Iran’s place at the 2026 World Cup remains uncertain | OneFootball

Will Iran boycott the 2026 World Cup? The war triggered by the United States and Israel casts doubt on the Asian team's participation in the tournament, whose three first-phase matches are scheduled for the country governed by Donald Trump.

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What is Iran's stance?

The possibility of an Iranian boycott of the World Cup emerged just hours after the start of the Israeli-American operation. The president of the Iranian Football Federation, Mehdi Taj, raised this possibility, also clarifying that the final decision would be up to the "sports authorities."

"These events will not go unanswered... But what is certain now is that, with this attack and this cruelty, the World Cup cannot be viewed with any hope," the official declared on Iranian television on Saturday, adding that all national championship matches have been suspended.

Iran qualified for its seventh World Cup and is in Group G (alongside Belgium, Egypt, and New Zealand), with one match scheduled for Seattle and two for Los Angeles, a city that hosts a large Iranian diaspora since the Islamic Revolution, many of whom support the Pahlavi monarchy cause, deposed in 1979.

What is FIFA's stance?

FIFA remains cautious regarding Iran's potential withdrawal from the World Cup.

"We held a meeting, but it is still too early to comment in detail. We will continue to closely monitor the situation on all fronts, around the world," said the organization's secretary-general, Mattias Grafstrom.

According to a close source, there have been no talks with the Iranian Football Federation about a possible withdrawal.

With less than 100 days to the opening game of the competition, the situation in Iran is, in any case, extremely uncomfortable for FIFA president Gianni Infantino, who continues to demonstrate his close ties with US President Donald Trump.

This becomes even more evident considering that the conflict also affects other countries qualified for the World Cup, such as Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Jordan, which are targets of Iranian airstrikes.

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What does the regulation foresee?

The boycott of one of the participating teams in its main competition is not a situation foreseen by FIFA's regulations.

According to a source close to the organization, "a specific decision will have to be made regarding a playoff" for another team if Iran's absence is confirmed.

Article 6 of the 2026 World Cup regulations mentions the concept of "force majeure" and grants the organizers "full discretion" to take "necessary measures."

In the event of a withdrawal or exclusion of a country, FIFA has the freedom to react and "may decide to replace the participating member association in question with another association."

Iran's absence could logically benefit a team from the Asian zone, which already has eight teams qualified for this first World Cup with 48 teams.

A ninth Asian country could qualify if Iraq wins the intercontinental playoff final on March 31 in Monterrey, Mexico.

The Iraqis would then join France in the same group as Norway and Senegal.

Has there been any precedent?

While the Olympic Games have faced boycotts throughout their history — the most emblematic occurring during the Cold War (Moscow 1984 and Los Angeles 1988) — the World Cup has never gone through a similar situation, despite some threats.

The most notable was in 1978, when some players wanted to protest against the military dictatorship in Argentina, but the boycott never materialized.

Turkey, Scotland, and India had to withdraw from the 1950 World Cup in Brazil, but the reasons were financial, and these three countries were not replaced.

There are also examples of exclusions affecting countries at war: in 1992, Yugoslavia was removed from the European Championship by UEFA due to the conflict in the Balkans and replaced by Denmark two weeks before the tournament began. Later, the Danes would become champions of the competition with a victory (2 x 0) over Germany in the final.

Russia and its clubs, on the other hand, were suspended from all international competitions by FIFA and UEFA following the invasion of Ukraine, which began in February 2022.

*With content from AFP

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.