Iran men's football team makes poignant symbolic gesture as uncertainty looms over FIFA World Cup participation

Iran’s senior men’s national football team lost to Nigeria 2-1 in an international friendly match on Friday but their gesture before the match won hearts all over the world. While the result did not go Iran’s way, they used the game to highlight the biggest tragedy of the ongoing war.

Iran is currently in a conflict with the United States and Israel with much destruction on both sides. In the early days of the US-Israeli offensive on Iran, a school was hit in Minab with more than 170 people, including 165 girls, reportedly getting killed.

Iran captures football world’s attention

Iran faced Nigeria in the Turkish resort town of Belek as part of their preparations for the upcoming FIFA World Cup. Before the kickoff when the national anthem of the Islamic Republic was being played, the players held small pink and purple schoolbags adorned with ribbons, clutching them close to their chests. The players also wore black armbands as tribute to the victims of the attack.

Iran's National Football Team held children's schoolbags during the national anthem in tribute to the Iranian children killed in the US-Israeli bombing of a primary school in Minab.

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Mehdi Mohammad Nabi, the vice president of the Iranian football federation, told Reuters that the players were deeply affected by the tragedy and unitedly took decision to make the gesture.

“They ​were deeply affected by the bombing of the girls’ school and wanted to express their sympathy,” ​Nabi said. “This was a collective decision by the team. We are united.”

Uncertainty continues over Iran’s FIFA World Cup participation

While the Iranian team continues to prepare for the World Cup, their participation in the 48-team tournament still hangs by a thread. Iranian state TV recently stated that its sports teams have been barred from traveling to “hostile” countries.

Iran is scheduled to play all of its three World Cup group games in the United States. Iranian ambassador in Mexico City has said that the team is negotiating with FIFA over moving their games to Mexico. American president Donald Trump had also hinted that it will not “appropriate” for Iran to travel to the United States for the tournament. FIFA president Gianni Infantino has made it clear that “we want the FIFA World Cup to go ahead as scheduled.”