Iran’s sports minister has said the country will not participate in this year's major men’s FIFA World Cup soccer tournament, to be co-hosted by the United States.
The decision comes after the US and Israel launched military strikes on Iran earlier this month that led to the death of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
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Iran has been drawn in Group G at the 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.
Speaking to Iran's state television on Wednesday, sports minister Ahmad Donyamali said: “Considering that this corrupt regime has assassinated our leader, under no circumstances can we participate in the World Cup.
“Our children are not safe and, fundamentally, such conditions for participation do not exist. Given the malicious actions they have carried out against Iran, they have forced two wars on us over eight or nine months and have killed and martyred thousands of our people. Therefore, we certainly cannot have such a presence.”
The Iranian government has made the decision despite President Trump meeting with FIFA president Gianni Infantino earlier this week and assuring him that Iran are still welcome at the tournament.
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By GlobalDataFollowing that meeting on Tuesday night, Infantino said: “This evening, I met with the President of the United States, Donald J. Trump, to discuss the status of preparations for the upcoming World Cup, and the growing excitement as we are set to kick off in just 93 days.
“We also spoke about the current situation in Iran, and the fact that the Iranian team has qualified to participate in the World Cup. During the discussions, President Trump reiterated that the Iranian team is, of course, welcome to compete in the tournament in the United States.
“We all need an event like the World Cup to bring people together now more than ever, and I sincerely thank the President of the United States for his support, as it shows once again that football unites the world.”
Notably, no representatives from the Iranian national soccer federation were present at a FIFA World Cup planning summit for all participating federations in Atlanta last Tuesday.
The president of the national federation, Mehdi Taj, was also unable to attend the World Cup draw in Washington in December because his US visa application was rejected.
Fans from Iran were already banned from entering the US in the first iteration of the travel ban announced by the Trump administration.
The US is hosting the tournament with Canada and Mexico between June 11 and July 19.
No country has withdrawn from the World Cup after qualifying for the tournament for 76 years. The last time it happened was in 1950, when India and France withdrew after the draw because of travel costs to Brazil.
Iran’s potential withdrawal could open the door for another country from the Asian Football Confederation to replace them, with Iraq or the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in line to do so.
Iraq beat the UAE in a play-off and are now due to play Bolivia or Suriname in an intercontinental play-off at the end of this month. Iraq, however, are currently facing serious problems travelling to Mexico for that fixture.
Article 6.7 of FIFA's 2026 World Cup regulations states: “If any Participating Member Association withdraws and/or is excluded from the FIFA World Cup 26, FIFA shall decide on the matter at its sole discretion and take whatever action is deemed necessary. FIFA may decide to replace the Participating Member Association in question with another association.”
Meanwhile, FIFA has reportedly cut more than $100 million from its operating budget for the upcoming World Cup.
In its annual report in 2024, FIFA's projected budget for the 2023-26 cycle included $1.12 billion for operational expenses out of a total budget of $3.756 billion. The $1.12 billion included $280 million for technical services, $159 million for event transport, $145 million for safety and security, and $79 million for guest management.
However, according to The Athletic, FIFA staff at its US headquarters in Miami were recently informed that cuts will be made to the operating budget, including areas of safety, logistics, security, and accessibility, that “comfortably exceeded” $100 million.
In a statement issued to The Athletic, the governing body said: “FIFA is constantly reviewing budget efficiencies to ensure costs are controlled, so that as much revenue as possible can be invested in the development of football around the world. This should not surprise anyone, as budget reviews are routinely applied prior to all our tournaments and events.”
The expanded 48-team World Cup is taking place at 16 venues across the US, Mexico, and Canada.
The US Congress has allocated $625 million from the federal government to help venues with security costs; however, those funds have not yet been distributed due to a partial government shutdown that is impacting the Department of Homeland Security.
The FIFA statement also addressed concerns about safety and security, saying: “FIFA will never compromise on the operational success, nor on key aspects such as safety and security, of its biggest tournament, and to suggest otherwise is false and misleading.
“FIFA is investing considerable resources to ensure an outstanding experience. FIFA will be deploying a total workforce of approximately 5,000 individuals to ensure smooth operations.”
In other World Cup developments, the town of Foxborough, Massachusetts, has reached a deal for the security funding it needs to host the World Cup at Gillette Stadium in June.
The town had threatened to cancel the seven matches if it didn't get $7.8 million for security.
Foxboro says it needs the money to pay for equipment, police, and firefighters across the 39 days in which World Cup events will be at the 65,878-capacity venue, called ‘Boston Stadium’ for the tournament.
The games will go ahead as planned after an “understanding” was reached with Kraft Sports & Entertainment (KSE) and the local Boston host committee for the World Cup.
On Wednesday, the three parties released a joint statement saying the town will not incur any costs.
The statement read: “As part of this arrangement, the Town of Foxboro will not incur any cost or financial burden related to the FIFA World Cup, with Boston Soccer 2026 providing advance funding for security-related capital expenditures and the full extent of deployment that public safety officials have determined is needed to execute the event with Kraft Sports and Entertainment's backing.”
This clears the way for the event license for the games to be approved at a March 17 Foxboro Select Board meeting.
The first match at Gillette Stadium will take place on June 13 when Scotland face Haiti. Other notable matches at the venue include England vs Ghana on June 23 and Norway vs France on June 26.
Over three million people are expected to visit the Boston area this summer for the tournament.
