The Qatar World Cup 2022 kicks off with Qatar vs Ecuador on Sunday November 20, with Iran and England playing each other the day after in their first group match of the tournament.
However, there are campaigns to have Iran removed from the tournament, due to the country's treatment of female fans and, more generally, the government's behaviour towards Iranian women - highlighted through the protests that are occurring there currently.
Spanish law firm Ruiz-Huerta & Crespo has submitted an official letter to FIFA, backed by a number of Iranian football and sports personalities, asking for the governing body to suspend the Iranian Football Association and therefore expel the nation from the 2022 World Cup.
"Iran's brutality and belligerence towards its own people has reached a tipping point, demanding an unequivocal and firm disassociation from the footballing and sports world," the group said.
Issues of Iran's treatment of its citizens came to global attention on Friday 16 September, when 22-year-old Mahsa Amini died while in the custody of the Guidance Patrol, commonly referred to as the 'morality police,' for allegedly not wearing her hijab properly.
October 26 marked 40 days since her death, with thousands turning out to demonstrate across the country. Security forces attacked protestors on Thursday, too, with this group mourning the death of 16-year-old Nika Shakarami.
Nika Shakarami disappeared in Iran's capital Tehran on Tuesday 20 September, and subsequently became another symbol of the protests. The 16-year-old had been filmed burning her headscarf at a protest and was found dead 10 days later.
Following the 1979 Islamic Revolution, women are required by law to wear the hijab at all times. However, Iranian women have been removing their hijabs in public in protest against the government, with powerful images of these women witnessed defying security forces across the country.
Consequently, there have been strong calls from groups urging FIFA to remove Iran from the World Cup.
The issue also extends to the ban Iran imposed on women entering football stadia from 1978 to 2018. While the ban has been legally lifted, only a number of women are allowed to attend matches now, and they must sit in different areas from the men.
This subverts FIFA regulations, though, which states that official football federations of a nation may not be influenced or controlled by that nation's government.
As the aforementioned letter highlights in its address to FIFA: "Women have been consistently denied access to stadia across the country and systematically excluded from the football ecosystem in Iran, which sharply contrasts with FIFA's values and statutes.
"If women are not allowed into stadia across the country, and the Iranian Football Federation is simply following and enforcing governmental guidelines, they cannot be seen as an independent organisation and free from any form or kind of influence. This is a violation of (Article 19) of FIFA's statutes.
"The FIFA Council can and must immediately suspend Iran.
"FIFA shouldn't allow participation by a country that is actively persecuting its women, athletes and children only for their exercising their most basic human rights."
Iran has also been alleged to have participated in the Russian invasion of Ukraine by Shakhtar Donetsk CEO Sergei Palkin, suggesting Ukraine should take the place of Iran at the World Cup instead.
"While the Iranian leadership will have fun watching their national team play at the World Cup, Ukrainians will be killed by Iranian drones and Iranian missiles. Almost 250 such drones have already attacked peaceful cities of Ukraine," Palkin said in a statement.
"Each of them was produced, delivered by the Iranian authorities, Iranian instructors and the military directly trained and managed the launches of drones that destroyed homes, museums, universities, offices, sports grounds and playgrounds, and most importantly, killed Ukrainian.
"Shakhtar Football Club calls on FIFA and the entire international community to immediately ban Iran's national team from playing at the World Cup for the country's direct participation in terrorist attacks on Ukrainians.
"This will be a fair decision that should draw the attention of the whole world to a regime that kills its best people and helps kill Ukrainians," he added.
Russia and Iran have both denied the drones were Iranian-built.
Who could replace Iran if FIFA removes them from World Cup 2022?
What would happen if Iran were to be kicked out of the World Cup? It seems unlikely FIFA will take action against Iran so close to the tournament, but, if it does, then there is a logical route for football's governing body to take.
While Palkin calls for Ukraine to take Iran's place if they are removed, there is no precedent for this to happen – though there would likely be a lot of support for the option given Ukraine managed to reach the World Cup play-offs while under invasion.
Instead, if FIFA decided to look back to Iran's own qualification route for a replacement, it would be more likely that the country benefiting would come from Asia.
After all, Iran qualified through Asia's governing body AFC, finishing first in Group A ahead of South Korea. The top two teams from each group earned automatic qualification to the World Cup finals, while the third-placed side went into the Asian play-off.
UAE finished third in Group A of the qualification process, losing to Australia in the play-offs. Regardless, the Gulf nation could take Iran's spot if FIFA decides to take action against them.
Furthermore, there are already two European teams in Group B with Iran, in England and Wales. FIFA caps each World Cup group with two European teams during the draw process, meaning Ukraine's route to the tournament would be more difficult again.
