Iran's soccer team readies to leave for World Cup as some officials still await US visas

Iran’s World Cup soccer team prepared to set off from Turkey for their training base in Mexico on Saturday ahead of three group matches in the United States later this month. According to Iranian state television, however, some members of the Iranian Football Federation who had been due to accompany the team were yet to receive visas to enter the U.S. The Iranian TV report said the federation’s secretary-general, Hedayat Mombeini, and its vice president, Mehdi Mohammad Nabi, were among 14 backroom staff and officials who had not received U.S. visas ahead of games in Los Angeles and Seattle.

By Jason Griffith for PeeDeeWire

Yahoo Sports reports: Iran’s World Cup soccer team prepared to set off from Turkey for their training base in Mexico on Saturday ahead of three group matches in the United States later this month. According to Iranian state television, however, some members of the Iranian Football Federation who had been due to accompany the team were yet to receive visas to enter the U.S. The Iranian TV report said the federation’s secretary-general, Hedayat Mombeini, and its vice president, Mehdi Mohammad Nabi, were among 14 backroom staff and officials who had not received U.S. visas ahead of games in Los Angeles and Seattle.