Iran's national football team is set to become the first in World Cup history to play on the soil of a host nation with which it is at war, as they face New Zealand in Los Angeles on Monday. The match takes place amid ongoing hostilities between Iran and the US, which have intensified in recent days despite a fragile ceasefire.
The political backdrop has undermined Fifa's 'football unites the world' slogan, according to analysts. Jules Boykoff, a politics professor at Pacific University, described it as 'the most politically combustible World Cup ever', noting that no previous tournament has seen a host nation openly threatening war crimes against a participating country.
Iran's preparations have been disrupted by uncertainty over visas and travel. Players were only granted US visas this week, while several officials, including football federation president Mehdi Taj, were denied entry due to his past membership of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. The team has been training in Turkey and Mexico, and will fly to Los Angeles on match days only, returning to Mexico overnight to avoid staying in the US.
Further complications include a controversy over Iran's match against Egypt in Seattle, which coincides with the city's LGBTQ Pride festival. Both Iran and Egypt, where homosexuality is criminalised, have protested the designation. Additionally, an officially sanctioned World Cup video depicting players as representatives of Shia Islamist ideology has sparked criticism, with some arguing it alienates the Iranian diaspora in Los Angeles, known as 'Tehrangeles'.
Reza Pahlavi, son of the deposed shah, accused the regime of hijacking the team's image, while the Iranian football federation successfully lobbied Fifa to ban displays of pre-1979 revolution flags. The ideological tug-of-war reflects deeper divisions over who the team represents.
