The Iranian Football Association has reportedly had its football allocation withdrawn World Cup According to media reports, this may affect the plans of hundreds of fans who were due to attend the group stage matches The Associated Press, Reuters And The New York Times.
Under Fifa According to the regulations, participating teams receive eight percent of the available tickets for their association’s games for sale or distribution to fans.
According to the Associated Press, most of the allocations were put up for sale after the group draw in December, when Iranians had already been subject to a five-month U.S. government travel ban.
Less than a week before Iran opens its World Cup bid against New Zealand on June 15 at the 70,000-capacity Los Angeles Rams Stadium in Inglewood, Calif., those tickets may no longer be guaranteed, the Football Association of the Islamic Republic of Iran claimed in a statement obtained by AP and Reuters.
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“Denying Iranian fans access to their legitimate and official ticket allocation is an act that contradicts the spirit of international competitions and the principle of equality between participating countries,” it said.
The association’s claims come against a backdrop of heightened tensions between Iran, the US and Israel after Israel launched coordinated airstrikes on Iran in late February, all of which are currently adhering to a fragile ceasefire negotiated during diplomatic negotiations. However, Israeli-led attacks on Iran-backed Hezbollah strongholds in Lebanon and targeted attacks on military bases of the US and its allies in the Gulf on Sunday put the ceasefire at risk.
First responders inspect a residential building hit in a U.S.-Israeli attack in Tehran on March 27, 2026.
AP Photo/Vahid Salemi
FIFA is solely responsible for allocating tickets for the World Cup. The Iranian Football Association further suggested in its statement that “the United States has now taken measures to hinder the presence of Iranian fans in the stadiums.”
“This incident raises serious questions about the influence of non-sporting and political considerations on the organization of the world’s largest football event,” the Iranian Football Association claimed.
FIFA said in a statement on Tuesday that it was “working closely with the IR-Iran Football Association to find compliant solutions that will give Iranian fans the opportunity to attend matches.”
Its President Gianni Infantino and its Secretary General Mattias Grafström each promised logistical support during personal meetings with Iranian football officials in Turkey in recent weeks.
Most of Iran’s 26-man squad has not played a competitive game since the country’s professional league was shut down in February, when the war began. The team’s World Championship training site, originally planned to be in Tucson, Arizona, was later moved to Tijuana, Mexico.
The 2026 World Cup will be the association’s seventh participation in this competition.
It is unclear how many tickets from the Iranian contingent were sold.
If Iranian tickets were revoked, FIFA would have days to sell about 5,600 tickets for Monday’s Iran-New Zealand game, even though Los Angeles has the largest Iranian community in the United States
Reports of Iranian fans’ tickets being revoked came on the same day records were set to be broken by a top Somali referee who was set to become the first from that country to officiate at the World Cup Denied entry into the USA
Omar Artan was announced as referee two months ago. He is one of Africa’s best officials and was named the continent’s best male referee in 2025.
He was barred from entering Miami International Airport on Saturday because of “vetting concerns,” U.S. Customs and Border Protection said in a statement, without providing details about those concerns.
— with files from The Associated Press
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