Published On 9/6/2026
The Iranian Football Federation announced the cancellation of its share of tickets for the group stage matches of the World Cup in America, calling on the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) to intervene.
The Iranian Students News Agency (ISNA) quoted a statement from the Iranian Football Federation that America had taken measures to prevent Iranian fans from attending the team’s matches in Los Angeles against the New Zealand and Belgium national teams, and in Seattle against the Egyptian national team, within the seventh group competitions of the World Cup, which is also being held in Mexico and Canada.
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Iran national team calls on FIFA to implement the “8% rule”
According to FIFA and the tournament regulations, each federation receives 8% of the tickets for its team’s match in the World Cup, the competitions of which officially begin the day after tomorrow, Thursday.
The Iranian Football Federation explained that based on the 8% rule, fans began preparing to attend World Cup matches, but were now forced to cancel them, expressing its hope that FIFA would be able to help it benefit from the quota allocated to it.
The Iranian Football Federation said in its statement: “Less than 3 days before the start of the 2026 World Cup, America has taken a new measure to obstruct the attendance of our fans in the stadiums hosting our three matches in the group stage.”
The statement added, “This measure coincided with many of our fans already planning to attend the matches in accordance with the procedures announced earlier.”
He continued: “Depriving Iranian fans of obtaining their tickets legally and officially remains a measure that violates the principles of the spirit of international competitions and equality between the countries participating in the tournament.”
He concluded: “These developments raise questions about the interference of non-sporting and political considerations in organizing the largest football event in the world.”
The British news agency (BA Media) reported that FIFA had been contacted to comment on this crisis.
Iran is among several countries whose citizens have been banned from entering America since the beginning of President Donald Trump’s second term as president of America.
Relations between Iran and America have also witnessed a military conflict since last February.
The Iranian national team decided to move its training camp from America to Mexico, and it was decided not to grant it entry visas to America except on the days of its matches in the group stage, and to leave American territory immediately after each match, noting that a number of members of the Iranian delegation did not obtain entry visas to America.
