Iran's national soccer team arrived in Los Angeles ahead of its World Cup opener against New Zealand, carrying pressure that extends beyond the field.
Iran's national soccer team arrived in Los Angeles on Sunday afternoon ahead of its World Cup opener against New Zealand, carrying pressure that extends beyond the field.
The team is set to play Monday evening at SoFi Stadium, temporarily known as Los Angeles Stadium for the tournament. In the lead-up to the match, Iran's head coach and team leaders faced questions about the political pressures surrounding the team as war continues between Iran and the United States, and as critics condemn Iran's government.
For Iran's national team, the World Cup comes with pressure on and off the field.
The team moved its training camp to Mexico after war broke out between Iran and the United States and has faced visa and travel challenges since. Still, during a Sunday press conference, Iranian team leaders stressed unity, saying, "We want to unite everyone in the same way Iran has been unified for years, and we want to do that through football."
That message did not resonate with demonstrators outside SoFi Stadium on Sunday.
Iranian American protesters said the team represents "an oppressive regime" that has killed tens of thousands of its own people. Some called on FIFA to ban Iran from the tournament.
"Many of them were athletes who were killed during the 2026 January uprising in which hundreds of cities rose up inside Iran," Ryan of the California Society of Democracy in Iran said.
"Iranian people, despite the World Cup taking place, the regime in Iran is still in power, terrorizing people and executing political prisoners," said Nasser Sharif, president of the California Society of Democracy in Iran.
The team, however, maintained that its focus is soccer, saying, "We are not political people, football is separate from politics."
Salma Mousa, a political scientist at UCLA, said Iranian athletes do not always have the freedom to speak openly.
"They should really just be focusing on the game and representing their country, but they're at this really strange kind of intersection between representing a government and representing the people," Mousa said.
While the team did not address political oppression in Iran during the Sunday press conference, players sent a message during their arrival. Players arriving in Mexico this week wore gold pins with the number 168, honoring the victims of a February strike on a children's school in southern Iran, an attack widely attributed to the United States.
FIFA banned South Africa in the 60s for decades due to its apartheid. Demonstrators at the protest on Sunday said the organization should take similar action against Iran.
Iran is scheduled to play New Zealand on Monday evening at Los Angeles Stadium, and the protesters said they plan to be there.
