MEXICO CITY: FIFA president Gianni Infantino has failed to deliver on promises to secure full access for the Iranian football federation to attend the team’s three games in the United States, Iran’s World Cup team superviser told Reuters.
Mahdi Mohammad Nabi, who also served as Iran’s superviser in charge of squad operations at the 2018 and 2022 World Cups in Russia and Qatar, is among 15 Iranian football federation members denied a visa to travel to the US for the World Cup games.
He spoke to Reuters on Thursday evening, a day after Infantino gave a free-wheeling press conference in Mexico City in which he celebrated Iran’s participation in the tournament as proof of his organisation’s success in navigating complex political issues.
“We hope Mr Infantino will indeed implement the words and promises he made to the Iran national team,” Nabi told Reuters on Thursday.
“The FIFA regulations and protocols must be properly followed by both member federations and hosts.”
FIFA did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The US State Department said the visas had been rejected because it “will not allow the Iranian team to abuse this system to sneak terrorists into the US under false pretenses”.
Iran is the only World Cup team that has seen large numbers of its federation denied entry into the US. The denials unfold against a backdrop of escalating strikes between the warring countries, which have threatened to reignite a full-scale war that was paused in April when the two sides agreed to a fragile ceasefire.
Nabi spoke outside the Marriott Hotel in Tijuana where the Iranian team has been staying in preparation for the World Cup.
The players were granted US visas 10 days before their first match outside Los Angeles, which is scheduled for Monday against New Zealand.
Nabi said he had never before experienced “such lack of coordination” at a World Cup.
The entire visa saga, he said, “has disrupted our players ability to adapt” and put the team at a disadvantage compared to the other competitors.
Asked about the US State Department’s allegation that Iran’s federation is trying to “sneak terrorists” into the US, Nabi declined to answer. “We are here to talk about sports; we did not come to engage in any political activities.”
Published in Dawn, June 13th, 2026