Audite Karim : The mega carnival of the Football World Cup is about to begin—The Greatest Show on Earth. Featuring 48 teams across three host nations, this year’s World Cup will keep football lovers engrossed for the next month and a half. Forgetting everything else, the entire world will immerse itself in football frenzy. More than who will win the battle for football supremacy, my interest lies in Iran’s participation in this World Cup.
Iran is currently a war-torn country. Due to attacks by the US and Israel, extreme violations of humanity are occurring in the country. Children are being killed indiscriminately. Hospitals are being destroyed. Thousands of people have lost their homes and are now destitute. Since 28 February, unilateral attacks by the United States and Israel have resulted in the deaths of over a thousand innocent people. Yet, Iran has not bowed its head.
Even as the World Cup is about to start, fresh US attacks have begun in Iran. At such a time, many had expressed doubts about whether Iran would ultimately participate in the Football World Cup, especially since one of the main hosts of the World Cup is the United States itself. But Iran decided that it would participate. The Iranian government officially announced: This is the FIFA World Cup, not the United States’ World Cup. Therefore, they will play. Iran stated that this is not just a game, but a symbol of the country’s dignity and honor. The world will witness Iran’s patriotism and love for the country. In every match, Iran’s national anthem will be played, and the national flag will fly.
Iran will show respect to its beloved motherland on this global stage through its participation.
However, the host United States has treated Iran with utter injustice. Unprecedented behavior is being meted out to Iran. Iran’s World Cup campaign begins on June 16 of this year with a match against New Zealand. However, due to political tensions and visa complications, the Iran national football team will arrive in the United States just one day before their opening match. Amir Mehdi Alavi, spokesman for the Iranian Football Federation, said in a statement: According to the schedule set by FIFA, our entire team will depart for the US on a chartered flight. We will arrive in the host city just one day before the match against New Zealand. However, for the next two matches, we will be present at the venue two days before the game starts.”
Although Iranian footballers received visas to travel to the US, one of the co-hosts of the World Cup, more than a dozen of the team’s administrative and management officials were denied US visas. No Iranian fans received visas either. They will not be able to go to the stadium to support their team.
Following this ongoing political tension, Iran altered its initial plans and established its main World Cup training camp in the Mexican border town of Tijuana, instead of Tucson, Arizona. Iran’s ambassador to Mexico stated on Saturday that according to their visa conditions, the team must enter the United States on the day of the match and leave the country on the exact same day. Despite so many obstacles, Iran will play in the World Cup.
This will be the first tournament in the history of the World Cup where a host nation welcomes a team from a country with which it is in a state of war.
In its latest message, Iran stated that participating in the World Cup is a matter of pride for them. They will participate in this World Cup at any cost for the sake of Iran’s interests. Overcoming all these obstacles to play in the World Cup is a unique example of patriotism by Iran’s players and its people. It is an important lesson for the entire world.
Now, let’s shift our gaze from the Football World Cup to the Cricket World Cup. On February 7, the Cricket World Cup was jointly hosted by India and Sri Lanka. The Bangladesh cricket team earned the right to participate in this global cricket stage through its own merit. This was undoubtedly a matter of pride for Bangladesh. Participating in the World Cup is not merely taking part in a tournament; rather, it is about holding the country’s honor and dignity high before the world. It is about raising the glorious flag of the nation. A nation’s unity and patriotism are reflected through sports. Not all countries get this opportunity; Bangladesh did.
But at that time, the interim government led by Yunus was in power. Asif Nazrul, a close and trusted associate of Yunus, was in charge of the Ministry of Sports. Under a flimsy pretext, the Yunus government decided to boycott the World Cup—a move that was suicidal and detrimental to the country’s interests. Yunus and his sports adviser, Asif Nazrul, forced this reckless decision upon the Bangladesh Cricket Board. Following the decision to exclude Tiger pacer Mustafizur Rahman from the IPL, Bangladesh decided not to go to India to play the World Cup.
This decision did not belong to the people of Bangladesh. It was a low-class act by amateurs like Yunus and Asif Nazrul to destroy the country’s cricket. Many believe that this was part of a conspiracy by the interim government to foil the February 12 election. By inciting cheap anti-India sentiment, they wanted to mislead the people of the country and aimed to create a chaotic situation.
The BCB tried to persuade the government until the very last moment. However, due to Asif Nazrul’s stubbornness, the board became helpless. And behind Asif Nazrul stood the silent support of Yunus.
Now, with Iran’s participation in the Football World Cup, the issue of Bangladesh not playing in the Cricket World Cup has come to the forefront of discussion once again. An opportunity for comparison has now been created before us. The question has arisen: if Iran can go and play in the country of its attacker, why was Bangladesh not allowed to play in India? Was this patriotism at all, or was it selling out the country’s interests?
Cricket is an immensely popular sport in Bangladesh. This is the one sport where we have achieved international standards. Last Tuesday, Bangladesh created a new history by defeating Australia after long twenty-one years. Preventing such a promising team from participating in the World Cup is not just a mistake; it is a crime. Tamim Iqbal, the newly elected president of the Bangladesh Cricket Board, said that the decision not to participate in the World Cup has damaged Bangladesh’s cricket. The BNP government has formed an investigation committee regarding this matter. Following Iran’s decision, it has become crucial to investigate why Bangladesh could not participate in the World Cup. The public has the right to know who damaged the country while wearing the mask of patriotism.
During the one and a half years of the Yunus government, many anti-state activities were carried out under the fatwa of patriotism. The unequal trade agreement with the United States, paralysing the private sector in the name of curbing corruption, and the measles vaccine scandal are just a few proofs of this. The people of the country feel that a judicial commission needs to be formed to review the activities of the Yunus government’s one and a half years in power. It is necessary to identify what damages the Yunus government has caused to the country, so that no one can take power and ruin the nation across all sectors like this in the future. (Audite Karim is a writer and playwright. Email: auditekarim@gmail.com)