Soccer official with Iranian ties says he is shocked national team won’t play in B.C.

VICTORIA — Babak Shabazi says he and others in B.C.’s Iranian community were “shocked” when he saw that Iran’s national soccer team won’t play in Vancouver during the next year’s World Cup, and many are worried about travelling to the United States to see their favourite team because of political tensions.

Figures from the 2021 Census peg the number of Iranian-Canadians in Metro Vancouver at around 45,000 with other estimates suggesting a higher figure, and Shabazi, who is president and founder of Shaheen Athletic Club, says he and many other soccer-loving Iranians were counting on seeing their team play a game in Vancouver, only to be left disappointed.

Iran will instead play all of its three games in the United States, and Shabazi says many in the Iranian community are worried that they won’t be able to travel to the United States because of visa restrictions.

Iranians with permanent residence status in Canada must apply for visas if they want to enter the United States, but the administration of U.S. Donald Trump this month has suspended visa applications from Iran along 18 other mainly Islamic countries, citing security reasons.

Shabazi, who holds Canadian citizenship, says he has routinely crossed the border, and he says he hopes that soccer’s world governing body will use its power to influence the Trump administration.

Shabazi says he has watched Iran play in person in every World Cup since 1998, except when Qatar hosted it in 2022, and he says he still hopes to see the team when the World Cup comes to North America.

While Shabazi hasn’t purchased tickets yet, he says there is a “good chance” that he will watch one of Iran’s games in either Seattle against Egypt on June 26, or in Greater Los Angeles, where the team will play twice, first against New Zealand on June 15, then against Belgium on June 21.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 7, 2025.