{"id":80839,"date":"2025-12-26T07:40:42","date_gmt":"2025-12-26T07:40:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hambastegimelli.ir\/?p=80839"},"modified":"2025-12-26T07:40:42","modified_gmt":"2025-12-26T07:40:42","slug":"iran-boycotts-2026-fifa-world-cup-draw-ceremony-over-us-visa-denial","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hambastegimelli.ir\/?p=80839","title":{"rendered":"Iran boycotts 2026 FIFA World Cup draw ceremony over US visa denial"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Iran\u2019s football federation (FFIRI) says it will boycott next week\u2019s 2026 World Cup draw in Washington after the United States refused to issue visas for several members of its delegation.<\/p>\n

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Tehran – hambasteimelli – FFIRI spokesperson Amir Mehdi Alavi said on Friday the decision followed internal discussions and consultations with the Ministry of Sports and Youth and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis decision was taken after several members of the delegation were denied visas. The matter completely defies logic and has nothing to do with sports,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

The federation has formally raised the matter with FIFA President Gianni Infantino and Secretary General Mattias Grafstr\u00f6m in recent days, he said, adding that FIFA has promised to look into the case.<\/p>\n

He warned that Washington\u2019s move could have wider implications for Iran\u2019s national team \u2014 also known as Team Melli \u2014 saying future travel by Iranian players and staff to the United States during the tournament could be affected.<\/p>\n

\u201cSuch an approach could directly affect Team Melli\u2019s preparations and performance throughout the tournament,\u201d the FFIRI spokesman pointed out.<\/p>\n

The draw for the 2026 FIFA World Cup will take place on December 5 in Washington, DC.<\/p>\n

Alavi described the US visa row as \u201cunprecedented\u201d in Iranian football history, emphasizing that Team Melli members or FFIRI executive staff have never been denied visas, and have attended the competitions on a regular basis.<\/p>\n

According to the\u00a0Tehran Times\u00a0daily newspaper, the United States has issued visas only for four members of the FFIRI delegation \u2014 Amir Ghalenoei (head coach), Mehdi Kharati (executive director), Omid Jamali (director of international relations), and Amir Mehdi Alavi (spokesperson).<\/p>\n

Visa requests for several others were denied, including FFIRI President Mehdi Taj and Vice President Mehdi Nabi.<\/p>\n

On Thursday, Taj denounced the decision as being a political one.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have told the head of FIFA, Mr [Gianni] Infantino, that it is purely a political position and that FIFA must tell them [US] to desist from this behavior,\u201d the FFIRI president added.<\/p>\n

Team Melli qualified for the 2026 FIFA World Cup in March, guaranteeing a fourth successive appearance and seventh in all. It has yet to progress to the knockout stage.<\/p>\n

Iran beat the United States 2\u20131 in their group match at the 1998 FIFA World Cup in France, a historic victory that was celebrated across Iran.<\/p>\n

More than two decades later, the two sides met again at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. This time, the United States edged past Iran 1\u20130 in a tightly contested match that ended Iran\u2019s hopes of advancing to the knockout stage.<\/p>\n

The US is co-hosting the World Cup with Canada and Mexico.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Iran\u2019s football federation (FFIRI) says it will boycott next week\u2019s 2026 World Cup draw in Washington after the United States refused to issue visas for several members of its delegation. Tehran – hambasteimelli – FFIRI spokesperson Amir Mehdi Alavi said on Friday the decision followed internal discussions and consultations with the Ministry of Sports and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":80840,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4867],"tags":[6468,6467],"class_list":["post-80839","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-english","tag-fifa","tag-hambasteimelli"],"yoast_head":"\nIran boycotts 2026 FIFA World Cup draw ceremony over US visa denial - \u067e\u0627\u06cc\u06af\u0627\u0647 \u062e\u0628\u0631\u06cc \u0647\u0645\u0628\u0633\u062a\u06af\u06cc \u0645\u0644\u06cc<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/hambastegimelli.ir\/?p=80839\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"fa_IR\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Iran boycotts 2026 FIFA World Cup draw ceremony over US visa denial\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Iran\u2019s football federation (FFIRI) says it will boycott next week\u2019s 2026 World Cup draw in Washington after the United States refused to issue visas for several members of its delegation. 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