take our concerns into account." These demands came after Mehdi Taj, the president of the FFIRI, was denied entry to Canada last month to attend a FIFA congress. Taj revealed that Iran had presented FIFA with ten conditions for its participation in the World Cup, which begins on June 11 in the US, Mexico and Canada. Among the demands, which were published that weekend, is the guarantee that all players, coaches and officials traveling with the team can receive the appropriate visas, including those who have completed their mandatory military service in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). This force is on the list of terrorist groups of the governments of Canada and the US, and Taj's relationship with the IRGC was the reason for his denial of entry to Canada. Image source, Getty ImagesCaption, Iran will play its matches in Inglewood and Seattle. Iran is also seeking guarantees regarding the treatment its team will receive, such as respect for the Iranian flag and national anthem, as well as security at airports, hotels and stadiums during the World Cup. Iran before the worldSome of the requests will likely be more complex to fulfill than others. For example, the US government has sanctions against Iran, which could make it difficult to process visas for Iranian citizens. Iran has also been accused of human rights abuses, which could make some people in the US and other countries uncomfortable with Iran's participation in the World Cup. However, FIFA has a long history of allowing countries with controversial governments to participate in its tournaments. For example, Iran was allowed to participate in the 1978 World Cup, which was held in Argentina during a period of military dictatorship. Iran was also allowed to participate in the 2006 World Cup, which was held in Germany, despite the fact that the Iranian government has a poor human rights record. In the past, there have been cases where teams have been excluded from the World Cup for political reasons. In 1966, all African countries boycotted the World Cup because they were only given one spot in the tournament. In 1992, Yugoslavia was banned from participating in the 1994 World Cup because of its support for the conflict in Bosnia-Herzegovina. And in 1976, South Africa was expelled from FIFA for its apartheid policies. Iran has made it clear that it will go to the tournament -although when the US and Israel attack began, it had indicated that it would not participate- and FIFA supports its participation, but in the history of the World Cups there have been special cases where teams have rejected participating or have not been allowed to do so due to wars or social issues. For the 1938 World Cup, teams such as Argentina and Uruguay refused to participate because FIFA had promised the host country to a South American country, but finally gave it to France. For the 1950 World Cup, India managed to qualify -by abandonment of the other teams in the qualifiers- but declined its participation because they did not consider that the World Cup was a tournament for which it was worth making such a long trip. Image source, Getty ImagesCaption, South Africa was expelled from FIFA due to the policy of Apartheid in the 1970s. It was readmitted in 1992. For the 1966 World Cup, all African countries decided to boycott the event because only half a spot was given for the tournament: the team that won the continental qualifier had to face a team from Asia. Wars have also had an impact on the history of this tournament. The most recent case is that of Russia, which, due to the invasion of Ukraine in 2022, cannot currently participate in either FIFA or UEFA (European Football Association) tournaments. In 1992, due to the support of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (later known as Serbia and Montenegro) for the conflict in Bosnia-Herzegovina, the country was sanctioned and could not participate in the qualifiers for the 1994 World Cup in the United States. And another similar case is that of South Africa, which was excluded for almost 30 years from the World Cup for its apartheid policy. It was suspended in 1961, and in 1976 it became the first country to be expelled from FIFA for the infamous Soweto massacre, in which 176 people died, most of them black students.*With information from Pooria Jafereh, from the BBC World Service. Image source, Getty ImagesClick here to read more stories from BBC News Mundo. Subscribe here to our new newsletter to receive a selection of our best content of the week every Friday. And remember that you can receive notifications in our app. Download the latest version and activate them.