Iran, World Cup loom over FIFA Congress

VANCOUVER, Canada: Football’s power brokers meet in Vancouver on Thursday as FIFA convenes its 76th Congress, a high-stakes gathering less than two months before the biggest World Cup ever opens across Canada, Mexico and the United States.
The Iran war, World Cup logistical headaches and the unresolved question of Russia’s international ban are set to feature in discussions among roughly 1,600 delegates from more than 200 member associations.
Iran’s absence is already threatening to overshadow the meeting.
Officials from the Iranian football federation (FFIRI) abruptly left Canada after landing in Toronto earlier this week, abandoning their onward trip to Vancouver.
Iranian media said FFIRI president Mehdi Taj — a former member of Tehran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) — and two colleagues flew home after being “insulted” by Canadian immigration officers.
Canada, which designated the IRGC a terrorist organization in 2024, said Wednesday that individuals linked to the force were “inadmissible.”
“While we cannot comment on individual cases due to privacy laws, the government has been clear and consistent: IRGC officials are inadmissible to Canada and have no place in our country,” Canada’s immigration agency said in a statement.
The episode adds fresh uncertainty to Iran’s World Cup status, already clouded since the Middle East war erupted on February 28 with a wave of attacks by the United States and Israel.
Iranian football officials said last month they had suggested moving their three World Cup group games from the US to co-hosts Mexico — a plan which was swiftly nixed by FIFA President Gianni Infantino.
Infantino told AFP that Iran will play at the World Cup “where they are supposed to be, according to the