The thing about being a football fan whose country isn’t playing in the World Cup is that you can support a foreign team for just about any reason: Your favourite players (Argentina or Portugal), a beautiful playing style (Brazil, Spain), or something personal, like the country where you studied (England), or one you visited and absolutely fell in love with (Mexico, Japan).

And then there is politics and solidarity. You either identify with a country’s struggles, or that country’s rival is in the tournament, and in this case, hosting it.

Add all that up, and I found my heart beating for Iran at the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

This is a country on the receiving end of an American-Israeli war of choice that has killed thousands of civilians, including 100-plus children, in an airstrike on a girls’ school in Minab. But solidarity with Team Melli — as the Iranian national team is known — goes beyond the war. Just look at how the players and staff have been treated.

The team was told to fly into the US only on the day before each match and to leave for Mexico immediately after. Several coaches, support staff, and officials had their visa applications rejected, and the US revoked Iran’s entire ticket........

© Indian Express