United States Ban Qualified Team From Attending 2026 World Cup Draw

The Iranian delegation, sent to attend the December draw for the 2026 World Cup, has been denied entry into the United States of America.

Slated to take place in the USA, Mexico and Canada, the United States will be aiming to make a deep push in the World Cup being contested on their own turf, having appointed former Tottenham Hotspur, PSG and Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino in 2024.

Due to matters away from the pitch, however, the 2026 World Cup has been under a microscope for a number of reasons in the run-up to the competition. American president Donald Trump has also stated that any potential decision to ban Israel from the World Cup would be blocked by the country, which has further fueled discussions about the tournament.

The draw for the upcoming edition of football’s most prestigious competition is slated to take place in the American capital of Washington D.C., on 5 December, where group stage fixtures will be determined.

Iran Denied Entry Into the United States

As per Morocco World News, “the United States has denied the Iranian delegation’s entry into the country to attend the draw” for the group stage, according to Amir-Mehdi Alawi, an Iranian Football Federation (FFI) spokesman, despite the Iranian national football team having qualified for the competition.

Reportedly, The FFI plan to ask Gianni Infantino, president of FIFA, to “intervene and try to overturn the decision.” Concerns over the relations between the two countries have been questioned throughout the year, following changes to American visa requirements for Iranians being imposed during Trump’s presidency. This, in turn, fueled speculation that participation in the World Cup for Iran’s national team “would be jeopardised.”

Though Canada and Mexico will also host games throughout the tournament, the majority of matches in the tournament will be played in the United States, where 11 of the 16 host cities are based.

Iran were one of 12 countries that were revealed to be banned from entering America and the denial of entry to the FFI delegation suggests that the US are unmoved from their earlier stance. Whether a resolution for this situation is ultimately found before the draw takes place in December remains to be seen.