Quotas reserving seats for Iranian fans at the World Cup have been cancelled, Reuters reports citing the country's Football Federation (FFIRI). Now fans from the Islamic Republic will be able to attend matches of their national team only if they purchase tickets for the matches themselves. The information appeared two days before the start of the tournament.
The Iranian federation said it had already begun the process of selling tickets for the games but could no longer provide them to fans.
“Depriving Iranian fans of access to their legal and official ticket distribution is contrary to the spirit of international competitions and the principle of equality of participating countries,” FFIRI said in a statement.
The organization clarified that many Iranian football fans have already made plans to attend matches to be held in the United States. For the first time in history, the World Cup is being hosted by three countries at once – the United States, Canada and Mexico. The matches will take place from June 11 to July 19 in 16 cities.
Each federation participating in the World Cup receives 8% of tickets for each of its matches, which are distributed among fans in accordance with its own criteria, Reuters notes. FFIRI did not say who made the decision not to sell tickets, but called on the International Football Federation (FIFA) to adhere to the “principles of neutrality, fairness and established rules.”
“This development raises serious questions about the interference of non-sporting and political considerations in the organization of the world’s largest football tournament,” FFIRI said in a statement.
FIFA did not comment on what happened at the time of writing this material. The organization distributed cheap $60 tickets to fans through a special lottery, but their share amounted to no more than 2% of the total number of tickets for each match. Previously, Iranian authorities announced plans to boycott the championship due to the outbreak of an armed conflict with the United States. At the end of last year, Tehran, based on the results of a draw, had to play all group matches on American soil.
RTVI.US previously reported that the United States has allowed the Iranian national football team to enter the 2026 World Cup, but some of the team's administrative and technical staff still have not received permission to enter the country. The Islamic Republic team will play the first two games in Group G in Los Angeles: June 15 against New Zealand and June 21 against Belgium. The third match on June 26 against Egypt will take place in Seattle.
In a separate article, RTVI.US collected the main information about the World Cup venues, tickets for matches and what security challenges are being discussed in the run-up to the start of the event.
