Iran's football federation has accused the United States of revoking its official ticket allocation for all three of its 2026 World Cup group stage matches, leaving Iranian supporters unable to obtain any seats less than three days before the tournament begins.
Under FIFA regulations, each of the 48 participating federations is entitled to eight percent of stadium capacity for their matches amounting to several thousand tickets per game for distribution to fans through official channels. Iran had already begun selling its quota for group matches against New Zealand, Belgium and Egypt, all set to be played on US soil, when the allocation was abruptly withdrawn.
"In an unexpected move, the allocation granted to the Iranian Football Federation has been withdrawn and under the current circumstances, the federation is unable to provide even a single ticket to supporters of the national team," the federation said in a statement.
The federation called the move "contrary to the spirit of international competition and the principle of equality among participating nations," urging FIFA and tournament organisers to uphold neutrality and fairness. Neither FIFA nor US organisers have publicly responded.
The ticket dispute is the latest in a series of confrontations stemming from the broader US–Iran conflict. The US and Israel launched military strikes on Iran on 28 February, sending diplomatic relations to a new low. Since then, the US has denied visas to approximately 15 members of Iran's administrative and management delegation, and a travel ban on Iranian residents has been in place since last year making it effectively impossible for fans based in Iran to attend.
Iran has also relocated its pre-tournament training base from Tucson, Arizona to Tijuana, Mexico just across the US border in response to the deteriorating situation.
The controversy extends beyond Iran. A FIFA-appointed match referee from Somalia was denied entry at Miami at the weekend and has been ruled out of the entire 104-game tournament.
FIFA president Gianni Infantino had previously warned in 2017 that fan access is non-negotiable for any World Cup host. "Any team, including supporters and officials, who qualify for a World Cup need to have access to the country otherwise there is no World Cup," he said. Iran open their campaign on 15 June against New Zealand in Los Angeles, followed by Belgium on 21 June and Egypt in Seattle on 26 June.
