By Rédaction Africanews with agencies
Thousands gathered in the Iranian capital, Tehran, on Wednesday for a state send-off for the national football team due to take part in the FIFA World Cup next month.
Participants, mostly government supporters, waved Iranian flags and held pictures of new supreme leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, amid chants of “Death to America” and “Death to Israel”.
“This is the best farewell ceremony in the last four World Cups. The players stand alongside the people, and the people stand alongside the country’s dignity, honour and power,” the head of the Iranian Football Federation, Mehdi Taj, told state-run television IRIB.
The team’s new World Cup 2026 kit was also unveiled at the event.
It is due to head to Turkey next week for a training camp in preparation for the tournament which takes place in the United States, Mexico, and Canada.
The team’s participation in the World Cup has been in question since the US and Israel attacked Iran in late February, starting a regional war which is now in the midst of a fragile ceasefire.
Players and coaching staff have expressed uncertainty over whether visas to enter the United States will be granted in time for the tournament.
Iran’s soccer federation said on Saturday insisted that the tournament hosts consider Tehran’s concerns around the team’s travel and how it will be treated.
Tehran has put the onus on FIFA for ensuring the team gets into the US, where it is due to play all three of its Group D matches.
Currently ranked 21st in the world, Iran lost just one match in the Asian qualifiers, and will play its first game is against New Zealand in Inglewood, next to Los Angeles on 16 June.
Iran has qualified for four consecutive World Cups and seven overall but has never advanced out of the group stage.
