Iran conflict and Mexican cartel violence pose further problems for FIFA

With less than 100 days to go until the World Cup, the military strikes launched by Israel and the United States against Iran have added a new layer of complexity to the tournament co-hosted by the US, Mexico and Canada.

How the conflict will affect the world's most-watched sporting event is the latest issue facing organizers already grappling with cartel violence in one of Mexico's host cities, scaled-back plans for fan festivals in the US and criticism from fans against soaring ticket prices.

Officials of the qualified teams are meeting with FIFA staff in Atlanta this week. The tournament kicks off on June 11 when Mexico plays South Africa in Mexico City. It will be the biggest World Cup ever, with 48 participating teams — up from 32 at the previous tournament in Qatar.

Here's a look at some of the issues drawing scrutiny as the countdown begins.

Iran's status unclear

Iran is set to play two group stage games in Inglewood, California, and one in Seattle.

However, whether the Iranian team will come to the US is uncertain.

"What is certain is that after this attack, we cannot be expected to look forward to the World Cup with hope," Iran's top soccer official, Mehdi Taj, said last weekend after the US and Israel launched coordinated attacks that killed Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and dozens more senior officials.

Still, Iran has not announced it is withdrawing from the tournament, which no team that has qualified has done in the past 75 years. Iran, the second-highest ranked team in Asia, was drawn in a group with Belgium, Egypt and New Zealand.

Fan festivals

Fan festivals have been a key part of the World Cup experience for the past two decades. They offer a chance for thousands of fans without match tickets to take part in the World Cup atmosphere by coming together to watch games on a big screen.

Some of those plans are now being scaled back in the US.

New Jersey eliminated its Fan Fest in Jersey City, even though it had started selling tickets for an event scheduled to be open every day of the tournament.

Planning to sell tickets was itself unprecedented for World Cup fan zones, which have always been free to enter since being launched at the 2006 Finals in Germany.

Seattle cut down its original plans and rescheduled its festival for smaller venues, while Boston trimmed its event to 16 days.

The chief operating officer of Miami's FIFA World Cup host committee said during a congressional hearing on Feb 24 that it might cancel its event if it did not receive federal funding within 30 days. In Missouri, Kansas City's Deputy Police Chief Joseph Mabin said the city had an immediate need for federal funds to prepare security.

House Republicans said federal money may be held up by the partial government shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security, caused by Democrats insisting restrictions be placed on Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents.

Games threatened

The New England Patriots' stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts, is due to host seven World Cup games, starting with Haiti vs Scotland on June 13 and ending with a quarterfinal on July 9.

At least, that's FIFA's plan.

The Select Board of Foxborough has refused to issue a permit for World Cup matches at the stadium and set a March 17 deadline to be paid $7.8 million — what the town estimates will be the cost of police and other expenses. Foxborough said it was not part of FIFA's hosting agreement with Boston.

Cartel violence

Mexico's ability to co-host the World Cup has been under scrutiny after a surge in violence last week in the state of Jalisco following the military's killing of a powerful cartel boss.

The state's capital, Guadalajara, is set to host four matches during the group stage.

Mexico's government insists the World Cup won't be affected and President Claudia Sheinbaum said there's no risk for fans coming to the tournament.

FIFA President Gianni Infantino told Sheinbaum that he has full confidence in Mexico as a World Cup host.

FIFA's ticket prices

FIFA has about seven million seats to fill for the World Cup matches and said last month it received 500 million ticket requests. Infantino has proclaimed all 104 games are sold out, and yet some fans received emails last week offering an extra 48-hour window for ticket sales.

As prices in December reached up to $8,680 per ticket, FIFA responded to criticism by offering a few hundred $60 tickets for every game to the 48 national federations in the tournament. Those federations will decide how to distribute them to their most loyal fans.

Most prices on FIFA's ticket resale platform — seeking to cut out the secondary market and earn FIFA extra 15 percent in fees from buyers and sellers — are well past the $1,000 mark.

Agencies Via Xinhua