Iran booked a spot in the 2026 World Cup months ago, which could cause some problems for fans wishing to come to America to root for their team. Earlier this month United States issued a travel ban preventing Iranian citizens from entering the country.
America is one of three hosts for the 2026 World Cup, along with Canada and Mexico, which do not have travel bans against Iran. Most matches and venues are in the United States and there will only be one team among the 48 who won’t play a group stage game in America.
The US travel ban specifically exempts athletes, coaches, and essential personnel from nations affected by the travel ban for major sporting events like the World Cup and 2028 Olympics, so Iran is allowed to compete in the US.
However, most Iranian citizen fans will not be allowed to come to America to watch their team in the World Cup. There is a chance that some Iranians may be able to obtain visas under specific circumstances, such as having family in the US, those with dual citizenship or those traveling on government business.
FIFA, the governing body for soccer and the organizers of the World Cup, has said it expects all qualified teams to be able to compete and it won’t reorganize the schedule to accommodate teams on which countries it will play in.
Bret Bloomquist can be reached at bbloomquist@elpasotimes.com; @Bretbloomquist on X.
This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: Can Iran play in 2026 World Cup? Yes, but fans might not be able to come
Reporting by Bret Bloomquist, El Paso Times / El Paso Times
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
