The International Football Association has reassured that it plans to have all 48 teams participate in the tournament during the World Cup.
The announcement comes at a time of growing uncertainty over Iran’s participation in the tournament amid the ongoing West Asian conflict, which has frozen much of the Gulf’s airspace.
Furthermore, Iran’s Sports Minister has insisted that «under no circumstances can we participate in the World Cup.»
“Our children are not safe and essentially such conditions for participation do not exist,” said Ahmad Donyamali.
«Given the malicious actions they took against Iran, they forced two wars on us for eight or nine months and killed and tortured thousands of our people. Therefore, we certainly cannot have such a presence.»
READ ALSO: FIFA World Cup 2026: Former Germany coach Joachim Low expresses safety concerns over tournament
However, FIFA has rejected any plans for a boycott by any participating country cdso.
“FIFA is in regular contact with all participating associations, including IR Iran, to discuss planning for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
“FIFA looks forward to all participating teams competing according to the fixture schedule announced on December 6, 2025,” the sport’s global governing body said in a statement on Tuesday.
The 2026 FIFA World Cup is scheduled to take place between June 11 and July 19 in the United States of America, Mexico and Canada.
Published on March 18, 2026
