2026 World Cup: Qualified team announces boycott of FIFA draw amid U.S. controversy
In exactly one week, the draw for the 2026 FIFA World Cup will take place in Washington, D.C. The event will determine the composition of the groups and potential matchups in the knockout stages, making it a moment of major importance. However, one of the qualified national teams has confirmed it will not attend due to a significant issue.
“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,” Iranian Football Federation spokesman Amir Mehdi Alavi said in an interview with Tarafdari, as cited by The Guardian.
The controversy stems from decisions by the government of the United States regarding entry permissions for members of the Iran national team. Reports indicate that four individuals from the Iranian delegation were granted visas—including head coach Amir Ghalenoei—but others were not, among them federation president Mehdi Taj.
“Given that the decisions taken are unsportsmanlike and the path has deviated from the sporting process, it was decided that the Iranian delegation will not attend the draw ceremony,” Alavi emphasized in the same interview.
Finally, the spokesman for the Iranian Football Federation stated that FIFA is aware of the controversy, though its response so far has not included any concrete action. “FIFA has said it will follow up on the matter seriously,” Alavi explained.
Another possible conflict ahead of the World Cup?
Just as Iran may find it difficult to secure entry permissions to the United States, another qualified national team for the 2026 World Cup could also encounter problems in the near future for similar reasons.
Earlier this year, the government of the United States approved an entry restriction affecting citizens of 19 different countries. Iran is on that list, but so is Haiti. The Caribbean nation booked its place at the World Cup during the November international break, qualifying through the final phase of Concacaf qualifiers, and will return to the FIFA tournament after 52 years.
The 2026 World Cup draw
Next Friday’s draw on December 5 carries enormous significance, as it will determine the makeup of each of the 12 groups—while awaiting the final six qualifiers that will be decided in the March playoffs—as well as potential paths in the knockout stages.
Canada, Mexico, and the United States will be seeded as hosts, while the other nine seeds will be determined by the current FIFA Rankings: Spain, Argentina, France, England, Brazil, Portugal, Netherlands, Belgium, and Germany. The remaining three pots will also be based on those rankings.
FIFA recently announced the format of the World Cup draw and the criteria that will be used to determine each group. One of the most important restrictions is that teams from the same confederation cannot be drawn together—except for Europe.