Tehran, November 29 (Udaipur Kiran): The Iran Football Federation has announced that it will boycott the final draw of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, scheduled to be held on December 5 in Washington, DC, after the United States denied visas to several key members of the Iranian delegation.

Announcing the decision on Friday, Federation spokesperson Amir Mehdi Alavi told IRIB TV that the move was taken after necessary inquiries, internal discussions, and consultations with the Ministry of Sports and Youth and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He strongly criticised the US decision and termed it against the spirit of sportsmanship.

Alavi said that the issue has already been communicated to FIFA President Gianni Infantino and other senior officials of the world body.

According to a report by Xinhua, Alavi stated that FIFA has assured that it will take the matter seriously. Due to the visa denial, several important officials, including the Federation President, have been affected. However, visas have been granted to men’s national team head coach Amir Ghalenoei and four other members.

The 2026 FIFA World Cup will begin on June 11 and conclude on July 19, with 48 teams taking part in the tournament. The teams will be divided into 12 groups of four teams each.

The tournament will be jointly hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico, marking the first time that the FIFA World Cup will be held across three countries. After the group stage, the top two teams from each group, along with the eight best third-placed teams, will advance to an expanded knockout stage.

A total of 16 stadiums have been selected for the tournament — three in Mexico, two in Canada and the remaining eleven in the United States.

Iran has already qualified for the 2026 World Cup. This will be the team’s fourth consecutive appearance in the tournament and its seventh overall participation in FIFA World Cup history.

Related