From Iran to Congo … World Cup “big problems”

Although many hope that the participation of 48 teams in the World Cup for the first time will be fun and exciting, others are afraid that the problems of the World Cup, which begins on June 11, will overshadow its advantages.

The most common problems that can disturb the peace can be summarized World CupOr those who stayed with him even before he started, like this:

Politics: Iran

Since the return of the American President Donald Trump For the White House at the beginning of last year, politics seemed to be more important in the World Cup and everything related to it, noting that Trump has a close relationship with the President of the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA), Gianni Infantino.

But when the war started US And Israel defeated Iran on February 28. It seemed as if the participation of the country’s team in the World Cup was threatened, especially with the harsh words of American officials on this matter.

After weeks of pushing and pulling from both sides, it was announced Iran It wants to participate in the World Cup despite the conditions of war, while obtaining guarantees regarding the visas of the team and fans without additional questions by the American immigration authorities, as well as guarantees of the safety of the work. It also said that any questions related to the game should not be included in the press conference that will be held by the team.

In May, FIFA Secretary General Matthias Grafström met with the officials of the Iranian Football Federation in Istanbul, to confirm their participation in the World Cup, after worrying about the team’s ability to enter the United States.

A few days ago, the Iranian national team arrived in Istanbul to start their World Cup preparation camp. The country’s organization has confirmed that Iran will play a friendly match in Turkey against Gambia before the tournament, and later announced the transfer of the national team’s training camp from the United States to Mexico for security reasons, which received permission from FIFA.

Health: Ebola

It is the spread of the virusEbola“Given the concerns that were raised around the world, the participation of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, a country that was one of the victims, became questionable.

Recently, the White House confirmed that the national team of the Democratic Republic of the Congo will be forced to isolate themselves in a “bubble” for 21 days, if they want to enter the United States to participate in the World Cup, with the hidden threat that violating this condition could mean their absence from the tournament.

White House National Committee Chairman Andrew Giuliani said US officials had been notified Democratic Republic of the Congo The project must “remain in isolation for 21 days before coming to Houston on June 11,” the start of the World Cup.

Giuliani warned: “If the delegation arrives and one of its members shows symptoms of the disease, this will put the whole team at risk of refusing to participate in the World Cup,” which would be unprecedented in the history of the World Cup.

Immigration: visas

In June 2025, the Trump administration re-imposed a travel ban on citizens of several countries, citing national security concerns, as part of a tougher policy on immigration.

This ban, which was extended last December, includes issuing visas to citizens of 39 countries, including 4 countries whose teams participated in the World Cup, namely Haiti, Iran, Côte d’Ivoire, and Senegal.

This decision includes an exemption for any athlete or member of a sports team, including coaches and immediate family members, who is going to participate in the World Cup, Olympic Games, or other major sporting events determined by the United States Secretary of State.

These exceptions include allowing national team players, coaches, and officials from those countries to enter the United States to compete. However, the US State Department has confirmed that ordinary citizens of these four countries are not included in this category, which makes them ineligible to receive… Visas There will be matches.

The US government also imposed a $15,000 fee to issue visas, but a few days ago it decided to temporarily waive the problem for fans of the 5 African countries that participated in the World Cup. Tunisia Algeria, Côte d’Ivoire, Senegal and Cape Verde, if they have a valid ticket to attend the match.

Geography: Temperament

The competition will be held for the first time in three countries: the United States and …Canada And Mexico, which is the first problem that will be faced by players and fans alike, and will increase the amount of traffic between the stadiums, and will affect the number of people who come.

And they add up World Cup 2026 Across North America, which will force players and fans to travel long distances between the 16 host cities, the team playing in Toronto can play its team games in Mexico City, about 4,000 kilometers away.

This distance causes a great physical and moral burden, and can increase the possibility of players being tired due to the long flight across four different time zones, disruption of sleep and training time, and also bring real obstacles and difficulties in the journey of fans.

Weather: Warm

In January 2025, Queen’s University Belfast, Northern Ireland, warned of the dangers of burning in many cities and encouraged … FIFA Plan to start in the afternoon or evening.

The university indicated that the temperature in some cities will be higher than in other cities Qatar In the winter, when it did the last edition in 2022.

In the 2025 Club World Cup, held in the United States, high temperatures were recorded in several matches, ranging from 32 to 39 degrees Celsius, and some match days were changed due to bad weather.

In December 2025, FIFA announced that all matches of the 2026 World Cup will include a 3-minute water break in each half, to allow the players the opportunity to rest in the warm environment.