The US Department of Homeland Security confirmed on Tuesday that Iran’s football team can enter the country two days before its World Cup group-stage match against Egypt in Seattle on June 26, an extension of one day from the 24-hour rule that governed Iran’s first two fixtures. The concession, reported by Al Jazeera and confirmed to NBC, leaves intact the requirement that Iran must leave the US the day the match ends, with no overnight stay. For Iran, which has called the schedule oppressive, the change is partial at best. A win or a favourable draw in Seattle on Friday would carry Team Melli into the round of 32.
Iranian players and sports officials have decried the American hosts’ treatment of Team Melli. The squad enters Friday’s match with two points from two draws and would advance with a win or a favourable result. Iran says it plans to lodge a formal complaint with FIFA over the restrictions.
The Concession in Seattle
A DHS spokesperson told Al Jazeera on Tuesday that, for Iran’s third group match, “the team has been permitted to come into the US two days before the match.” The same spokesperson said “the Iran team will still be required to leave the day the match ends” and that “the overall security measures and protocol are the same.” “We remain committed to providing the safest tournament possible for players, staff, and fans alike,” the agency added. DHS did not explain the timing of the change, which Al Jazeera noted coincides with subsiding tensions between Tehran and Washington following a ceasefire deal and ongoing diplomatic talks.
The new window covers arrival by Thursday, the day before the June 26 fixture at Lumen Field. The previous 24-hour rule had forced Iran to fly in on the morning of each match, then leave the same day.
US officials have framed the restrictions as security-related, without detailing what specific threat internationally ranked athletes might pose. The State Department and FIFA did not immediately respond to a request for comment when the rules were first reported in mid-June. The US denied entry to award-winning Somali referee Omar Artan before the tournament, a separate decision that Iranian players and rights advocates have pointed to as part of the same pattern.
What the New Rule Still Does Not Allow
The change does not lift the same-day departure requirement that has shaped Iran’s tournament so far. After their opening 2-2 draw with New Zealand in Inglewood on June 15, Iranian players were told they could not remain in Los Angeles overnight to recover, coach Amir Ghalenoei said. “We’re supposed to stay here tonight to recover and return tomorrow lunchtime, but they haven’t permitted us,” he told reporters. The team crossed back to its base in Tijuana the same night, and the same rule applied after the 0-0 draw with Belgium on June 21 in the same stadium. The pattern has forced Iran to treat the World Cup as a series of single-day border crossings.
The constraints have spilled into the squad’s training calendar and recovery routine. Iran has had to miss training sessions because of the same-day travel, and the early departures have disrupted post-match recovery, Ghalenoei has suggested.
Several players suffered muscle cramps after the New Zealand draw, which the coach linked to fatigue from the extra travel. The federation had also been unable to bring its full backroom staff and media delegation into the US, leaving coaches to absorb extra roles on the bench. “Our management team, many of them aren’t here,” Ghalenoei said. “We had to deal with those roles ourselves.”
Players have also missed the standard pre-match training on the match site that other World Cup sides have followed. The US decision to deny entry to award-winning Somali referee Omar Artan before the tournament drew separate criticism from rights advocates and fans. The pattern of restricted movement has, in the Iranian federation’s telling, become part of a broader US-Iran standoff that began with the February conflict.
- 24 hours: Iran’s previous US entry window before each match
- 2 days: Iran’s new US entry window for the Egypt game
- Same day: The deadline by which Iran must leave after the match ends
- June 26: Match date, Lumen Field, Seattle, 8:00 p.m. PDT
The Tijuana Base Camp and the Cross-Border Commute
Iran’s World Cup base camp is in Tijuana, Mexico, after the federation moved it from Arizona in the weeks before the tournament. Iran’s ambassador to Mexico has said the late relocation was driven by uncertainty over US visas and a sense in Washington that the squad’s presence in the US should be kept to a minimum. Travel between Tijuana and the match venues in Los Angeles and Seattle now defines the team’s tournament logistics. The squad has had to cross the US border the day before each of its two completed matches, with the return to Tijuana happening within hours of the final whistle. The same will hold for the Seattle trip.
Armed security surrounds the camp in Tijuana, where the team’s hotel has become a base for fans and media across the border. The federation’s media delegation has been split between the two countries, with reporters in Tijuana and players crossing in. The Group G finale has had its share of cross-border friction, with the Egypt squad’s own travel to Seattle drawing similar attention.
- June 15: Iran 2-2 New Zealand at SoFi Stadium, Inglewood
- June 21: Iran 0-0 Belgium at SoFi Stadium, Inglewood
- June 26: Iran vs Egypt at Lumen Field, Seattle, 8:00 p.m. PDT
Ghalenoei Calls His Side the Most Oppressed
Ghalenoei has used the word “oppressed” repeatedly since the tournament began. After the New Zealand draw, he put it plainly: “I think perhaps our team is the most oppressed one in the whole World Cup.”
The Iranian federation has framed the rules as part of a broader US-Iran standoff that began with the February conflict, and has said it plans to lodge a formal complaint with FIFA over the restrictions. FIFA President Gianni Infantino visited Iran’s dressing room in Inglewood on June 15, the federation said. Taremi said Infantino’s presence was the one sign the team had been heard. The federation’s complaint, when filed, will join a long-running dispute over how Iran’s players and officials have been treated by US authorities.
Forward Mehdi Taremi, Iran’s captain, has been equally blunt about the conditions. Taremi described the past two weeks as a “disaster,” The Guardian reported, citing the disruption to training and recovery. He also pushed FIFA to act.
It’s not good for us. I think it’s not good for football. I think FIFA have to help us more than this.
Taremi said the rushed rhythm of travel from Tijuana to Los Angeles, then to the hotel and finally to the stadium had left the squad with little time to settle in. “It’s so bad and it affects our team and we just want peace,” Taremi said.
Ghalenoei has also highlighted the human cost of the schedule, with several players suffering muscle cramps from the same-day travel. “This kind of behaviour will negatively impact the spirit of football,” he told reporters before the opener. “Whether we win, whether we lose, this is a difficult feeling.” The Iranian side has not been able to use the day before each fixture to train on the match site, a routine most other World Cup sides have followed.
Group G Stands Before Friday
Iran’s two draws leave it second in Group G, level on points with Belgium. Egypt sits top after a 3-1 win over New Zealand on June 21, its first World Cup win since 1934. A win against Egypt on Friday would guarantee Iran a place in the round of 32. A draw may also be enough, depending on results in other groups, with the top two teams from each group and the best eight of 12 third-placed teams advancing. Egypt can clinch first place in the group with a win and would likely advance even with a defeat.
New Zealand, with one point, and Belgium, with two, remain in the running on goal difference and other results. Iran opened the tournament on June 15 with a 2-2 draw against New Zealand at SoFi Stadium in front of 70,108 spectators. The team followed that with a 0-0 draw against Belgium in the same stadium six days later. The live Group G standings are available on FIFA’s tournament page.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Egypt | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 4 |
| 2 | Iran | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| 3 | Belgium | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 4 | New Zealand | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 1 |
The Pride Match Dispute
Friday’s fixture in Seattle also carries a branding dispute that has nothing to do with travel. Local organizers scheduled the match as a “Pride Match” before the draw, tying it to Seattle’s Pride events, and the draw landed Iran and Egypt, two countries where homosexuality is punishable by law. FIFA has not endorsed the branding.
The Iranian Football Federation and the Egyptian Football Association have objected in writing. The Egyptian FA sent a formal letter to FIFA Secretary General Mattias Grafstrom rejecting “in absolute terms” LGBTQ connections to the game. Iranian federation president Mehdi Taj has called the branding an “irrational move that supports a certain group.” The Pride Match label has added another political layer to a Group G finale that both teams approach needing a result.
The Group G finale is scheduled to kick off at 8:00 p.m. PDT at Lumen Field. A draw would be enough for both Iran and Egypt to advance to the knockout rounds, with the travel debate set to play out beside a result that decides the group.
