Iran’s Sports Minister Rules Out Country’s Participation in FIFA World Cup After Khamenei’s Assassination

Citing the War on Iran and Khamenei’s Assassination, Sports Minister Ahmad Donyamali Formally Withdraws the Iranian National Team from the FIFA World Cup 2026, Refusing to Compete on American Soil.

On March 11, Iranian Sports Minister Ahmad Donyamali announced on state television that the country’s men’s football team would not participate in the upcoming FIFA World Cup 2026, starting on June 11 in the US, “under any circumstances”. Military advisor to Iran’s Supreme Leader Yahya Rahim Safavi on the same day described US President Trump as the ‘most corrupt American President’ and vowed to destroy, in his words, the “Zionist Israeli regime”. Echoing a similar view, Minister Donyamali ruled out setting foot on American soil and playing its matches there, given that all of Iran’s group-stage fixtures are scheduled to take place in American cities such as Los Angeles and Seattle.

Furthermore, the Iranian side pointed to its children living in an atmosphere of fear and not feeling safe following the onset of the US and Israel’s war on Iran. Since February 28, 1,255 people have been killed and more than 12,000 wounded in targeted attacks on Iranian military infrastructure. It is important to note that the Iranians had already begun to cast aspersion over their team’s participation in the world cup, with Mehdi Taj, head of the Football Federation of the Islamic Republic of Iran (FFIRI) expressing the country’s inability to “look forward to the World Cup with hope” but stopping short of announcing a boycott last week.

Earlier, President Trump had expressed indifference to Iran’s participation in the World Cup. However, FIFA President Gianni Infantino looked to assure observers and stakeholders of Trump’s support and the Iranian team being “welcome to compete” through his social media post. According to him, "We all need an event like the FIFA World Cup to bring people together now more than ever, and I sincerely thank the President of the United States for his support, as it shows once again that Football Unites the World." Interestingly, Iran was the first country to secure qualification for the World Cup. In the absence of concrete FIFA rules governing a team’s withdrawal from tournaments, either Iraq or the UAE is expected to replace Iran in Group G.