FIFA Secretary-General Mattias Grafström Meets Iran Football Federation in Istanbul Over 2026 World Cup

FIFA Secretary-General Mattias Grafström led a delegation that met on Saturday, May 16 with Iran Football Federation (FFIRI) officials in Istanbul, Turkey to discuss Iran’s participation in the 2026 World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico.

“Iran's squad was as follows: Goalkeepers: Ali Reza Beiranvand, Seyed Hossein Hosseini, Mohammad Khalifeh, Payam Niazmand Defenders: Danial Eri, Ehsan Haj Safi, Saleh Hardani, Hossein Kanani, Shoja Khalilzadeh, Milad Mohammadi, Ali Nemati, Omid Nourafkan, Ramin Rezaiyan Midfielders: Roozbeh Jashmi, Saeed Ezzatollah, Mehdi Ghaedi, Saman Ghoddous, Mohammad Ghorbani, Ali Reza Jahanbakhsh, Mohammad Mohbi, Amir Mohammad Rezakhiniya, Mehdi Torabi, Arya Yousefi Forwards: Ali Alipour, Denis Dargahi, Hadi Habibinejad, Amir Hossein Hosseinzadeh, Amir Hossein Mahmoudi, Kasra Taheri, Mehdi Taremi”

beIN SPORTS

The meeting came as Iran’s World Cup status remained uncertain, with FFIRI president Mehdi Taj saying Tehran has 10 conditions for attending the tournament and citing players and staff who have served in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as part of the demands.

beIN SPORTS

Grafström said, “We’ve had an excellent meeting — a constructive meeting together with the Iran FA,” and added that FIFA was “looking very much forward to welcoming them to the FIFA World Cup 2026.”

Taj said, “We had a positive and constructive meeting with FIFA,” and described the discussion as addressing “our concerns” and expressing “our joint commitment to ensure the smooth participation of Team Melli.”

The Seattle Times framed the renewed uncertainty around Iran’s concerns about visas and its request that Iran’s culture, beliefs, flag and national anthem be respected throughout the tournament.

Taj said, “No visas have been issued yet,” and the paper reported that Taj expected players to travel to the Turkish capital of Ankara for fingerprinting as part of the visa process.

El Mundo

The National Post reported that Grafström described the Istanbul meeting as “excellent” and “constructive,” and quoted Grafström saying, “We’ve had an excellent meeting, a constructive meeting together with the Iran FA.”

The same National Post article said Taj had previously been denied entry to Canada for the FIFA Congress in Vancouver due to his previous service in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), which the U.S. and Canada consider a terrorist organization.

As the participation question moved into the operational phase, USA Today reported that head coach Amir Ghalenoei named a 30-man World Cup preliminary roster on Saturday, with four players to be cut by the June 1 deadline for teams to finalize their 26-man rosters.

“'Both the Iran FA and FIFA are very happy with the meeting and looking forward to welcoming Team Melli in the USA, Canada and Mexico,' says FIFA secretary general Mattias Grafstrom Author of the article: You can save this article by registering for freehere”

National Post

USA Today said Iran will face Gambia in a pre-tournament friendly in Antalya, Turkey on May 29 before traveling to its base camp in Tucson, Arizona, and that Iran is scheduled to kick off its World Cup campaign against New Zealand in Los Angeles on June 15.

The Seattle Times added that Iran’s requests included assurances on safe travel and heightened security around the team and staff for its base camp in Tucson, Ariz., and when traveling to matches in Seattle and Inglewood, Calif.

El Mundo described crowds at Enghelab Square cheering the national team’s farewell and quoted Ehsan Hajsafi reading a proclamation that the sporting competition would proceed while Iran “is still at war,” with the team saying it worked “Under bombardments and attacks” to honor the flag on the international stage.