Iran will not take part in the 2026 FIFA World Cup. The tournament will take place from June 11 to July 19, 2026, and will be jointly hosted by 16 cities—11 in the United States, three in Mexico, and two in Canada.
Iran’s sports minister, Ahmad Donyamali, has reportedly said the country cannot participate in the World Cup following the killing of their supreme leader by the United States and Israel, an act that has triggered a regional war.
The United States and Israel launched airstrikes on Iran nearly two weeks ago, killing the Islamic Republic’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
“Considering that this corrupt regime has assassinated our leader, under no circumstances can we participate in the World Cup,” the minister told state television.
“Our children are not safe and, fundamentally, such conditions for participation do not exist,” Donyamali said.
“Given the malicious actions they have carried out against Iran, they have forced two wars on us over eight or nine months and have killed and martyred thousands of our people. Therefore, we certainly cannot have such a presence.”
Iran welcomes US – FIFA president
Iran were placed in Group G alongside Belgium, Egypt and New Zealand. All three of their Group G matches were scheduled to take place in the United States, with two in Los Angeles and one in Seattle.
Iran was also the only nation absent from a FIFA planning summit for World Cup participants held last week in Atlanta.
FIFA President Gianni Infantino said he spoke with US President Donald Trump about Iran and that the team was welcome.
“We also spoke about the current situation in Iran and the fact that the Iranian team has qualified to participate in the FIFA World Cup 2026. During the discussions, President Trump reiterated that the Iranian team is, of course, welcome to compete in the tournament in the United States,” Infantino said in an Instagram post early Wednesday.
Following Iran’s latest announcement, FIFA has yet to comment.
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