{"id":4736,"date":"2026-06-19T22:36:49","date_gmt":"2026-06-19T22:36:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=4736"},"modified":"2026-06-19T22:36:49","modified_gmt":"2026-06-19T22:36:49","slug":"iran-says-its-being-treated-unfairly-its-world-cup-travel-schedule-isnt-unique","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=4736","title":{"rendered":"Iran says it\u2019s being treated unfairly. Its World Cup travel schedule isn\u2019t unique"},"content":{"rendered":"
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By The Associated Press<\/p>\n

Iran\u2019s World Cup team says it\u2019s unfairly being made to travel to matches the day before games and return immediately after, but that schedule itself isn\u2019t uncommon among teams.<\/p>\n

Read more Despite Christian Pulisic\u2019s absence, US beats Australia 2-0 to advance to World Cup knockout round<\/a><\/p>\n

So how does it work, with 48 teams criss-crossing 16 cities across three countries? Iran has been forced to comply with what White House FIFA task force head Andrew Giuliani said were previously mandated rules stemming from the war, but those restrictions also align with FIFA guidelines for general team travel.<\/p>\n

Team Melli made the 127-mile (204-kilometer) charter flight from Tijuana International Airport to Los Angeles International Airport the day before its opening 2-2 draw against New Zealand on Monday, a typically short trip that team captain Mehdi Taremi said instead took five hours, including security and immigration checks.<\/p>\n

Iran returned to Mexico right after the match, which ended about 8 p.m. Pacific. The team had hoped to stave off travel for a day after the game.<\/p>\n

The team\u2019s request to travel to LA two days before Sunday\u2019s match against Belgium was also denied, the federation said late Thursday, adding that it will lodge a complaint with FIFA. In a statement, the federation noted Sunday\u2019s earlier kickoff \u2014 noon Pacific \u2014 and said it believes \u201csuch restrictions are inconsistent with the principle of providing equal conditions for all participating teams and may negatively affect teams\u2019 preparation processes.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cWe are the only team that are participating in the World Cup that we are at the host cities just 24 hours and it is not fair,\u201d Iran soccer secretary-general Hedayat Mombeini said through a translator Friday. \u201cAll these limitations on us, it has negative effects on our physical and mental things on our players.\u201d<\/p>\n

But the Iran team\u2019s travel schedule itself is not unusual for short distances in this tournament. And FIFA\u2019s 2026 World Cup regulations state in Article 18.3 that \u201ceach team shall travel from its team base camp to the match venue one day before matchday (MD\u20111) and in exceptional cases on MD\u20112, and shall return to their team base camp after the match (on MD\/MD+1).\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more Prosecutors seek death penalty against Sanford man accused of raping child relative<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

The restrictions on the Iran team have not been lifted despite an interim agreement to end the war. Some team officials and support staff have been unable to secure visas to the U.S., and player Mehdi Torabi had to visit the U.S. consulate in Tijuana to get a new visa after the first match.<\/p>\n

Many teams have been arriving in host cities the day before their matches. For Friday\u2019s group-stage match against Australia, the U.S. made the roughly 980-mile (1,580-kilometer) flight from their base in Orange County, California, to Seattle on Thursday. The team intended to return to its hotel in Laguna Niguel after the match.<\/p>\n

Some CONCACAF teams preferred to arrive on the day before games for World Cup qualifiers at Mexico City, where sports performance experts advise players won\u2019t have time to acclimatize to the altitude so should get there as close to kickoff as possible.<\/p>\n

Bosnia-Herzegovina has the longest group stage travel, at 5,878 miles (9,460 kilometers) in total. The Dragons had a roughly 1,660-mile (2,670-kilometer) flight each way from Salt Lake City to Toronto, 590 miles (950 kilometers) to Los Angeles and 690 miles (1,110 kilometers) to Seattle.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Bosnia\u2019s travel is far shorter than the 9,000-mile (14,484-kilometer) trek for the U.S. at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, the longest among the 32 nations. The Americans went from their base camp in Sao Paulo to Natal, a distance of 1,436 miles (2,311 kilometers), three days before their opener against Ghana. They made the 1,832-mile (2,948-kilometer) trip to Manaus two days before of their game against Portugal and the 1,321-mile (2,126-kilometer) journey to Recife two days in front of their match against Germany.<\/p>\n

Four years ago in Qatar, all stadiums were within 31 miles (50 kilometers) of downtown Qatar, enabling for teams to stay in one hotel throughout the tournament.<\/p>\n

Read more Boston, Scotland World Cup fans brought together in soccer kinship, celebration and love of beer<\/a><\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

AP World Cup coverage: https:\/\/apnews.com\/fifa-world-cup<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By The Associated Press Iran\u2019s World Cup team says it\u2019s unfairly being made to travel to matches the day before games and return immediately after, but that schedule itself isn\u2019t uncommon among teams. So how does it work, with 48 teams criss-crossing 16 cities across three countries? Iran has been forced to comply with what [\u2026]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4735,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37,6,64],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4736","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-soccer","category-sports","category-world-cup-2026"],"yoast_head":"\nIran says it\u2019s being treated unfairly. 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