Iran’s soccer federation said it has lost its ability to issue tickets for the 2026 World Cup just days before the event begins, affecting hundreds of fans who had already made plans to attend matches.
Under the regulations set by FIFA, soccer’s governing body, participating federations receive 8 percent of the tickets for their team’s matches, and then sell or distribute them to fans. In a statement, the Football Federation Islamic Republic of Iran said losing the ability to allocate tickets was an “unexpected move.”
“As a result, the federation is currently unable to provide even a single ticket to supporters of the national team,” the federation said, adding that it had already sold tickets to some matches on its website.
The soccer federation did not specify which entity had revoked its ability to distribute tickets but did say that it blamed the United States, which, along with Mexico and Canada, is hosting the event set to begin on Thursday.
“It is regrettable that, following a series of decisions and actions by the host country that fall outside the usual norms of sport, the United States has once again taken measures that obstruct the attendance of Iranian supporters,” the federation said.
Iran’s soccer federation did not respond to multiple requests for comment. In a statement to Iranian state media, the federation called on FIFA to “uphold the principles of neutrality, fairness and established regulations” and work to allow Iranian fans to attend the event. While many tickets to the World Cup are sold through lotteries, tickets distributed through soccer federations often go to the teams’ most dedicated fans.
FIFA said it was working with the Iranian federation to “identify compliant solutions that maximize opportunities for Iranian supporters to attend matches.”
FIFA and other sports organizations have for years struggled to make financial transactions with entities in Iran while it is under a strict sanctions regime. The Office of Foreign Assets Control, an agency of the U.S. Department of the Treasury, oversees and enforces the policy for U.S. entities, which now includes part of FIFA, through a World Cup subsidiary created for the 2026 tournament.
Iran’s participation in the World Cup was cast into doubt after the United States and Israel launched airstrikes on the country in February.
For months, Iran’s players and officials did not know whether they would receive visas to play in the United States. The documents were issued last week, but applications from more than a dozen members of the support staff were rejected, four senior officials said.
Paolo Zampolli, an American special envoy, said the decision to limit who could enter the United States had been made to “protect the homeland.”
Iran’s team had planned to be based in Tucson, Ariz., during the tournament, but recently decided to relocate to Tijuana, Mexico, near the U.S. border. Mehdi Taj, the president of the Iranian soccer federation and a former commander in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, said that the decision had been made with FIFA to minimize the amount of time the team had to spend in the United States.
Iran is scheduled to play three games on the West Coast, starting against New Zealand on Monday in Los Angeles. It then plays Belgium there on June 21, and against Egypt in Seattle on June 26.
