I Support Team Melli Too

Besides Scotland, I am unabashedly rooting for Iran in the grandest stage in global football. 

Not because of goals. Not because of stars. But because I watched what Team Melli went through – and admired how they still showed up. Respect is earned in moments like these. 🧡🧡🧡

Iran is the ultimate underdog. Despite consistently holding a Top-20 spot in the ⁠FIFA Men's World Rankings, they've historically struggled to advance past the group stage. 

But more importantly, I'm backing them because they continue to fight and compete at an elite level, even while navigating unprecedented off-pitch hurdles and restrictive external conditions. [Read my post "The Most Oppressed Team at the World Cup" published Monday]. 

There is a modicum of good news though. Iran's football team have been given extra time in the United States to prepare for their last group fixture. The US Department of Homeland Security have come out to say that Iran has been allowed to travel to Seattle in Washington State two days before their match against Egypt on Friday – giving them an extra day beyond the 24-hour window they'd been granted for their first two games. 

But their players are still required to return to their base camp in Tijuana, Mexico, after the match. 

According to BBC on Tuesday, this change came after the Football Federation Islamic Republic of Iran (commonly abbreviated as FFIRI) said, on June 19, they planned to lodge an official complaint with FIFA over what they described as unfair treatment in the United States.

The above aside, Iran's football federation reported the following day that their team’s flight to Seattle was delayed by 25 minutes as star forward Mehdi Taremi and assistant coach Saeed Alhoei were held up for an undisclosed reason. 

As if the crises currently strangling the Iranian team were not catastrophic enough, today's fixture between Iran and the Pharaohs has drawn global attention and significant international tension as it overlaps with Seattle's annual Pride Weekend. 

Because homosexuality is criminalized in both competing nations, the matchup was branded by the city's local organizing committee as a "Pride Match" to promote inclusivity, sparking protests and raised concerns from the Iranian and Egyptian governments. 

In fact, FIFA have given the green light for fans to bring rainbow flags into the stadium, classifying the symbol as one of human rights rather than a political slogan.

The abject failure of the global governing body for football to protect Iran from relentless political distractions and unfair travel restrictions severely compromises the fundamental spirit of the game.

Shame on you, FIFA! 😡😡😡