Iran’s Sports Minister, Ahmad Donyamali, stated this Wednesday (11) that his country’s national team will not participate in the 2026 World Cup, which starts on June 11.
“Under no circumstances will Iran participate in the World Cup,” said the minister in a statement on Iranian state TV.
The day before, the president of the Iranian Football Federation, Mehdi Taj, had also called into question his country’s participation in the 2026 World Cup, which will be played in the United States, Mexico and Canada, following the asylum granted by Australia to five players from the women’s team.
“The president of the United States wrote two tweets to ask that political asylum be granted to our players (…), and that if Australia didn’t do it, he would. He caused 160 martyrs by killing our girls in Minab and now he kidnaps our girls. How can we be optimistic in these conditions regarding the World Cup in the United States?”, declared Taj on state television, alluding to an alleged bombing of a school in Minab at the beginning of the war, for which Iran blames Israel and the United States.
“If the World Cup takes place under these conditions, who in their right mind would send their national team to a place like that?” he said.
Iran is due to play two of its three World Cup group stage games in Los Angeles, against Belgium and New Zealand, and one in Seattle, against Egypt.
Com Reuters
