On Wednesday morning, Iran’s Ministry of Sports officially announced that the Iranian men’s national soccer team will not participate in the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
The news from Iran drops a day after their women’s team made headlines around the world, as 5 members were granted asylum in Australia for fear of heavy repercussions from the regime’s leaders if they returned to Tehran, as previously reported by The Dallas Express.
Sports Minister Ahmad Donyamali announced the decision for the men’s team on Iranian state television, saying, “Considering that this corrupt regime has assassinated our leader, under no circumstances can we participate in the World Cup,” per Channel News Asia. He continued by claiming that, “Our children are not safe and, fundamentally, such conditions for participation do not exist. Given the malicious actions they have carried out against Iran, they have forced two wars on us over eight or nine months and have killed and martyred thousands of our people.”
The announcement from Iran came just hours after FIFA President Gianni Infantino met with President Donald Trump at the White House, where the two discussed the tournament.
A statement from FIFA after the meeting reads: “We also spoke about the current situation in Iran, and the fact that the Iranian team has qualified to participate in the FIFA World Cup 2026. During the discussions, President Trump reiterated that the Iranian team is, of course, welcome to compete in the tournament in the United States.”
Iran had been among the first countries to qualify for the expanded 48-team tournament.
The Iranian national team was drawn into Group G alongside Belgium, Egypt, and New Zealand, with all three of their group-stage matches scheduled for U.S. soil. Those now-cancelled games were scheduled to kick off at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California, and at Lumen Field in Seattle.
The withdrawal comes in the wake of Operation Epic Fury, the joint U.S.-Israeli military campaign launched February 28, which included strikes that took out Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. As DX covered, President Trump formally notified Congress of the operation under the War Powers Resolution. The campaign has since expanded to include thousands of strikes on Iranian military infrastructure, naval assets, and command centers.
The decision to withdraw from the cup regime represents a significant financial loss for the leaders in Tehran. Iran stands to forfeit around $10.5 million in prize and preparation money, and FIFA could also impose fines of up to $642,000 for a late withdrawal, per a report from Business Standard. FIFA could also opt to exclude the Iranian federation from future international competitions, including the 2030 World Cup.
FIFA officials must now quickly scramble to find a replacement team in the tournament.
Iraq is still scheduled to play a World Cup playoff against Bolivia or Suriname, and is considered one of the most likely replacements from the Asian Football Confederation. The UAE, the highest-ranked AFC side to fail to qualify, is considered the next option should Iraq’s playoff situation complicate matters and they play poorly.
The withdrawal had been building for weeks. Iran’s soccer federation president Mehdi Taj had openly questioned participation after Iranian women’s players sought asylum during a tournament in Australia earlier this week. Five women were ultimately granted asylum, and the rest of the team was seen boarding a plane back to Iran on Tuesday. However, some players on the women’s team were seen flashing what appeared to be distress signals and SOS messages from their phones before boarding the planes back to Iran.
Trump, asked about Iran’s participation last week, was blunt. “I really don’t care if Iran participates. I think Iran is a very badly defeated country. They’re running on fumes,” the President told Politico.
The World Cup is set to kick off June 11 in 16 different host cities – including Dallas – across the United States, Canada, and Mexico.