The president of the Palestinian Football Association says he was denied a visa to enter the United States for the FIFA World Cup, raising concerns over access restrictions for accredited participants attending one of the world’s largest sporting events amid ongoing tensions in West Asia.

Jibril Rajoub said on Saturday that he remains in Mexico City awaiting permission to travel to the US and join other football federation leaders attending the tournament.

Rajoub was present at Thursday’s opening match between Mexico and South Africa, but said he has been unable to enter the US despite being accredited for the World Cup.

He is among several individuals connected to the tournament who have reportedly either been denied visas or are still waiting for approval from US authorities.

“I don’t believe that it’s fair to use or to abuse and deny the right of all footballers all over the world to attend,” Rajoub said.

Although Palestine did not qualify for the World Cup, FIFA traditionally invites the heads of national football associations from around the world to attend the tournament, which the governing body promotes as a celebration of international unity through sport.

FIFA President Gianni Infantino had previously stressed the inclusive nature of the competition.

“Everyone will be welcome in Canada, Mexico, and the United States for the FIFA World Cup next year. We are working exactly for that,” he said last year.

However, reports of visa difficulties involving participants from several countries have cast a shadow over those commitments. According to media reports, a referee from Somalia and a photographer travelling with Iraq’s national team have also faced entry problems.

Last week, the US denied visas to several Iranian national football team officials and staff ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup despite its duties as one of the hosts of the global event.

Addressing the issue this week, Infantino acknowledged that FIFA had been working to resolve visa-related challenges, but emphasized that the organization could not override the decisions of sovereign governments.

Source: Presstv

Mexico delivered a statement in the 2026 World Cup’s opening match, dominating South Africa 2-0 at the Azteca Stadium.

Julian Quinones scored the opening goal of the tournament and veteran striker Raul Jimenez added a second as the co-hosts’ bid for qualification from Group A got off to smooth start.

South Africa meanwhile never looked like spoiling the opening day fiesta, and finished with only nine men after Sphephelo Sithole and Themba Zwane were sent off.

The Mexican-colored red, green and white smoke from pre-game fireworks had barely dissipated before Quinones fired the hosts into the lead on nine minutes, drilling a low shot through the legs of South Africa’s goalkeeper and captain Ronwen Williams.

A deafening roar cascaded down from the stands of the Azteca, the footballing cathedral that became the only stadium to host games at three different World Cups.

South Africa coach Hugo Broos had warned his players to be ready for the intimidating atmosphere created by a capacity 80,824 crowd at the imposing concrete arena.

Two red cards

But South Africa’s players looked to have a bad case of stage fright as Mexico’s fans greeted each completed pass with a raucous chorus of “Ole!” in the opening minutes.

Sithole seemed particularly affected, being caught in possession trying to play out of the back for Quinones’ opening goal.

Sithole’s miserable afternoon ended with a 49th minute dismissal after bundling over Mexico’s Brian Gutierrez when clean through on goal.

Mexico rammed home their advantage in the 67th minute, with a fine counter attack culminating in Roberto Alvarado crossing for Wolverhampton Wanderers forward Jimenez to nod home at the far post.

It got worse for South Africa in the 84th minute when Zwane was dismissed after a VAR review for flinging an arm into the face of Alvarado.

There was still time for late drama when Mexican defender Cesar Montes was shown a red card for a clumsy challenge on Khulisa Mudau on the edge of the penalty area.

Source: AFP

Iran has criticized the United States for the way it has treated World Cup teams upon entry to the country while recommending that Washington take co-host Mexico as a model of hospitality and avoid politicizing sports.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said in a Wednesday post on his X account that the US is using its hosting of the World Cup as an opportunity to settle political scores.

“Soccer is a platform for healthy competition and for bringing nations closer together, not an excuse to open a Pandora’s box of old grudges and unleash deeply rooted complexes,” said Baghaei in the post.

“The World Cup is conceived as a global celebration of soccer, not as an opportunity to humiliate and discriminate against other nations.”

The spokesman said World Cup co-host Mexico had instead extended a warm welcome to footballers, including the Iranian national team that arrived in the country earlier this week.

He said Mexico’s way of treating the guest teams “serves as a powerful reminder of a simple truth: excellent hospitality is defined by human conduct and the ability to make guests feel genuinely welcomed and valued.”

Baghaei pointed to “troubling reports” about the inappropriate and disrespectful treatment of players, referees, and guests at entry points to the US, saying those reports would undermine huge efforts by the US to portray itself as a successful host of the World Cup.

“The true credibility of a host country is not measured solely by sports facilities or political grandiosity, but by the quality of treatment given to those who arrive in its country out of love for soccer,” he said.

In a move widely criticized in the world of politics and sport, the US government has refused to grant visas to some members of the Iranian football delegation seeking to attend the World Cup games.

US President Donald Trump also posted during the US-Israeli aggression on Iran in March, threatening that the presence of Iranian footballers in the US for World Cup games could pose risks to them.

Iran has repeatedly slammed Washington for its politicized way of treating the World Cup, saying the US should respect the rights of players and staff to attend the games.

Source: Press TV

It is the ultimate image for the poster boy of football in Saudi Arabia: Cristiano Ronaldo lifting the Saudi Pro League trophy for the first time.

Al-Nassr signed the megastar in December 2022 – after he left Manchester United – to shock the world and thrust the country on to the global sporting stage.

But there has also been some surprise that more than three years later, the 41-year-old had not won a major domestic title.

The wait finally ended on Thursday as Ronaldo scored twice in Al-Nassr’s 4-1 victory over Damac on the final day of the season to see off bitter rivals Al-Hilal and win their first championship title since 2019.

Ronaldo, who recently scored his 100th goal in the Saudi Pro League, has scored 129 times for the club across all competitions – but this was the title he was signed to win.

The biggest game in the country’s history

It has been quite a journey since Ronaldo’s arrival almost three and a half years ago.

His arrival set the scene for an influx of big-name stars such as Karim Benzema, N’Golo Kante, Riyad Mahrez, Sadio Mane, Neymar and others to sign for the so-called ‘Big Four’ clubs: Al-Hilal and Al-Nassr in Riyadh, and Jeddah giants Al-Ahli and Al-Ittihad.

In the summer of 2023, that quartet was taken over by the country’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), which also owns Newcastle United, though a 70% stake in Al-Hilal was sold in April 2026 to Kingdom Holding Company, a firm run by businessman and Saudi Arabian royal family member Prince Alwaleed bin Talal.

This has been the best season yet.

For a while, there were four teams in the title race with Al-Ahli, fuelled by the goals of Ivan Toney, and Al-Qadsiah, powered by Saudi Arabian oil giants Aramco – and with head coach Brendan Rodgers looking to turn the Big Four into five – slipping away in the final stages.

It left Nassr and Hilal to fight it out, and it always looked likely to rest on their titanic showdown on 12 May – perhaps the biggest league game in the country’s history that was watched, according to the organisers, in over 180 countries.

Viewers were rewarded with a spectacular ending. With Al-Nassr leading 1-0 as the game entered its 97th minute, celebrations had already started among the yellow-clad fans, but then in what was the last action of the game, goalkeeper Bento somehow spilled a simple catch to concede an own goal.

That game ended 1-1 and the title race was still alive, but on Thursday the team convincingly got the job done.

As well as being Al-Nassr’s 11th title, it is an eighth league championship for Ronaldo, following triumphs in England with Manchester United, Spain with Real Madrid and Italy with Juventus.

“Officials in Riyadh will likely see an Al-Nassr triumph as vindication of both Ronaldo’s signing and of the decision to keep the club under PIF ownership,” Simon Chadwick, professor of Afro-Eurasian sport at Emlyon Business School in Paris, told the BBC.

“The league win will also help to confirm the Saudi view that success can be rapidly achieved given the right mix of domestic strategy and overseas acquisition.

“For Al-Nassr, to achieve the iconic status as some of its domestic and Asian rivals, the club must keep on winning and also secure continental titles.”

The title will come as an ever bigger relief to Ronaldo after Al-Nassr surprisingly lost to Japan’s Gamba Osaka in the final of the AFC Champions League Two, Asia’s equivalent of the Europa League, on Saturday.

Controversy and an uncertain future

The season has not been without controversy.

In February, Ronaldo missed two league games, reportedly amid concerns over how PIF has run the club compared to Al-Hilal. Others, however, believe the league favours him.

Al-Ahli’s Toney and Brazilian winger Galeno are among those who have accused the league of favouring Ronaldo and Al-Nassr.

Ronaldo responded: “I think this is not good for the league. Everyone complains. This is football, this is not a war… but not everything is allowed. I am going to speak at the end of the season because I’ve seen many, many bad things.

“Many players have complained, doing posts on Instagram, on Facebook, speaking about the referees, speaking about the league, speaking about the project. This is not good. This is not the goal of the league.”

The overall Saudi Arabian sports project has come into question of late.

In April, PIF announced it would stop funding LIV Golf at the end of the current season.

In January, the 2029 Winter Asian Games that were due to be held in the country were postponed indefinitely.

It has also been reported that the WTA’s season-ending tennis finals will be leaving Saudi Arabia after its three-year deal with the country ends this year.

In football too, the days when the media was full of rumours and reports about big-name players heading to the Saudi Pro League have gone.

“Ronaldo’s and Al-Nassr’s shared achievement may also bring some much-needed impetus to Saudi Arabian football, which of late has somewhat struggled to sustain the hype and appeal of three years ago,” Chadwick said.

There are still significant signings: Al-Qadsiah paid about £57m for Italian striker Mateo Retegui last summer and Al-Hilal splashed out about £46m on Darwin Nunez.

But, compared to the peak of 2023, there is more focus on bringing in younger players with sell-on value.

According to sources in Riyadh, there are still funds available for the right veteran superstar such as Mohamed Salah. The Egyptian, leaving Liverpool in the summer, is wanted by Al-Ittihad – but only if the price is right.

While Ronaldo’s triumph may be seen by some as vindication for all the spending, it could also be seen as a last hurrah of a bygone era when Saudi Arabian teams spent £700m in a single transfer window.

What happens next is up for debate.

“It is now for all the clubs, the league and the country’s decision-makers to capitalise upon the success that Ronaldo has helped to deliver,” said Chadwick.

For the moment, however, the yellow half of Riyadh and Ronaldo’s global fanbase have much to celebrate.

Source: BBC