A view of the World Cup replica during the inauguration of the countdown to the 2026 World Cup in Mexico, the United States, and Canada, on June 11, 2025. (Photo by Gerardo Vieyra/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

Iran will attend 2026 World Cup Draw after threatening to boycott event- Report

Story By Citisports On December 5, 2025, 7:58 AM

Iran will be present at the John F. Kennedy Center for Performing Arts in Washington DC for the 2026 FIFA World Cup draw after threatening to boycott the event.

The draw for next year’s World Cup takes place on Friday, December 5 at 17:00 GMT to determine the schedule for competing nations at the group stage of the tournament.

Earlier this week, Iran threatened to boycott the draw after claiming that the United States of America were refusing to grant visas to members of the country’s contingent including President of the Asian nation’s Football Federation, Mehdi Taj.

Out of the nine man delegation for Iran scheduled to attend the draw, only four have been given visas with the BBC reporting that Iran’s head coach Amir Ghalenoi and Iran’s Football Federation’s head of international relations Omid Jamali have already travelled to the United States with more members expected to join.

Iran’s national footbal team pose for a group picture before the FIFA World Cup 2026 Asia zone qualifiers group A football match between Iran and Uzbekistan (Photo by -/AFP via Getty Images)

Competing in next year’s World Cup would mark Iran’s fourth appearance in the tournament in a row but are yet to progress beyond the group stage.