Teheran –
Drawing for the group phase of the 2026 World Cup will be held in early December. Iran National Team already boycotted the event. Why?
The drawing will be held at the Kennedy Center, Washington, Friday (5/12). There will be 42 countries that have confirmed tickets for the final round and the remaining six slots are up for grabs.
The three hosts, the United States, Canada and Mexico as the first seeds have been placed in Groups A, B and D. Later, 42 representatives of each country’s federation will fly to the US to take part in the drawing.
SCROLL TO CONTINUE WITH CONTENT
However, one country will definitely not attend, namely Iran. According to a report by the Iranian news agency, IRNA, the Iranian Football Federation decided to boycott the draw.
According to federation spokesperson Amir-Mahdi Alavi, this was done because the US government refused visas for a number of Iranian delegates who were going there.
Alavi said that his party had contacted FIFA to ask for a solution to the problem. To date, FIFA has refused to comment.
Iran is one of the 12 countries blacklisted by US President Donald Trump. Supporters from these countries are prohibited from entering the US.
On that list, there is Haiti, which last week just confirmed its World Cup ticket. Trump promised not to complicate entry visas for team members such as athletes, coaches, coaching staff and those still associated with the team.
However, it is not yet known whether this privilege will apply during the drawing session or not. The Iranian delegation will be led by federation president Mehdi Taj, a senior official in the Asian football federation and also a member of two FIFA committees.
(mrp/pur)
