Iran boycotting World Cup draw citing visa restrictions for soccer officials

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DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran has decided to boycott the 2026 World Cup draw in Washington next week because the U.S. denied visas to members of its delegation, the state-run IRNA news agency reported on Friday.

The agency quoted Iranian soccer federation spokesman Amir-Mahdi Alavi as saying that officials faced visa obstacles that go beyond sports considerations.

There was no immediate comment from the White House.

Alavi said the federation had reached out to FIFA and hoped it could help resolve the issue. Soccer's ruling body didn’t immediately reply to a request for comment.

President Donald Trump’s administration announced in June a travel ban on citizens from 12 countries including Iran. The list also included Haiti, which last week qualified for the World Cup.

Exemptions, however, were promised for “any athlete or member of an athletic team, including coaches, persons performing a necessary support role, and immediate relatives, traveling for the World Cup, Olympics, or other major sporting event as determined by the secretary of state.”

It is unclear whether the exemptions also apply to the World Cup draw, which takes place on Dec. 5 at the Kennedy Center.

The Iranian delegation would have been expected to be led by its soccer federation president Mehdi Taj, one of the most senior officials in Asian soccer and a member of two FIFA committees that have oversight of the World Cup.

He is one of the vice presidents of the Asian Football Confederation and a member of FIFA panels with responsibility for the ruling body’s competitions, plus men’s national team soccer in general.

A record 48 teams will participate in the June 11-July 19 World Cup co-hosted by the the U.S., Canada and Mexico.

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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer