Iran’s football federation says tickets for World Cup fans canceled days before kick-off – National
The football association in Iran is reported to have been deprived of its share of tickets for the World Cup, days before the start of the tournament, which may disrupt the plans of hundreds of fans who were going to attend group games, according to media reports from the Associated Press, Reuters and The New York Times.
Under FIFA rules, participating teams are given eight percent of the available tickets for their association’s matches to be sold or given to fans.
According to the Associated Press, most of the shares went on sale after the group’s withdrawal in December, when Iranians had already been banned by the US government for five months.
With less than a week to go before Iran opens its World Cup bid on June 15 at the 70,000-seat Los Angeles Rams stadium in Inglewood, Calif., against New Zealand, those tickets may no longer be guaranteed, the Football Federation of the Islamic Republic of Iran said in a statement obtained by the AP and Reuters.
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“Denying Iranian fans access to their official and legal ticket allocation is an act that goes against the spirit of international competitions and the principle of equality between participating countries,” he said.
The coalition’s claims come amid escalating tensions between Iran, the US, and Israel after the latter launched a joint airstrike on Iran in late February, all of which are currently clinging to a fragile ceasefire during diplomatic talks. However, an Israeli-led attack on Iran-backed Hezbollah strongholds in Lebanon on Sunday and targeted strikes on US and allied Gulf bases threaten peace.
First responders inspect a residential building hit by a US-Israeli strike in Tehran, March 27, 2026.
AP Photo/Vahid Salemi
FIFA is the only organization responsible for the distribution of tickets for the World Cup. The football federation in Iran suggested that “the United States has now taken measures to prevent the presence of Iranian fans in the stadiums,” its statement continued.
“This incident raises serious questions about the impact of non-sporting and political considerations on the organization of the world’s biggest football event,” Iran’s football federation said.
FIFA said in a statement on Tuesday that it is “working closely with the IR Iran Football Federation to identify mutually beneficial solutions that increase opportunities for Iranian fans to attend matches.”
Its president, Gianni Infantino, and general secretary, Mattias Grafström, each pledged support for the demands in face-to-face meetings with Iranian football officials in Turkey in recent weeks.
Most of Iran’s 26 players have not played competitively since the country’s league was shut down in February when the war broke out. The team’s World Cup training camp, originally to be in Tucson, Ariz., was moved to Tijuana, Mexico.
The 2026 World Cup will mark the organization’s seventh time at the tournament.
It is not clear how many tickets for the Iran quota have been sold.
If the Iranian tickets are withdrawn, FIFA will have days to sell about 5,600 tickets for the Iran-New Zealand match on Monday, even though Los Angeles has the largest Iranian community in the US.
Reports of ticket cancellations for Iranian fans came on the same day that a prominent Somali referee, who would have broken records as the country’s first World Cup referee, was denied entry to the US.
Omar Artan was announced as the referee two months ago. He is one of the top officials in Africa and has been named the best male referee on the continent in 2025.
He was denied entry to Miami International Airport on Saturday due to “screening concerns,” US Customs and Border Protection said in a statement without providing details on the concerns.
— via files from The Associated Press
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