The Iranian national football team. Photo: EFE.
In the context of the brutal and unprovoked attacks on Iran by the United States and the Israeli colony, the sports minister of Iran, Ahman Donyamali, stated on Wednesday that the Iranian national team will not participate in the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Iran is scheduled to play its three group-stage matches in the United States.
“Given that this corrupt regime [the Trump administration] has assassinated our leader, we cannot participate in the World Cup under any circumstances,” the minister said, referring to the US attack on Iran that began February 28 and the killing of Iran’s former supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
“They have imposed two wars on us… and thousands of our citizens have died,” Donyamali added. “Therefore, there is definitely no possibility of such participation.” US–Israeli attacks have killed nearly 2,000 Iranians and wounded thousands more.
Meanwhile, the president of the Iranian Football Federation, Mehdi Taj, concurred. “What sensible person would send their national team to the United States?” he asked.
Hours earlier, during a meeting between FIFA president Gianni Infantino and US President Donald Trump at the White House, Trump had guaranteed that the Iranian team would have no problems participating in the World Cup.
Through Instagram, Infantino explained that among other issues, they discussed “the current situation in Iran, and the fact that the Iranian team has qualified to participate in the 2026 FIFA World Cup. During the conversation, President Trump reiterated that the Iranian team is, of course, welcome to compete in the tournament in the United States.”
Although the 2026 World Cup will be held in Mexico, Canada, and the United States starting June 11, Iran was scheduled to play its three group-stage matches in the United States: on June 15 and June 21 in Los Angeles against New Zealand and Belgium, respectively, and later on June 26 against Egypt in Seattle.
The Iranian team would also face another significant obstacle: months earlier, Trump claimed that he could guarantee that Iranian players and coaches would receive visas to enter the United States. However, fans from Iran would be excluded, claimed Trump, alleging national security reasons at the time.
According to international media, failing to appear at the FIFA World Cup could result in economic and sporting sanctions against Iran. If the Iran ultimately does not attend and the Asian qualification slot remains in place, Iraq would take Iran’s spot while the United Arab Emirates would replace Iraq in the competition for a place in the intercontinental playoff. According to press reports, the UAE would face the winner of the Bolivia–Suriname match scheduled for March 31 in Mexico.
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Featured image: Iran’s national football team. Photo: EFE.
(Telesur)
Translation: Orinoco Tribune
OT/CB/SL
Cameron Baillie is an award-winning journalist, editor, and researcher. He won and was shortlisted for awards across Britain and Ireland. He is Editor-in-Chief of New Sociological Perspectives graduate journal and Commissioning Editor at The Student Intifada newsletter. He spent the first half of 2025 living, working, and writing in Ecuador. He does news translation and proofreading work with The Orinoco Tribune.
