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Iran to boycott World Cup draw over US visa issues

Gianni Infantino

Fifa president Gianni Infantino holds the World Cup trophy during the 2026 Fifa World Cup playoff tournament and European playoff draws at Fifa headquarters in Zurich on November 20, 2025.

Photo credit: Reuters

By  Reuters

What you need to know:

  • The US has long-standing strict visa restrictions on Iranians for political and security reasons.
  • Iran secured qualification for the World Cup in March after a 2-2 draw with Uzbekistan in Tehran.

Iran is to boycott next week's draw for the 2026 Fifa World Cup in the United States in protest at the limited allocation of visas, the Iranian football federation said on Friday.

"The Iranian delegation will not be present for the World Cup draw in relation to the latest status of issuing visas for the Iranian delegation to attend the draw ceremony", federation spokesman Amir Mehdi Alavi was quoted as saying by Iranian sports news website Tarafdari.

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