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The groups for the 2026 World Cup will be selected at random next week in Washington, DC, but one of the participating countries has decided to boycott the draw.
Iran chose not to attend the event because the United States denied visas to members of its delegation, state news agency IRNA reported Friday.
The agency quoted Iranian football federation spokesman Amir-Mahdi Alavi as saying officials faced obstacles in obtaining visas that go beyond sporting considerations. Alavi said the federation had contacted FIFA and hoped it could help resolve the issue.
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Iran’s players celebrate after the FIFA World Cup 2026 Asian Zone Qualifiers Group A football match between Iran and Uzbekistan on March 25, 2025 in Tehran. (AFP via Getty Images)
President Donald Trump’s administration announced a travel ban on citizens of 12 countries, including Iran, in June. Also on the list is Haiti, which qualified for the World Cup last week.
However, exemptions were promised for “any athlete or member of a sports team, including coaches, persons performing a necessary support role and immediate family members, traveling for the World Cup, the Olympic Games or other major sporting event as determined by the Secretary of State.”
The White House did not respond to Pak Gazette Digital’s request for comment.
It is unclear whether the exemptions also apply to the World Cup draw, which will take place next Friday at the Kennedy Center.
The Iranian delegation was expected to be led by the president of its soccer federation, Mehdi Taj, one of Asian soccer’s highest officials and a member of two FIFA committees overseeing the World Cup.
He is one of the vice-presidents of the Asian Football Confederation and a member of FIFA panels with responsibility for the governing body’s competitions, as well as men’s national team football in general.
FIFA President Gianni Infantino answers questions during a press conference on the 2026 soccer World Cup on Thursday, June 16, 2022, in New York. (AP Photo/Noah K. Murray)
ZOHRAN MAMDANI SAYS HE WILL WELCOME TRUMP TO WORLD CUP IN NEW YORK AREA AND EXPLAINS ROLE OF TOURNAMENT Czar
A record 48 teams will participate in the World Cup from June 11 to July 19, co-hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico. Six of the teams will be determined next March.
The championship will be held at MetLife Stadium, home of the New York Giants and Jets, in East Rutherford, New Jersey. The first will be at the Azteca Stadium in Mexico City.
Games will also be played in the Boston area, but Trump has threatened to pull games from Foxoborough, Massachusetts, if “there are unsafe conditions.”
Trump made the suggestion while answering questions from the media during a meeting with Argentine President Javier Milei at the White House, threatening to call FIFA President Gianni Infantino will move the games to cooperating cities, citing security concerns.
“We can take them away. I love the people of Boston. And I know the games are sold out, but the mayor is no good. There are worse than her. At least she’s smart. You know, some of them have extremely low IQs. Those bother me the most. She’s smart, but she’s radical left,” Trump said.
US President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump in the stands with FIFA President Gianni Infantino and his wife Leena Al Ashqar during the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup Final at MetLife Stadium. (Jeenah Moon/Reuters via Imagn Images)
“The answer is yes, if someone is doing a bad job and I feel there are unsafe conditions, I would call Gianni, the director of FIFA, who is phenomenal, and say, ‘Let’s move him to another location,’ and he would do it. He wouldn’t love to do it, but he would do it, he would very easily do it. And this is the right time to do it.”
Boston will currently host seven matches when the World Cup comes to North America next summer. The schedule includes five group stage matches, a round of 32 match and the first quarter-final on July 9.
