Why Donald Trump cannot ban Iran national Team from 2026 World Cup | OneFootball

Saeed Ezatolahi and Allahyar Sayyadmanesh will be able to represent Iran at the World Cup next year

Former Reading FC and Hull City players Saeed Ezatolahi and Allahyar Sayyadmanesh will be able to represent Iran at the 2026 World Cup - if selected - despite President Donald Trump's travel ban.

Iran have already qualified for their seventh consecutive World Cup and will compete across venues in the United States, Canada and Mexico next summer.

This news will surely come as a major boost to ex-Royals midfielder Ezatolahi and former Tigers forward Sayyadmanesh, who now have the potential opportunity to show off their talents on the global stage.

FLW take a look at why the Middle Eastern country will be allowed to compete, and what was potentially stopping them in the first place.

The reason why Donald Trump cannot ban Iran from the 2026 World Cup

Despite the Trump administration implementing travel restrictions affecting 12 countries, including Iran, the executive order explicitly exempts athletes and team staff participating in the World Cup next year.

As first reported by ESPN, President Trump does not have the ability to ban Iran's national team players, and their visas will be issued for participation in the 2026 World Cup.​

The travel ban, which came into effect earlier this summer - in June, fully restricts entry to the United States for nationals from Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen.

Furthermore, FIFA President Gianni Infantino has provided assurances that no team will face problems entering the United States for the World Cup.

After visiting Iran's dressing room following their CAFA Nations cup final match against Uzbekistan, Infantino confirmed that FIFA will resolve visa-related issues and facilitate teams' participation in the tournament.

Saeed Ezatolahi might be something of a forgotten man in Berkshire, seeing as he only made four appearances for Reading after joining on loan from FC Rostov in 18/19.

The defensive midfielder, who was 21 when moving to England, had already established himself as an important player for Iran's national team before his Reading spell, having broken into the squad as a teenager.

At the age of 19 years and 42 days, he became the youngest goalscorer in their history when he netted in a 3-1 victory against Turkmenistan - but that record was subsequently broken by ex-Hull City forward Allahyar Sayyadmanesh.

Sayyadmanesh enjoyed a longer stint in English football than his compatriot, initially joining the Tigers on loan from Fenerbahce in January 2022 for the remainder of the 21/22 season.

Hull then signed Sayyadmanesh permanently from the Turkish club the following window for a reported transfer fee of €4.5m - though he failed to live up to the hefty price tag, only scoring three goals and two assists in the Championship.

Ezatolahi has been a regular fixture in the Team Melli squad, earning over 70 caps for his country and participating in multiple World Cup qualifying campaigns. Sayyadmanesh, despite being five years younger, has nine caps and one goal to his name.​

Having never advanced to the knockout rounds before, I’m sure there’s going to be a fair few Reading and Hull fans wanting to see how either player gets on for Iran next year.