So, how’s the build-up to next summer’s World Cup going? Well, there have already been a few hiccups, but perhaps none more awkward than the pairing for the tournament’s LGBTQ+ Pride Match: Egypt and Iran. Two countries not best known for their respect for LGBTQ+ rights.
Before the draw for the groups was made last Friday, the World Cup organising committee in Seattle – where six games will be hosted – had chosen its June 26th fixture as the one that would celebrate its LGBTQ+ community. It takes place on the Friday of the city’s official Pride weekend.
But then the draw put Egypt and Iran in Group G, and the fixtures people chose Seattle on June 26th as the venue and date for their meeting.
Same-sex relations are considered crimes in Iran and, in extreme cases, are punishable by death. Homosexuality is not explicitly illegal in Egypt, but LGBTQ+ people have been charged under “debauchery” laws there and are often subjected to discrimination and violence.
RM Block
WANA, the West Asian News Agency, quoted Mehdi Taj, the president of the Iranian Football Federation, as saying that both Iran and Egypt have already protested against the designation of the game.
“It was an unreasonable move that seemed to support a particular group,” he said. “We will definitely address this matter.”
However, a spokesperson for the Seattle Pride Match Advisory Committee told the BBC that the game, scheduled to take place at Lumen Field, will go ahead, with celebrations planned at the stadium.
“Soccer has a unique power to unite people across borders, cultures and beliefs,” he said. “We are honoured to host a Pride match and to celebrate Pride as part of a global football community. This match reflects our ongoing commitment to respect, dignity and unity for all.”
It was the local committee rather than Fifa that organised the event, leaving football’s governing body stuck between an irate Egypt and Iran and a committee determined it should go ahead.
Fifa ran into a similar issue at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar when a protest was arranged against the host nation’s laws against same-sex relationships. Several competing teams had agreed to wear ‘OneLove’ armbands in solidarity with their country’s LGBTQ+ community, but were told by Fifa that any player donning one would receive a yellow card. There ended the planned protest.
Iran, in the midst of ever-rising tensions with the United States, had already felt aggrieved over the denial of visas for some members of its delegation, including Taj, to last Friday’s group draw in Washington.
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Taj also revealed that some members of the national team’s squad and staff had already been denied visas for the World Cup itself, with those who had served in the Iranian military experiencing particular problems acquiring them.
He was insistent, though, that a team would still be sent to the tournament. “We must prepare backup options,” he said. “If, for any reason, a player is told they cannot travel, we must have replacements ready.” No Iranian residents, though, will be granted visas for games in the US.
Meanwhile, there has been a decidedly mixed reaction to Fifa’s announcement of three-minute hydration breaks in each half of every game at the World Cup. This includes games played in more moderate temperatures and those staged in air-conditioned stadiums. Games will be stopped after 22 minutes in each half to allow players take drinks.
On the face of it, the decision appears to be a sensible, safety-conscious one, but scepticism remains. Fifa claims it is all about player welfare, but some suspect it has a lot more to do with making time for TV ads.
There have been plenty of voices down the years pushing for the World Cup to go the revenue-boosting ways of the likes of the NFL and NBA. Their wish has been granted. Next summer, it won’t be a game of two halves; it’ll be one of four quarters.
