Iran fans have Fifa World Cup ticket allocation revoked ahead of LA opener against All Whites
Wednesday, 10 June 2026
What: Fifa World Cup Group G, All Whites v Iran. Where: SoFi Stadium, Los Angeles. When: 1pm Tuesday (NZT), TVNZ 1 and TVNZ+.
Iran’s football leaders have said their ticket allocation for travelling fans has been withdrawn just before the start of the World Cup.
Each of the 48 teams at the tournament, which is being held in the United States, Canada and Mexico, should receive 8 per cent of the seats at their respective games to sell to their fans - potentially several thousand per game.
Iran's matches at the World Cup - two in Los Angeles and one in Seattle - are going ahead despite the conflict with the US in the Gulf but Iran's football federation said its ticket allocation has been pulled. It was not clear if this action was taken by Fifa or the American authorities.
Fifa confirmed that it had cancelled Iran's fan allocation and the tickets will now go on general sale. As Iran has been sanctioned by the US, no financial transactions from within Iran to Fifa 2026, which is registered in the US, are permitted.
A Fifa spokesman said: “Fifa is working closely with the Iran Football Federation to identify compliant solutions that maximise opportunities for Iranian supporters to attend matches.”
This is the latest headache for football's world governing body after one of Africa's top referees, Somalia's Omar Artan, was refused entry to the US. He was one of the 52 referees chosen by Fifa for the tournament but the US has a travel ban on Somali nationals.
Gianni Infantino, the Fifa president, has developed close ties with the US president, Donald Trump, but the relationship does not appear to have helped with such issues.
There have already been problems with Iranian officials securing US visas. Iran are due to play their first two group G games in Los Angeles, against New Zealand on June 16 (1pm NZT) and Belgium on June 22, before facing Egypt in Seattle on June 27.
The move should not affect Iranian fans already in the US - California has the largest diaspora of people of Iranian origin in the world.
The Iranian federation called on Fifa to adhere to principles of neutrality and said in a statement: “Many Iranian football fans had already made the necessary plans to attend the matches. 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. This development raises serious questions about the interference of non-sporting and political considerations in the organisation of the world's biggest football event.”
A group of about 20 Iranian journalists hoping to cover the World Cup are in Ankara, Turkey, but have been unable to secure visa appointments at the US embassy.
Iran have already moved their team base to Mexico from Arizona after weeks of uncertainty. The US awarded visas to all the players, but not all the officials, last week. There have been reports that the team will only be allowed into the US on the day of their matches and will have to return to Mexico immediately afterwards but that has yet to be confirmed by Fifa.
– The Times, London