The president of Iran’s football federation has stated that Iran would refuse to play matches in the United States while still intending to participate in the 2026 FIFA World Cup. His comments were reported Wednesday by Iran’s Fars news agency.
In the remarks attributed to the federation chief, he said Iran will “boycott the United States, but not the World Cup,” indicating that the national team does not plan to withdraw from the tournament itself. Instead, the position described focuses specifically on matches or activities taking place on U.S. soil.
The 2026 World Cup is scheduled to be co-hosted by the United States, Mexico and Canada. With the tournament spread across three countries in North America, teams will be assigned to different host cities and groups, meaning not every qualified nation will necessarily play in every host country. The federation president’s statement, as reported, suggests that Iran aims to find a way to appear at the World Cup while avoiding fixtures in the United States, should that be required.
The comments were released through Fars, a state-linked news agency in Iran, and reflect a stance tied to broader political tensions between Iran and the United States. No detailed plan on how such a boycott of U.S.-based matches would be implemented at a FIFA-organized tournament was provided in the report, and there was no mention of any formal communication with FIFA or the 2026 organizing committee.
The federation president did not elaborate on potential alternatives, such as requesting that any Iranian fixtures be scheduled in Mexico or Canada, or outlining how the team would respond if FIFA required Iran to play in the United States as part of its assigned group or knockout-path schedule. The Fars report did not include any response from FIFA or from officials in the three host nations.
With qualifying and tournament logistics still developing, Iran’s stance introduces a layer of uncertainty around how its participation might be managed if the team secures a place at the 2026 World Cup. Further clarification from Iranian officials or football authorities at the international level may be needed as the tournament draws closer and fixtures are finalized.
