Iran’s participation in this summer’s major FIFA World Cup soccer tournament in the United States is in doubt following military strikes on the country by the US and Israel, the president of the Iranian national soccer federation has stated.
US and Israeli strikes on Iran took place over the weekend and led to the death of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
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Iran has been drawn in Group G at the men's World Cup and are scheduled to play all three group games in the US – in Inglewood, California, against New Zealand on June 15 and Belgium on June 21 before finishing the first round against Egypt in Seattle on June 26.
Mehdi Taj, president of the Football Federation Islamic Republic of Iran, has now said he does not know if the national team can play World Cup matches in the United States following the surprise bombardment of his country by the US.
Taj told sports portal Varzesh3: “What is certain is that after this attack, we cannot be expected to look forward to the World Cup with hope.”
The US is hosting the tournament with Canada and Mexico between June 11 and July 19.
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By GlobalDataFans from Iran were already banned from entering the US in the first iteration of the travel ban announced by the Trump administration.
Wider sports implications
Iran is now trading strikes with Israel as part of a widening war prompted by the bombardment, with this growing conflict now having an effect throughout the Middle East as a whole.
At the time of writing, countries that have been attacked by Iran include
Israel, Jordan, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
This has led to postponements of multiple sports fixtures in the region, with uncertainty over several other events going ahead in the coming weeks.
In terms of fixtures immediately impacted, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) regional governing body postponed four round-of-16 first-leg matches from its premier Champions League club competition that were due to take place in the Middle East today and tomorrow.
Additionally, AFC Champions League Two and AFC Challenge League Quarter-final first-leg matches scheduled for this week, including the tie involving Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al Nassr, have also been postponed.
The AFC has said it will “continue to closely monitor this rapidly evolving situation and remains resolute in ensuring the safety and security of all players, teams, officials, and fans.”
The Qatar Football Association also said on Sunday that all matches in the country had been postponed “until further notice”. Most notably, Qatar is scheduled to host the latest edition of the Finalissima match between Spain and Argentina on March 27, but the fixture is now at risk of being postponed.
Matches in Iran’s Persian Gulf Pro League were also suspended, while games in the Saudi Pro League went ahead as planned over the weekend.
In other sports, Euroleague Basketball has suspended the match between Hapoel Tel Aviv and Paris Basket that was scheduled to be played on Tuesday in Tel Aviv.
Dubai Basketball, competing in their debut EuroLeague season, have a home match scheduled for 12 March against Baskonia, which could also be impacted if the situation continues to escalate.
In cricket, meanwhile, the International Cricket Council (ICC) governing body has said it is monitoring the ongoing situation, mainly due to travel requirements of teams at the ongoing T20 World Cup taking place in India and Sri Lanka.
The England Lions – the country’s development team – are in the UAE for matches against Pakistan Shaheens. They were due to play the second of those matches in Abu Dhabi on Sunday, but that was cancelled.
The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) said in a statement it was in contact with “security experts and the government” and that the safety and security of its teams was the “top priority.”
The team travelled to Abu Dhabi but are now unable to leave as the UAE's airspace is closed, with a number of airlines cancelling flights in the region.
England women were scheduled to fly to Abu Dhabi for a training camp on Wednesday, but that trip has been postponed.
The Dubai Tennis Championship finals went ahead as planned (only doubles, as the men’s singles final was an injury-related walkover).
Logistical issues will continue to arise because of closed airspace (many airports across the UAE are international travel hubs), with the start of the 2026 Formula 1 season potentially up in the air.
The opening race of the prestigious motor racing series is set to be held in Melbourne, Australia, this weekend. However, there are already complications with key routes through Qatar and the UAE impacted.
Close to 1,000 members of staff have been forced to rearrange flights, with an estimated 500 of them reportedly set to be flown from Europe on charter planes.
F1 said it was “closely monitoring” the situation, with upcoming races in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia scheduled in April.
In a statement, F1 said: “Our next three races are in Australia, China, and Japan, and not in the Middle East – those races are not for a number of weeks.
“As always, we closely monitor any situation like this and work closely with relevant authorities.”
However, Australian Grand Prix organisers have said they are "really confident" the travel chaos will not impact the opening race.
Australian Formula 1 chief Travis Auld said today: “The last 48 hours have required some reshuffling of flights. That is largely Formula 1's responsibility. They take charge of the teams, drivers, and all the personnel that are required here to make this event happen. There are quite a number of them.
“My understanding is that's all now been locked in, everyone will be here ready for the race, and fans won't notice any difference.”
