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The Football Federation Islamic Republic of Iran (FFRI) on Tuesday stated that its share of FIFA World Cup 2026 tickets was withdrawn shortly before the tournament, leaving supporters who had already booked trips without access to their team's matches, reported Reuters.
According to the Iranian football federation, it had already begun selling tickets allocated to it for World Cup fixtures, but the distribution was later revoked. The federation said that as a result, several Iranian fans who had relied on the official ticketing process and completed travel bookings are now unable to attend the matches. The FIFA World Cup is set to begin on June 12 (Friday) as per Indian Standard Time (IST), with Iran scheduled to face New Zealand in Los Angeles on June 16, Belgium on June 22 and Egypt in Seattle on June 27. "Depriving Iranian supporters of access to their lawful and official allocation of tickets is an action contrary to the spirit governing international competitions and the principle of equality among participating countries," the FFIRI said in a statement as per Reuters. "This development raises serious questions about the interference of non-sporting and political considerations in the organization of the world's biggest football event," they said further. "This is despite the fact that many Iranian football fans, relying on the officially announced process, had already made the necessary plans to attend the matches," the statement further said. Under FIFA regulations, each participating federation receives around 8 per cent of tickets for its matches, which are then distributed at its discretion among fans. While the FFIRI did not specify who decided to withhold the tickets, it urged FIFA to act in line with its "principles of neutrality, fairness, and established regulations" and prevent external issues from affecting the showpiece event. Notably, this comes amid Iran's World Cup campaign being marred by uncertainty due to the ongoing political tensions involving the United States and Israel. The FFIRI negotiated a last-minute shift of the team's base camp from Arizona to Mexico amid uncertainty over US visa approvals and a growing sentiment in Iran that the squad should minimise its time on American soil. After weeks of uncertainty, the United States granted visas to all Iranian players last week, just over a week before their opening match, although several team staff members were denied entry. (ANI)
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