The United States has denied the Iranian delegation’s entry into the country to attend the draw on December 5 for the 2026 World Cup, according to the Iranian Football Federation (FFI) spokesman Amir-Mehdi Alawi.

The list includes federation president Mehdi Taj, national-team coach Amir Ghalenoei, and seven other officials. The World Cup draw is scheduled on December 5 in Washington, D.C. at the Kennedy Centre.

Iran’s federation says it will ask FIFA president Gianni Infantino to intervene and try to overturn the decision before the ceremony. 

There were already wider concerns this year about the U.S. immigration and visa hurdles for Iranians imposed by President Donald Trump, and speculation that the participation of Iran’s already qualified team would be jeopardized in next year’s World Cup in the United States, Canada, and Mexico.  

This is not the first case involving Iranian sports delegations and U.S. visas. Last week, reports in Iran said the men’s polo team could not obtain visas to compete at a world event in the United States. 

Sports experts believe that the team and the coaching staff themselves won’t face major issues in this regard, but federation officials, journalists, and fans especially, could be affected by these restrictions

FFI hopes Iran’s matches will be hosted in Canada or Mexico – the two other host countries for the competition – to avoid playing in the U.S, where diplomatic ties have been frozen for over 45 years.

Many fans see this decision as controversial, pointing to how the U.S. has previously imposed bans on other countries, like Russia, from international competitions in all sports

Meanwhile, the United States government said it will prevent any attempt to ban Israel from competing at the 2026 World Cup following a United Nations commission of inquiry that Israel has committed genocide against Palestinians in Gaza.

That has led a panel of UN experts and the Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez to call for sporting sanctions against the country.