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The 48-team tournament, taking place across North America throughout June and July, kicks off on Thursday, but not all fans will have the chance to see their nations live.
Iran are in Group G at the World Cup 2026, facing off against Belgium, Egypt and New Zealand to secure a place in the tournament’s knock-out stages.
Their opening fixture will be played against New Zealand on June 16 at the Los Angeles Stadium, but the Iranian faithful won’t be in attendance at the stadium.
Iranian fans banned from World Cup 2026
Owing to the conflict in the Middle East, Iran’s training camp for the World Cup 2026 was relocated to Mexico, despite all their group stage games being placed in the USA.
The national team has now faced another setback: Iranian fans will, as it stands, not be present in the stadium for any of their team’s Group G fixtures.
Iran’s ticket allocation, which permitted fans to attend World Cup fixtures live, has been revoked, prompting a hostile statement from the Iranian Football Federation.
The statement read: “This time, the United States has attempted to sabotage the presence of Iranian fans in the stadium where the national team will be playing 3 games in the group stage of the 23rd World Cup.
“According to the regulations and common procedures set by FIFA, 8% of the ticket capacity for each match is allocated to the federations participating in the World Cup so that fans from each country can purchase tickets through an official mechanism and in coordination with their respective federations,” it continued.
"Accordingly, and after receiving the relevant quota, the Football Federation of the Islamic Republic of Iran began the process of selling tickets for the national team's matches against New Zealand, Belgium, and Egypt through its official website. However, in an unexpected move, the quota allocated to the Iranian Football Federation has been withdrawn from this complex.
"Under the current circumstances, it is not possible to provide even a single ticket to the fans of the national team through the federation. This is despite the fact that many Iranian football enthusiasts had made the necessary plans to attend the tournament venue, trusting in the officially announced process.”
The statement then questioned “the interference of non-sporting and political considerations” in planning the World Cup 2026, questioning the motives behind Iran’s ticket allocation withdrawal.
"Depriving Iranian fans of access to the legal and official quota of allocated tickets is contrary to the spirit of international competitions and the principle of equality between participating countries,” read the statement.
"Iranian football fans have always been one of the most important spiritual assets of the national team in all international competitions, observing the rules and respecting professional principles, and it is expected that their legal rights will be respected, just like fans of other countries.
"Therefore, while expressing dissatisfaction with this process, FIFA and the tournament organizers are expected to adhere to the principles of impartiality, justice, and approved regulations, and to provide the necessary conditions for Iranian fans to enjoy their legal rights and not allow issues outside the football field to overshadow the world's largest football tournament,” the statement concluded.
Unless the statement prompts change, Iran will play all of their World Cup fixtures without fans — a significant boost for Egypt, Belgium and, primarily, New Zealand, in the race for knock-out qualification.
