‘Every few hours, it’s another story’: logistical controversies cast shadow on what should have been a joyous World Cup start

CAIRO: As an Egyptian sports journalist who has spent the past 16 years dedicated to covering Arab athletes at the pinnacle of their respective disciplines, this FIFA World Cup was supposed to be one of the most exciting events I have ever covered.

With an unprecedented eight Arab teams qualified for the expanded showpiece in North America, normally I would be chomping at the bit to dive deep into the different story lines surrounding each one of those squads, and would be teeming with anticipation over how they will fare when the competition kicks off.

Instead, I am filled with anger and frustration, and can’t get myself to care about the football with so much ugliness unfolding in the build-up to this World Cup.

And I know I’m not alone.

Over the past week, every hour has spawned a World Cup-related headline more infuriating than the one before it.

As teams, officials, journalists and fans begin to make their way to the US, which will host 78 of the 104 World Cup matches (the rest are in Canada and Mexico), surreal stories have taken over every news cycle.

Iraq striker Aymen Hussein was questioned for seven hours at O’Hare airport in Chicago after his arrival to the US, while team photographer Talal Salah was denied entry into the host nation.

I use the term “host” loosely here because you have to let people in to be called a “host.”

The Iranian team had to wait until the very last minute to get their US visas, only to find out that at least 15 of their officials and staffers had their visa applications rejected.

Iran, who play two of their group games in Los Angeles and a third one in Seattle, had to move their base camp from Tucson, Arizona to Tijuana, Mexico across the border due to security concerns and