2 hours ago
1
The 2026 FIFA World Cup is supposed to be about football. But when a team has to set up camp in another country just to cross the border on match day, the geopolitics are doing most of the talking.
Andrew Giuliani, Executive Director of the White House Task Force for the World Cup, defended the US government’s handling of Iran’s visa situation, calling the arrangement where all 31 players and coaches received their visas “pretty amazing.” Iran’s national team chose to base operations in Tijuana, Mexico, rather than Tucson, Arizona, a setup that allowed for 24-hour pre-match entries into the US on game days.
The Tijuana workaround
Iran’s decision to operate from just south of the border wasn’t random. The Tijuana base significantly reduced travel time compared to earlier proposals. Giuliani characterized the cross-border arrangement as “mutually beneficial,” though Iran lodged complaints during the group stage and again after being eliminated from the tournament.
While the players and coaches got through, some Iranian support staff weren’t as fortunate. Several team officials were denied visas after screening turned up what US authorities described as “derogatory information.”
Iran isn’t the only team affected by US travel restrictions. Teams from Haiti and Senegal also navigated visa complications.
Disclosure: This article was edited by Editorial Team. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.
English (US) · 