Iran’s participation in the 2026 World Cup has been further cast into doubt following comments by Iran’s sports minister on Wednesday.
Nearly two weeks after the United States began airstrikes against Iran, Ahmed Doyamali said Iran would not be able to participate in this summer’s World Cup, co-hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico.
“Given that this corrupt government assassinated our leaders [Ayatollah Ali Khamenei]”We don’t have any conditions to participate in the World Cup,” Doyamali said, citing the dpa news agency.
“Our children are not safe, and fundamentally the conditions for such engagement do not exist. Given the malign actions they have taken against Iran, where they have forced two wars on us in the space of eight or nine months, killing hundreds of thousands of our people. So, of course, we cannot have such a presence.”
Iran is in Group G with Belgium, Egypt and New Zealand, and the games will be played at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California, and Lumen Field in Seattle. The team plans to establish a training base in Tucson, Arizona.
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FIFA president Gianni Infantino said he met with President Donald Trump on Tuesday to discuss preparations for the World Cup and was informed that Iran would be allowed into the United States
“We also talked about the current situation in Iran and the fact that the Iranian team is eligible to participate in the 2026 World Cup,” Infantino said on Instagram. “During the discussion, President Trump reiterated that the Iranian team is of course welcome to participate in the competition in the United States.”
Last week, Trump said “I really don’t care” when asked about Iran’s possible participation in the World Cup.
Trump commented on Iran’s status after the president of the Iranian Football Association said Iran was unlikely to be one of the 48 teams participating.
Last June, Trump imposed a travel ban on Iranian nationals, with exceptions for “any athlete or member of an athletic team, including coaches, personnel in essential support roles, and immediate family members, traveling to attend the World Cup, Olympics, or other major sporting event.”
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“Now more than ever we need events like the FIFA World Cup to bring people together,” Infantino said.
If Iran does not participate, either Iraq or the UAE will likely take their place in Group G.