
{"id":6787,"date":"2026-05-21T13:41:03","date_gmt":"2026-05-21T13:41:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/2026\/05\/21\/iran-world-cup-squad-members-apply-for-us-canada-visas-in-turkiye\/"},"modified":"2026-05-21T13:41:03","modified_gmt":"2026-05-21T13:41:03","slug":"iran-world-cup-squad-members-apply-for-us-canada-visas-in-turkiye","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/2026\/05\/21\/iran-world-cup-squad-members-apply-for-us-canada-visas-in-turkiye\/","title":{"rendered":"Iran World Cup squad members apply for US, Canada visas in Turkiye"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<p><em>A number of players submitted visa applications in person at the US embassy in Ankara ahead of their training camp.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div aria-live=\"polite\" aria-atomic=\"true\">\n<p>Iran\u2019s football team have attended visa appointments in Turkiye ahead of the World Cup, with the whole squad applying for Canadian visas and some players also submitting applications for entry into the United States.<\/p>\n<p>A number of players submitted applications in the Turkish capital Ankara on Thursday, an Iranian football federation official told Reuters news agency.<\/p>\n<p>The whole squad attended appointments for Canadian visas, while some players who had not applied for American visas before the US and Israel attacked Iran in February also submitted their visa applications in person at the embassy.<\/p>\n<p>Some foreign-based Iranian players joined the squad in Ankara before later travelling to the team\u2019s training camp in Antalya on Turkiye\u2019s Mediterranean coast, the official said.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_4591524\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-4591524\"><img decoding=\"async\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"http:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/AFP__20260521__B3KF763__v2__HighRes__TurkeyUsFblWc2026Iri-1779366874.jpg?w=770&#038;resize=770%2C513&#038;quality=80\" alt=\"Iran's national football team players and members of their delegation leave the US Embassy in Ankara after submitting their visa applications ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, on May 21, 2026. The Iranian football federation vice-president said on May 20, 2026 he was \"very confident\" in FIFA's protocols as the team prepare to play at the World Cup in the United States. The players are to stay several weeks before heading to the World Cup that is being co-hosted by the US, which began bombing Iran on February 28 alongside Israel, sparking a wider war in the Middle East. (Photo by Adem ALTAN \/ AFP)\" fetchpriority=\"low\"><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-4591524\">The players and delegation members submitted US visa applications in the Turkish capital [Adem Altan\/AFP]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The World Cup will \u2060\u2060be cohosted by the US, Canada and Mexico, with Iran due to play all three of their group-stage matches on the US West Coast.<\/p>\n<p>Iran are scheduled to face New Zealand on June 15 and Belgium on June 21 in Los Angeles before taking on Egypt in Seattle five days later. They would require access to Canada if they progress to the knockout rounds.<\/p>\n<p>Iran is holding a pre-tournament camp in Turkiye following the suspension of the Iranian domestic league in March, leaving many players short of match fitness.<\/p>\n<p>The team trained in Antalya earlier this week as coach Amir Ghalenoei attempted to prepare his squad after most domestic-based players went seven weeks without competitive football during the suspension of the Iranian league.<\/p>\n<p>Iran qualified early for the expanded 48-team World Cup, but preparations have been overshadowed by uncertainty over travel and security arrangements following the US-Israeli war on Iran.<\/p>\n<p>Iran\u2019s football federation had previously said US visa applications for the team would be handled in Turkiye after discussions with FIFA.<\/p>\n<p>Iran are due to play Gambia in a friendly on May 29 before Ghalenoei names his final 26-man World Cup squad by FIFA\u2019s June 1 deadline.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A number of players submitted visa applications in person at the US embassy in Ankara ahead of their training camp. Iran\u2019s football team have attended visa appointments in Turkiye ahead of the World Cup, with the whole squad applying for Canadian visas and some players also submitting applications for entry into the United States. A &#8230; <a title=\"Iran World Cup squad members apply for US, Canada visas in Turkiye\" class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/2026\/05\/21\/iran-world-cup-squad-members-apply-for-us-canada-visas-in-turkiye\/\" aria-label=\"Read more about Iran World Cup squad members apply for US, Canada visas in Turkiye\">Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6788,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6787","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-travel"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6787","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6787"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6787\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6788"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6787"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6787"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pronews.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6787"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}