The war in the Middle East triggered by US and Israeli attacks on Iran has raised questions about Iran’s national team’s participation in the World Cup later this year, when the team will play in the group stage in the United States.
– What is Iran’s position? –
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Some people in Iran have raised the possibility of boycotting the World Cup.
“What is certain at the moment is that because of this attack and this cruelty, we cannot look forward to the World Cup with hope,” Iranian Football Federation president Mehdi Taji told Iranian television hours after the joint US-Israeli attack began on Saturday.
Taj Mahal also announced the suspension of Iran’s domestic league.
The Iranian national team, known as ‘Team Iran’, qualified for the World Cup for the seventh time last March and for the fourth consecutive time.
The Iranian team is in Group G with Belgium, Egypt and New Zealand and will play two games in Los Angeles and one game in Seattle.
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Since the Islamic Revolution in 1979, a large Iranian diaspora has lived in Los Angeles. A large part of the diaspora supported the Pahlavi dynasty, which was overthrown in the revolution.
– What is FIFA’s position? –
World football’s governing body remains cautious about the possibility of Iran withdrawing from the World Cup.
“We had a meeting… It’s too early to comment in detail, but we will closely follow developments on all issues around the world,” FIFA secretary-general Matthias Grafström said on Saturday.
A source close to FIFA said there have been no discussions with the Iranian Football Association about the possibility of the team withdrawing from the World Cup.
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With Tuesday exactly 100 days until the World Cup opener, the situation in Iran is likely to be deeply unsettling for FIFA president Gianni Infantino, who has been keen to show his close relationship with US President Donald Trump.
What’s more, other Gulf countries about to participate in the World Cup have also been drawn into the war, with Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Jordan all targeted by Iranian retaliatory attacks.
– What do FIFA regulations say? –
FIFA regulations do not provide for the possibility of a boycott of the World Cup by qualified teams. A source close to world football’s governing body said a “concrete decision” would have to be made to replace the Iranian team with another team if necessary.
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Article 6 of the 2026 World Cup Rules states that “if a participating member association withdraws due to force majeure…” FIFA “shall determine the matter at its sole discretion and take any action it deems necessary.”
Therefore, if a team withdraws or is excluded from the competition, FIFA reserves the right to take any decision it sees fit and “may decide to replace the relevant participating member association with another association”.
It seems logical that Iran’s eventual absence from the tournament would open the way for another Asian nation to take their place.
Currently, eight teams from Asia have qualified for the first World Cup, with a total of 48 participating teams. There could be a ninth Asian team if Iraq wins the intercontinental play-offs, scheduled for March 31 in Monterrey, Mexico, against Bolivia or Suriname.
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– Has any country boycotted the World Cup before? –
Boycotts of the Olympic Games occurred from time to time, most notably in Moscow in 1980 and in Los Angeles four years later during the Cold War. But nothing like this has ever happened in the World Cup.
Several qualifying teams withdrew from the 1950 World Cup, but for different reasons. Turkey cited financial reasons, while Scotland said they would only participate if they won the 1949/50 English home tournament – FIFA said the top two of the four teams would qualify, but Scotland were second and refused to participate.
Yugoslavia qualified for Euro 1992, but the outbreak of the Balkan War two weeks before the tournament resulted in UEFA replacing them with Denmark, who had finished behind Yugoslavia in the qualifying rounds. Denmark eventually won the trophy.
FIFA and UEFA have suspended Russian clubs and national teams from all international competitions since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022.
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