Iran will boycott next week’s draw for the 2026 FIFA World Cup in the United States in protest over the limited allocation of visas, the Iranian Football Federation announced on Friday.
"The Iranian delegation will not be present for the World Cup draw in relation to the latest status of issuing visas for the Iranian delegation to attend the draw ceremony," federation spokesman Amir Mehdi Alavi told Iranian sports news website Tarafdari.
The United States maintains strict visa restrictions on Iranians due to political and security reasons. According to Alavi, visas were granted to only four members of Iran’s delegation, including head coach Amir Ghalenoei, while Iranian Football Federation President Mehdi Taj was denied a visa.
Alavi said the decision followed what Iran described as "unsportsmanlike actions" by U.S. authorities regarding the December 5 draw in Washington, D.C. "Given that the decisions taken are unsportsmanlike and the path has deviated from the sporting process, it was decided that the Iranian delegation will not attend the draw ceremony," he added.
The federation said it had been in contact with FIFA for two days, informing President Gianni Infantino and Secretary General, and that "FIFA has said it will follow up on the matter seriously," according to Tarafdari.
Iran secured qualification for the 2026 World Cup in March after a 2-2 draw with Uzbekistan in Tehran, marking its seventh appearance at the tournament and fourth consecutive qualification.
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