Iran to boycott World Cup draw after US refuses visas for most delegates

Iran’s football federation will boycott next week’s 2026 World Cup draw in Washington, DC, after the US refused to issue visas for most of its delegation, the country’s football federation said 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 spokesperson Amir Mehdi Alavi said on Friday, as quoted by the Iranian sports news website, Tarafdari.

“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,” said Alavi. 

Alavi said the US granted Iran only four visas for the draw, including the head coach, Amir Ghalenoei, but did not grant a visa to the federation's president, Mehdi Taj. 

Taj, speaking on Thursday, condemned the move and insisted it was politically motivated.

“We have told the head of Fifa, Mr [Gianni] Infantino, that it is purely a political position and that Fifa must tell them [the US] to desist from this behaviour,” he told state television. 

Iran secured qualification for the tournament in March, sealing its fourth consecutive World Cup berth and seventh overall.

The decision triggered immediate backlash online, with fans arguing that the US, as a co-host of the 2026 World Cup, has an obligation to ensure access for all member associations.

Many accused the US of undermining Fifa’s long-standing assertion that politics should not interfere with football.

🚨Iranian authorities are FURIOUS at FIFA for not stepping in and ensuring Iranians are granted Visas.

Infantino promised Visas wouldn’t be an issue.

As of now Iran is boycotting WC draw, if Visa denials continues, boycotting the tournament all together is a possibility. pic.twitter.com/ySiWlTNwlK

— Throwback Iranian Football (@Tarikh_football) November 27, 2025

The reactions online quickly broadened. A wave of posts pointed out that while Iranian officials are being denied visas, Israel continues to participate in international football despite killing scores of Palestinian footballers, youth athletes and sports officials over the past two years, including the footballer Suleiman al-Obeid, known as the “Palestinian Pelé”.

Some users said that if any federation should face restrictions, sanctions or exclusion based on violations off the pitch, it should be Israel, not Iran.

JUST IN: 🇮🇷 Iran to boycott the next World Cup as the US refuses to issue visas to Iranian football fans and members of the delegation.

It’s lsraeI that should be getting this treatment. pic.twitter.com/ttOErkF4f0

— ADAM (@AdameMedia) November 28, 2025

Many online noted that in June, US President Donald Trump signed a travel ban against 12 countries, a step he described as essential to “protect the national security and national interest of the United States and its people”.

The list included barring the entry of nationals from Haiti, among other countries.

The administration later announced that it would not grant any special exceptions for Haitian football fans hoping to travel to the US to follow their team at next year’s Fifa World Cup, after the country qualified for the tournament for the first time since 1974. 

USA BANS IRAN AND HAITI FANS FROM 2026 FIFA WORLD CUP ⚽️

The US brought the travel ban back, and it’s already blowing back into the 2026 World Cup.

⛔️ Trump’s Proclamation 10949 blocks visas from 12 countries, including Iran and Haiti.

🇮🇷 Players, coaches, and staff get an… pic.twitter.com/YG6pMHPC20

— Ryan Rozbiani (@RyanRozbiani) November 24, 2025

The 2026 World Cup - the first 48-team edition - will be hosted across the US, Canada and Mexico.

Iran and the US share one of the World Cup’s most emblematic rivalries, including Iran’s 2-1 win in 1998 and the US’s 1-0 victory in 2022.

Fifa has not publicly commented on visa denials for Iranian officials, but Iranian officials say they expect the governing body to engage the US in the coming days. For many fans, however, the controversy has already overshadowed the build-up to the draw scheduled for 5 December in Washington.

The US and Iran have remained adversaries for more than four decades, with tensions shaping nearly every aspect of their diplomatic and political relationship.

Despite this, the two governments had been engaged in high-level nuclear negotiations that began in April, a process marked by deep disagreements over Iran’s right to enrich uranium, a right Tehran insists is “inalienable”.

Those talks collapsed in mid-June, when Israel carried out an unprecedented bombing campaign on Iranian territory, igniting a 12-day conflict. The US briefly entered the fighting with targeted strikes on critical Iranian nuclear infrastructure, bringing the already fragile negotiations to an abrupt halt.