Iran Football team / (Photo credit: Iran Football team/Instagram)

What is common between Iran and New Zealand? The Indian community is the instant answer.

While Iran has been at war with the USA for the past more than three months, its strong Indian community refused to leave the war zone to move to safer havens. Interestingly, Indians or non-Muslims are not eligible for Iranian nationality. It is why one of the strongest pockets of Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) is in Iran.

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Recently, Pakistan, which has been acting as a mediator between the USA and Iran, announced that a deal has been reached to end the war and open the Strait of Hormuz. The USA confirmed that a truce has been reached. Once the Strait of Hormuz is opened again, it would provide major relief to the Gulf region and the global economy.

Fuel is one of the basic ingredients that controls national economies. The deal reached between the US and Iran is expected to extend the tenuous ceasefire reached in April so that negotiations come into play to resolve the ticklish issues, including Iran’s nuclear programme and the sanctions from various US-backed nations it had been facing all this while.

A deal to halt the war is expected to impact the ongoing FIFA World Cup 2026, which is being jointly hosted by the USA, Mexico, and Canada. Contrary to an Iran-Israel or Iran-US war, New Zealand has been at peace. It also has a substantial population of migrants from South Asia in general and India in particular.

New Zealand has a long history of giving fair representation to the Indian migrant community in its various national teams, especially hockey and cricket.

And the FIFA World Cup 2026 has come as a special occasion for the Indian community. The only person of Indian origin playing in the 2026 World Cup is Sarpreet Singh, a midfielder of Punjabi descent. Though he is born and brought up in New Zealand, he has risen through the ranks by representing the country of his present abode at all levels, beginning with the Under-17, Under-20, and now the national men’s team. So, New Zealand becomes a team that every Indian, otherwise not among the participating 48 nations, would want to be a team that has an Indian on it.

The Iranian national football team drew its first match with New Zealand on June 16.

Iran has a longer history at the FIFA World Cup than its opponents. Iran will be making its seventh appearance at the tournament, but not as enthusiastically as it had been doing in the past.

Soccer is one sport that is losing out on its popularity base as a peculiar feeling has been gripping the Iranian people. Though they have historically been passionate about football, various recent events have caused them to distance themselves from the sport, making football less of a priority in daily life.

In recent months, more specifically after the start of hostilities with both Israel and the USA, there have been tragic deaths of several Iranians during the January protests, as well as the impact of the ongoing conflict imposed by the United States and Israel on Iran. These tragic events have profoundly affected Iranians in general, changing their perspectives and priorities. 

Needless to say, Iran has been through a difficult period, and despite the agreement reached between Iran and the United States, many are still facing challenges, including economic issues and emotional and psychological difficulties stemming from recent events. The World Cup may provide Iranians with a temporary escape from these difficulties.

"Once an enemy is always an enemy" is what has been worrying Iranians currently in the USA for the FIFA World Cup. It has been a difficult pre-tournament time.

Iranian football finds itself mired in various controversies, as some believe the team does not adequately represent them in international tournaments due to insufficient support during recent protests.

The World Cup has brought several noteworthy stories to light. One significant issue was the refusal to issue visas to some members of the Iranian national team. Additionally, the team had to change its training camp from Arizona, US, to Tijuana, Mexico. This shift occurred amidst recent conflicts, which hindered its preparation for the tournament and did not provide suitable training conditions. The Iranian federation also wanted its games shifted from the US to Mexico. But this was outright rejected by the international football body, FIFA.

Furthermore, the federation faced challenges in arranging quality friendly matches due to various factors, including financial constraints and political issues. The atmosphere has been challenging due to the rapidly changing geopolitical scenario. The players face a challenge to live up to the expectations of their people and make them proud while striving to make history by advancing from the group stage for the first time.

Since FIFA has been allowing teams to play under the banner of a humanitarian cause, Iranians will play for MINAB 168 to honour the memory of the 168 school children who lost their lives in the tragic US attack on the Shajare Tayyiba School in Minab, Hormozgan Province.

Many of these children were fans of the Iranian national football team and missed the joy of watching matches against New Zealand, Belgium, and Egypt with their families. 

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