World Cup concerns are exaggerated, says FIFA vice-president

ATLANTA – Widespread political and security concerns surrounding the upcoming World Cup in June and July are nothing new and will be forgotten once the first ball is kicked, FIFA vice-president Victor Montagliani said on March 25.

The global football tournament is being hosted by the United States, Mexico and Canada, and the build-up has been complicated by the war in the Middle East, US President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown and gang violence in Mexico, among other factors.

Iran have said that they will not play their scheduled fixtures in the US after Mr Trump warned that Iranian players would be at risk, while travelling fans from various countries have voiced difficulties over obtaining visas and fears of being targeted by immigration agents.

But Montagliani, who heads football’s North and Central American and Caribbean confederation Concacaf, said that the concerns were no different to those that preceded previous editions.

“The reality of the World Cups – every World Cup FIFA has put on – there’s always been geopolitical issues. Always,” he told the Business of Soccer conference in Atlanta.

“Go back to ’78, Argentina, the junta and all that stuff,” he added, referring to the edition that took place during the South American country’s brutal military dictatorship.

Rights groups say around 30,000 people died or disappeared under the dictatorship, one of Latin America’s bloodiest.

“Right now it’s just magnified because everything else in the world is magnified, whether it’s social media or whether it’s how the media reports things,” said Montagliani.

“But it doesn’t change our job... It’s a reality of doing business.

“We deal with it. We will deal with it.

“And at the end of the day, like every other World Cup, on June 11 when the ball starts rolling, somehow everybody forgets about everything else and starts worrying about the game.”

FIFA president Gianni Infantino, meanwhile, has come under scrutiny for his close relationship with Mr Trump, which has included attending a Gaza peace summit brokered by the US President.

He also awarded Mr Trump a newly created FIFA Peace Prize at the World Cup draw ceremony in December.

“At the end of the day, our main goal is to ensure that the security is top notch, which is why we have to have our relationship solid with every federal government – Canada, the US and Mexico,” added Montagliani.

“That the fans are safe. That they’re going to enjoy themselves. And then once the ball starts rolling, it’s all about football.”

While the war is ongoing, Iran’s men’s team trained in southern Turkey on March 25 as they prepare for two upcoming friendlies ahead of the World Cup.

The team held a training session in Belek, a resort area near the Mediterranean city of Antalya, with tightly restricted media access as officials said they wanted to avoid distractions ahead of the matches described as critical to their World Cup preparations.

Iran’s football federation is in discussions with FIFA about moving its World Cup matches to Mexico from the US due to concerns over player safety, federation president Mehdi Taj said last week.

In Belek, no interviews with players or coaches were made available and a team media representative said the squad were focused entirely on their immediate competitive programme.

Iran will play two matches in Antalya, against Nigeria on March 27 and Costa Rica on March 31.

The friendlies were originally scheduled to take place in Jordan but were moved to Turkey following the outbreak of the war.

Meanwhile, the fourth and final ticket sales phase for the World Cup will open on April 1, FIFA announced on March 25, without specifying how many tickets will be made available.

The “last-minute” sales phase will then remain open through the end of the tournament.

Tickets will be sold on a first-come, first-served basis and be “released for sale on a rolling basis, including, on occasion, for matches taking place on the same day”.
AFP, REUTERS