{"id":772756,"date":"2026-03-12T12:52:55","date_gmt":"2026-03-12T07:22:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news24online.com\/?p=772756"},"modified":"2026-03-12T13:23:49","modified_gmt":"2026-03-12T07:53:49","slug":"iran-fifa-world-cup-2026-participation-in-doubt-after-escalating-conflict-with-usa-sports-minister-ahmad-donyamali-says-cannot-participate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news24online.com\/sports\/other-sports\/iran-fifa-world-cup-2026-participation-in-doubt-after-escalating-conflict-with-usa-sports-minister-ahmad-donyamali-says-cannot-participate\/772756\/","title":{"rendered":"Iran\u2019s FIFA World Cup participation in doubt amid escalating conflict with US-Israel, sports minister says\u2026"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>The ongoing conflict between Iran, the United States and Israel could now spill over into the world of sports. Iran\u2019s sports minister Ahmad Donyamali has suggested that the country may not participate in the upcoming FIFA World Cup following the reported killing of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in a US operation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Speaking to Iranian state television on Wednesday, Donyamali made it clear that the situation has deeply affected the nation. He said Iran cannot take part in a tournament hosted by a country it currently considers responsible for the assassination of its leader.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cConsidering that this corrupt regime has assassinated our leader, under no circumstances can we participate in the World Cup,\u201d the minister said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The United States is scheduled to co-host the next FIFA World Cup along with Canada and Mexico. Iran have already qualified for the tournament and, according to the current schedule, all of their group-stage matches are set to take place in American cities such as Los Angeles and Seattle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>That arrangement has become a major sticking point amid the growing geopolitical tensions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The conflict between the United States, Israel and Iran began on February 28 and has since escalated dramatically. Reports indicate that the war has claimed more than 1,200 lives and left over 12,000 people injured.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Iran has responded with waves of missile and drone attacks targeting Israel, US military bases in the Middle East and several strategic installations across the region.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Against that backdrop, Iranian authorities say the country is currently in no position to focus on sporting events.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cOur children are not safe and, fundamentally, such conditions for participation do not exist,\u201d Donyamali said. He added that Iran has been forced into multiple wars in recent months and has suffered heavy casualties.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThis situation has taken thousands of lives. Under such circumstances, it\u2019s impossible for us to think about participating normally,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This marks the first time a senior government official in Iran has openly questioned the country\u2019s participation in the World Cup since the conflict escalated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Last week, Mehdi Taj, president of the Football Federation of the Islamic Republic of Iran, also expressed doubts about the team\u2019s involvement. While he stopped short of announcing a boycott, his comments reflected the uncertainty surrounding Iran\u2019s plans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cAfter this attack on Iran, we cannot be expected to look forward to the World Cup with hope,\u201d Taj said on Iranian television.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>He also questioned whether sending the national team to the United States would even be realistic under the current circumstances. \u201cIf the World Cup is like this, who in their right mind would send their national team to a place like this?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Interestingly, FIFA president Gianni Infantino recently revealed that US President Donald Trump has assured him that Iran would be welcome to compete in the tournament.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Infantino said the topic came up during discussions about preparations for the World Cup, which will be jointly hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico next summer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In an Instagram post, the FIFA chief said Trump reiterated that Iran\u2019s national team would be allowed to participate despite the tense geopolitical situation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cPresident Trump reiterated that the Iranian team is, of course, welcome to compete in the tournament in the United States,\u201d Infantino wrote. Iran were actually the first nation to secure qualification for the World Cup, which is scheduled to run from June 11 to July 19.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>However, with tensions continuing to escalate in the Middle East, whether Iran ultimately takes part in the tournament remains an open question.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Also Read: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/news24online.com\/photos\/sports\/jasprit-bumrah-vs-sanjana-ganesan-who-is-richer-know-their-net-worth-love-story-age-gap-and-more-772719\">Jasprit Bumrah vs Sanjana Ganesan: Who is richer? Know their net worth, love story, age gap and more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Conflict with the USA jeopardizes Iran\u2019s FIFA World Cup 2026 participation, according to the nation\u2019s sports minister.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2912,"featured_media":772765,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","short_title":"","seo-keywords":"","news-seo-keywords":"Iran World Cup participation news, Iran FIFA World Cup boycott, Iran US conflict World Cup impact, Iran sports minister World Cup statement, Iran football team World Cup 2026 participation, Ahmad Donyamali Iran World Cup comments, Iran US war sports impact, Iran football federation World Cup reaction, Mehdi Taj Iran World Cup statement, Iran World Cup qualification news, FIFA World Cup 2026 Iran team update, Iran vs US political tension football, Iran boycott FIFA World Cup possibility, Gianni Infantino Iran World Cup statement, Donald Trump Iran World Cup welcome comment, Iran group stage matches USA cities, Los Angeles Seattle World Cup Iran matches, Iran Israel US war latest news, Middle East conflict impact on sports, Iran national football team news, FIFA World Cup 2026 political controversy, Iran World Cup participation doubt, global sports politics Iran US conflict, football news Iran World Cup controversy, FIFA World Cup 2026 breaking news","author-reported-field":"2912","author-review-field":null,"article-sources-field":"","byline_field":"","survey_poll":"","ai_generated_summary":"","faq-group":{"faq-question_1":"","faq-description_1":"","faq-question_2":"","faq-description_2":"","faq-question_3":"","faq-description_3":"","faq-question_4":"","faq-description_4":"","faq-question_5":"","faq-description_5":""}},"categories":[460374,138],"tags":[389081,781,914,461271],"class_list":["post-772756","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-other-sports","category-sports","tag-fifa-world-cup-2026","tag-football-news","tag-iran","tag-us-iran-war-2"],"recipe-group":{"preparation_time":"","total_cooking_time":"","recipe_yield":"","recipe_cuisine":"","recipe_rating_value":"","recipe_servingsize":"","recipe_calories":"","recipe_ingredients":"","recipe_instructions_head_1":"","recipe-instructions_1":"","recipe_instructions_head_2":"","recipe-instructions_2":"","recipe_instructions_head_3":"","recipe-instructions_3":"","recipe_instructions_head_4":"","recipe-instructions_4":"","recipe_instructions_head_5":"","recipe-instructions_5":"","recipe_instructions_head_6":"","recipe-instructions_6":""},"embed-url-group":{"embed-url":"","embed-duration":""},"yoast_head":"<!-- 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