Consequences of the IRGC's Missile Attack on Israel: Increased Likelihood of Iran Losing Hosting Rights for Football Competitions

The Football Federation of the Islamic Republic, despite the possibility of losing hosting rights for international competitions from Iran by the Asian Football Confederation, claimed that everything is ready for international hosting in the country. Mehdi Alavi, the public relations manager of the Football Federation of the Islamic Republic, stated: "In the past week, various teams have traveled to Iran. This has been communicated to the Asian Football Confederation in a letter, and as before, everything will be ready for international hosting." This federation plans to hold a ceremony on October 16 at the 'Imam Reza' Stadium in Mashhad to honor and celebrate Hashem Mohajerani, the former head coach of Iranian football, before the national teams of Iran and Qatar compete in the qualifiers for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. The assurance from Iranian officials about hosting competitions comes at a time when media from Arab Gulf countries and the newspaper Asharq Al-Awsat have reported that following the IRGC's missile attack on Israel on October 2, an emergency meeting of the Asian Football Confederation was convened to assess Iran's eligibility or to withdraw hosting rights from Iranian clubs in the elite league and the second-tier Champions League of Asia. Reports also indicate that FIFA is considering the possibility of moving the Iran-Qatar match in the World Cup qualifiers to a neutral venue. Meanwhile, Ahmad Donyamali, the Minister of Sports and Youth, who is in Qatar with the President of the fourteenth government of the Islamic Republic, reacted to the possibility of transferring the Iran-Qatar match to a neutral venue by stating that Iran is ready to host and that he has invited the Qatari Minister of Sports to attend the stadium in Mashhad. Following the IRGC's missile attack on Israel, images of these missiles over the Foolad Shahr Stadium in Isfahan, coinciding with the match between Sepahan and Istiklol Tajikistan, have received widespread coverage in regional sports media. Additionally, the cancellation of all flights at Iranian airports and the waiting period for the refereeing team and observers from the Asian Football Confederation in Tabriz and Isfahan have been reported in Arab media. They had traveled to Tabriz for the match between Tractor and Mohun Bagan of India. Previously, this Indian club had sent a letter to the Asian Football Confederation stating that due to the announcement of five days of public mourning in Iran following the death of the Secretary-General of Hezbollah Lebanon, they do not consider the situation in Iran to be normal and fear that war may begin during their stay in Tabriz. Mohun Bagan announced that they would only play against Tractor in a third country and would not come to Iran. Earlier, Saudi Arabian media reported on Al-Nasr's request to change the hosting of their match against Esteghlal Iran on November 23 to a neutral country. According to Arab media, the Asian Football Confederation confirmed Al-Nasr's request and postponed the decision regarding changing the hosting (the match of Cristiano Ronaldo's team against Esteghlal Tehran) to a meeting of the competition organizing committee. In another news, following the IRGC's missile attack on Israel and the escalation of tensions between the two countries and the possibility of any retaliatory action from Israel, the Iran-Azerbaijan cycling tour was canceled. The organizing committee for the 37th Iran-Azerbaijan cycling tour announced in a statement that due to the cancellation of international flights, holding these competitions at the scheduled time, October 7 to 11, is impossible and has been postponed to next May. The refusal of the Mohun Bagan football team from traveling to Iran following the IRGC's missile attack on Israel, President Biden's order to the U.S. military to defend Israel, Netanyahu's warning to the Islamic Republic: "There is no place in Iran that is not within the reach of Israel's long arms," the Middle East is worried about military action from the Islamic Republic; Biden spoke with the King of Jordan and his national security team; the rare visit of the Jordanian Foreign Minister to Tehran aimed at reducing tension; the region must live in "peace, security, and stability"; families of the victims of flight PS752: the presence of Javad Zarif at the graves of our loved ones is outrageous.