TUCSON.- Given the conflict in Middle Eastthe soccer team Iran He does not know if he will participate in the World Cup which starts in less than a month, but its hosts in USA They are advancing at full speed in the welcome preparations.
At the sports complex that is to host Team Melli in hot Tucson, Arizona, employees methodically water and mow the grass to a height of about two centimeters, as stipulated by the rules of the FIFA.
The field remains in “the same conditions in which they will play, both in Los Angeles and in Seattle,” he explained to AFP. Sarah Hannahdirector of the Kino Sports Complex, where the local club plays FC Tucson.
“We are delighted to welcome them, and we are going to give them a positive experience,” Hanna added. “For us it is 100% confirmed, and it has never been in doubt (…) until we hear something different from FIFA.”
Between 12 and 20 weekly meetings are held at the complex to coordinate the logistical arrangements for lodging, food and security for the World Cup held in USA, Canada and Mexico from June 11 to July 19.
The work has not been paralyzed despite the uncertainty in which the Iranian team has found itself since February, when the United States and Israel went to war with Iran.
“Safe environment”
FIFA insists that the team will be in the Cup.
But on Friday the president of the Persian team stipulated ten conditions for participation, including visa issues and respect for the coaching staff.
Washington could veto the entry of members of the delegation linked to the Guardians of the Revolutionthe ideological army of Tehranconsidered a terrorist organization by the United States.
Tehran also demanded security for its squad, a point at which the US president donald trump he added fuel to the fire.
The Republican president said in March that the team was welcome, but immediately added that he did not see participation in the tournament on American soil as “appropriate” “for his own life and safety.”
Already in Tucson, a city with a Democratic majority, Hanna stated that the authorities designed “an adapted security plan”, which contemplates keeping most of the training sessions closed to the public.
Jon Pearlmanpresident of the local FC Tucson, seeks to calm tensions by dismissing Trump’s words as part of a “grandiose” rhetoric that takes place only on social networks.
“I don’t think President Trump or anyone in our government is looking to make them feel undesirable or in danger. They will create a safe environment because we want our country to continue to be a host,” added Pearlman, who is looking ahead to the 2031 Women’s World Cup.
“Impossible”
At the Kino Sports Complex, Iranian players are expected to have a gym equipped with weight equipment, ice bathtubs and massage tables.
“We welcome them with open arms,” Pearlman said. “We are part of the global football community (…) the game unites nations, it does not separate them.”
A sentiment that is shared in the city of some 540,000 residents on both sides of the political spectrum.
“I hope they feel welcome here even though we’re doing what we’re doing,” he said. Rob McLanean indoor soccer fan and critic of the war against Iran.
On the opposite side, Republican voters separate politics from sports.
“I’m glad they’re coming, and I have no bad intentions or reservations,” he said. Michael Holleya veteran who approves of the war, considering it necessary to prevent Iran from developing an atomic bomb.
Holley, in fact, maintained that Trump’s words should not be read as a threat. He “feared that athletes would be punished by their own government if they had a voice of their own,” he said.
The Iranian community residing in Tucson is already divided.
For some, like Ali Rezaeithe eleven is an instrument of propaganda for the mullahs’ regime, and it is difficult to feel national pride with the team after the bloody repression by the Islamic Republic in the face of popular demonstrations that left thousands dead in January.
“I find it impossible to support them,” Rezaei told AFP. “If there is a protest against them, I might go.”
