A beautiful game in ugly times: The restless countdown to the 2026 FIFA World Cup

FIFA World Cup Trophy (AP) There is no sporting event in the world that enjoys such a feverish build-up to the main event. Such is the global appeal of the “beautiful game” and the FIFA World Cup. However, the 2026 edition, which was the first to feature up to 48 teams, struggled to keep up with this trend. For many fans, excitement gave way to anger, frustration and despair.Long before he kicked the ball, the disgruntled lot seemed convinced that the greatest World Cup in history would also turn out to be the worst.The negativity is out of place. Exorbitant airfares, strict travel bans and visa delays, and skyrocketing public transportation costs don’t exactly help build a festive atmosphere. Not even a war, especially one brought on by one of the three host nations. More than three months after the United States and Israel launched an attack on Iran, the ripple effects continue to be felt in a tournament soccer fans normally look forward to. The World Cup taking place against the backdrop of a military conflict is not in itself a new phenomenon. After all, the tournament was suspended for 12 years after 1938 due to World War II.The infamous “soccer war” between El Salvador and Honduras in 1969 cast an ugly shadow over the 1970 World Cup hosted by Mexico, as did the Falklands War between Argentina and the United Kingdom just days before the 1982 World Cup began in Spain.However, this is the first time we have a host nation at war with one of the participating countries.This inevitably raised doubts about Iran’s participation in the tournament, doubts that United States President Donald Trump did little to dispel. “Iran’s national soccer team is welcome at the World Cup, but I really don’t believe it’s appropriate for them to be there, for their own lives and safety,” Trump wrote on social media in March.Not surprisingly, the Iranian national team reacted quickly to what they saw as a hidden threat. “The only country that could be disqualified is one that only holds the title of ‘host’ but lacks the ability to provide teams participating in this global event,” the team said on Instagram.What has transpired since then has been nothing short of a PR disaster for FIFA, the game’s global governing body.As for Iran, football could wait. It was the first to obtain American visas, a process that Iranian players and team officials may have suspected would prove to be a battle in itself. And it certainly was.After weeks of uncertainty, all players were granted visas last Friday – 10 days before their opening match against New Zealand in Los Angeles on June 15. However, the drama was far from over as the Iran Football Federation revealed that several members of the team, including “key management and administrative members”, had been refused visas.When the Iranian team landed in Tijuana this week amid tight security, Abolfazl Pasandideh, Iran’s ambassador to Mexico, said 15 members had not been granted visas to enter the US, according to a media report. The US State Department’s response was a good indicator of how the world’s most popular sport has turned into a political weapon while FIFA stands idly by.“We will not allow an Iranian team to abuse this system to smuggle terrorists into the US under false pretenses,” a State Department official told the media.So was it a surprise that Iran decided to change its training base from Arizona to Mexico? If they had to endure a hellish ride just to get to the World Cup, the road ahead hardly offers much comfort. The players may have received their visas, but Pasandideh added that it was granted under the strict condition that the team enter and leave US soil on the same day as their scheduled matches.However, it is not only Iranians who have been treated harshly by American authorities. Top Iraqi attacker Aymen Hussein was detained and questioned by US Customs and Border Patrol agents at Chicago Airport for seven hours before being allowed to enter the country. However, the team’s official photographer was sent back. So is Somali referee Omar Abdulkadir Artan, who was named Africa’s best male referee in 2025 and would be the first from his country to referee at the World Cup.The development has once again thrown into the spotlight the strict immigration policy put in place by the Trump administration, which saw a travel ban imposed on citizens of 12 countries, including Somalia.Even journalists and fans were not spared. Citing an analysis of travel data, a BBC report said “fans from more than a quarter of World Cup countries face travel bans, tighter restrictions or high visa refusals”.Meanwhile, the president of the International Sports Press Association (AIPS), Gianni Merlo, called on FIFA to intervene in a letter to the governing body, describing the visa situation affecting many journalists, including those from Iran and African countries, as “unacceptable”.Criticism of the Trump administration’s tough stance on immigration has even come from prominent voices within, with New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani criticizing how such measures clash with the very ethos of the tournament. “This is the bane of what this tournament is supposed to be about,” Mamdani, a lifelong soccer fan, told reporters.Fifa has been asked tough questions, at least from some parts of the media, including accusations of double standards over its divergent approach to Russia’s war with Ukraine and the US-Israeli attack on Iran. Some have also questioned whether the strong reluctance of the US to host Iran is any different from Indonesia’s strong opposition to Israel’s participation in the U20 World Cup three years ago. This led to FIFA stripping the Southeast Asian country of its hosting rights.TOI posed these questions to FIFA’s media team in an email sent a week ago. At the time of going to press, the governing body had yet to respond.While the war shows no signs of abating, fate may bring a spicy twist to this World Cup story. If Iran and the USA finish second in their groups, the two countries could meet in the round of 32. Keep in mind that the potential blockbuster will take place on July 3, the day before the US celebrates its 250th anniversary of independence – a mouth-watering prospect, perhaps even for disgruntled people.A beautiful game, played in probably the ugliest of times!