Follow-up - INA
The Iranian national football team is facing a state of confusion within its training camp in Tijuana, Mexico, about two weeks before the start of the World Cup, amidst a crisis related to visas and technical readiness.
The Iranian ambassador to Mexico, Abolfazl Pasandideh, said: "The team has not yet received entry visas to the United States, which is hindering preparation plans and preventing normal training before the tournament."
During a press conference, the ambassador explained that "Iran does not feel it is competing on an equal footing with the other teams," pointing to "organizational difficulties that have affected the preparation program, especially since the team moved its training camp to Tijuana instead of Tucson, Texas."
He added that "the American authorities have not fulfilled their commitment to providing the necessary facilities for hosting the team, even though the Iranian Football Federation had previously requested FIFA to change the camp's location to Mexico to avoid complications."
In the same context, the ambassador noted that "the players are still uncertain about obtaining visas, which adds to the uncertainty before the tournament."
The Iranian national team is scheduled to play its group stage matches on the West Coast of the United States, facing New Zealand in Los Angeles, then Belgium, before concluding its group stage matches against Egypt in Seattle.
Source: Agencies
