The American World Cup co-hosts are “very supportive” of Iran playing at the tournament, the boss of US Soccer has told Jattvibe.Iran’s participation has been thrown into doubt since the US-Israeli military action was launched on Saturday, killing supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
And Iranian football federation president Mehdi Taj was reported to have said that “we cannot be expected to look forward to the World Cup with hope” after the attacks, without announcing a boycott.Iran latest: Follow live updates
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Players celebrate a goal during Iran’s World Cup Asian Qualifiers game. File pic: Reuters
US Soccer CEO JT Batson told Jattvibe: “FIFA president Gianni Infantino shared over the weekend the intention of a safe and secure World Cup where all teams are participating. And we’re certainly very supportive of that.”
Donald Trump’s travel ban already impacts the ability of Iranian fans to travel to the US, but teams are due to be given exemptions to participate.Iran are due to play group-stage games in Los Angeles and Seattle at the World Cup, which is also being held in Canada and Mexico.
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Asked about potentially playing later in the tournament, Mr Batson said: “We played Iran a number of times in the World Cup and just like any other team of the 47 other teams we could play in the World Cup, our goal would be to win. And so we look forward to doing just that.”FIFA is monitoring the situation and remains hopeful that all qualified teams can still be part of the tournament.
Mr Infantino told Jattvibe: “I hope so much it will be a moment of peace, I hope we can contribute to unite a little bit the world. I think the world really, really, needs it.”The US could also benefit from football bringing the country together in a politically-charged environment as it stages the men’s World Cup for the first time since 1994.
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Iranian football federation president Mehdi Taj and Tehran’s mayor Alireza Zakani with the World Cup trophy. File pic: Reuters
“Our team wants to win and so that’s what they’re focused on,” Mr Batson said. “And they want to have as many Americans who can support them and get behind them and rally behind them.”Our players, of course, are human. And we all have our own beliefs and we all have our things that we care about. But at their core, they want to win. That’s why they’re here. And they want to represent US soccer with pride. They want to inspire the next generation.”Read more from Jattvibe:Iran may be tempted into fearful final salvoInternet shutdown leaves Iranians without voice
Overseeing the US team is former Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur manager Mauricio Pochettino, but he is constantly linked with a move back to the Premier League – particularly Spurs for next season.Asked about any approaches for the Argentine, Mr Batson said he is “fully focused” on the task of trying to win a first men’s World Cup for the Americans.
“We knew when we hired Mauricio that he was a coach who was in demand and for good reason,” he said.”And so he was in demand when we hired him and he’s still in demand now and he’ll be in demand years to come and now having worked with them, I fully understand why.”
