The Iranian football federation are set to boycott next week's draw for the 2026 World Cup in Washington D.C. amid an ongoing dispute with President, Donald Trump.
According to Give Me Sport, Iran, who qualified for the competition for the fourth successive time in March, are one of 19 nations whose citizens are restricted from entering the United States next summer after a travel ban was announced by the President in June 2025.
Haiti, who qualified for the tournament in November after a 2-0 win against Nicaragua, also find themselves in the same predicament.
An exemption to the ban was set to be granted for "any athlete or member of an athletic team, including coaches, persons performing a necessary support role, and immediate relatives, traveling for the World Cup, Olympics, or other major sporting event as determined by the secretary of state."
But in October, the US denied the Iranian delegation entry for the World Cup draw, which is set to take place on the 5th December.
The report at the time stated that the list of people denied entry to the US included the federation's president, Mehdi Taj, national team coach, Amir Ghalenoei, and seven other officials. After taking the issue up with FIFA president Gianni Infantino, Ghalenoei and four others were granted a visa, but Taj and three individuals were still denied one.
A spokesperson for the country's football federation, Amir Mehdi Alavi, told the Tehran Times, how the decision to reject the application was, "unrelated to sport," with the move potentially leading to Iran withdrawing from the competition completely.
