What the US-Iran peace deal means for the ‘Team Melli’ World Cup campaign
The Iranian football team began their World Cup campaign under the shadow of a war with the United States. They soon became collateral damage in
The Iranian football team began their World Cup campaign under the shadow of a war with the United States. They soon became collateral damage in the conflict with strict conditions on their visas to the US and other difficulties. Now, as a peace deal emerges between the US and Iran, experts have asked what this could mean for Team Melli – as the Iranian squad is known – in the tournament. Although World Cup hosts have been at war with other nations at the time of tournaments, and Argentina was also in the midst of the Dirty War during the 1978 tournament, there has not been a single case of an organiser being embroiled in a conflict with another participant, as is the case with the US and Iran. The US and Israel launched a war on Iran in February 28. Although a temporary ceasefire suspended much of the most intense fighting on April 8 and a peace agreement was signed this week, tensions between the two countries remain high and have spilled over into the supposedly apolitical World Cup. This bubble burst in March when US President Donald Trump said on Truth Social that the Iran squad was welcome to the US but he “[did not] believe it is appropriate that they be there, for their own life and safety”. Iran’s football team has been held hostage to the US’s immigration whims right up till the start of the tournament. Players were granted visas for the US — where they play all their group stage matches — just 10 days before their opening match against New Zealand in Los Angeles – and have had to leave the country for their base camp in Mexico after finishing their games.
Iranian-American political analyst and journalist Negar Mortazavi has described this as “extra animosity” towards Team Melli. Whether the team would even be allowed into the country remained unknown as FIFA President Gianni Infantino appeared unable to secure any guarantees from Trump about the Iranian team’s visa situation. Out of a rightful abundance of caution, manager Amir Ghalenoei’s side switched the team’s base camp from Arizona, US, to Tijuana, Mexico, at the last minute. The US doubled down on Tuesday and said the team had to depart within hours of the full-time whistle being blown. They had arrived just one day prior to kickoff. As a hurried memorandum of understanding between the US and Iran began to materialise on Wednesday night, questions arose on its ramifications for Team Melli. While neither side has released a physical copy of the memorandum of understanding, nor are World Cup-specific arrangements expected to be written in, experts hope that the agreement translates to more amicable treatment for the Iranian football team in the US. “With a peace deal, things can change,” Mortazavi said in an interview with Al Jazeera. “We can see President Trump’s rhetoric on Iran has dramatically changed over the past few days, and he’s suddenly talking about better relationships with Iran from a political and economic standpoint, and that can certainly extend to sports,” she continued. The shift from threats to diplomacy sprouted last week when Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform that “our relationship with Iran is a much different and better one than previous Administrations have had”. “Hopefully, this process will all work out quickly, easily, and smoothly.” Mortazavi said that despite the World Cup’s stance on steering clear from politics, the US’s treatment of Iran’s team was a testament to how politics can impact the sport.
The BriefWire