Participation in 2026 World Cup Uncertain, Iran Loses 26 Athletes Due to Israeli Attack

The response to the attacks by Israel and the United States has had a significant impact on sports in Iran, a country formerly known as Persia. Iran's participation in the 2026 World Cup remains uncertain. As of Monday (23/6/2025), Iranian authorities have reported that at least 26 athletes from various sports disciplines have lost their lives in the airstrikes by Israel on their territory.

Amid the excitement of the 2025 Club World Cup in the United States, FIFA is overshadowed by questions regarding Iran's fate in the 2026 World Cup. Iran has already secured its position as one of the six Asian teams that have guaranteed a spot on the world stage next year.

"Team Melli," the nickname for the Iranian national football team, continues the trend of participating in the World Cup for four consecutive editions. Only South Korea (11 editions) and Japan (8 editions) have a longer streak of World Cup participation than Iran currently.

If the escalation of conflict continues throughout this year, the Iranian squad will struggle to have the opportunity to prepare for the 2026 World Cup. In the near future, Iran already has two scheduled friendly matches in October. They are set to face Russia on October 9, followed by a match against Chile on October 14. The locations for these two matches have yet to be determined.

Iran will also find it difficult to host matches again at Azadi Stadium, Tehran. The final home match of the third round of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers against North Korea, held some time ago, has the potential to be the last match in Tehran for the coming years.

Referring to the history of the World Cup, which has been held since 1930, FIFA has never annulled the participation of teams that have qualified for the main stage. FIFA has only ever banned South Africa and Yugoslavia from competing in the World Cup in two different editions.

South Africa was banned from participating in the 1966 World Cup due to the apartheid regime that violated FIFA's anti-discrimination rules. Meanwhile, Yugoslavia was unable to compete in the 1994 World Cup because it faced sanctions from the United Nations regarding war crimes in Bosnia-Herzegovina. However, both teams had already been prohibited from participating in the qualifying rounds.

As of this writing, there has been no official statement from FIFA, especially FIFA President Gianni Infantino, regarding Iran's fate in the 2026 World Cup. Kompas has also sent an email to a FIFA spokesperson, but has not received a reply.

The threat to Iran in the 2026 World Cup actually comes from the United States Government as one of the hosts along with Mexico and Canada. US President Donald Trump included Iran in the list of 12 countries banned from entering US territory based on the travel ban rules he signed earlier this June.

The federation conveys condolences for the martyrdom of our athletes to the country's athletes community and their families. - Iran Boxing Federation -

However, in that regulation, the U.S. authorities exempted sports contingents from competing in U.S. territory. Following the U.S. attacks on Iran, this exemption may no longer apply.

If this continues, FIFA may potentially place Iran to compete in Mexico. Competing in Mexico is a realistic and fair option from FIFA for Team Melli. Additionally, there is a lower potential for political friction compared to Iran competing in Canada.

There are three groups competing in Mexico. Group A, which will be occupied by Mexico, will entirely play in the country of origin of the telenovela.

In addition, there are Group F and Group K, some of whose matches take place in Mexico. However, to avoid FIFA having to change the match venues for Iran, Team Melli can be placed in Group A.

If they can top Group A, Iran will play in the round of 32 in Mexico City. Then, if they advance to the round of 16, the matches will also still be held in Mexico. Unfortunately, the matches from the quarter-finals to the final will be held in the United States.

Israeli missile attacks since June 13, which have also targeted residential areas in several regions of Iran, have resulted in the deaths of 26 Iranian athletes. Tehran has confirmed the names of 11 of their top athletes at the international sports event.

They are Mehdi Ghaffari (wushu), Helena Gholami (karate), Saber Akbari (handball), Niloufar Ghalehvand (pilates), Hamid Toumari (shooter), Mehdi Pouladvand (equestrian), Najmeh Syams (cyclist), and Parsa Mansour (padel).

Furthermore, the three other fatalities were boxers, namely Rouhollah Salek, Sayed Ali Baghernia, and Reza Bahrami. The Iranian Boxing Federation condemned the brutal attack by Israel that resulted in the deaths of their three athletes.

"The federation conveys condolences for the martyrdom of our athletes to the country's athletes' community and their families," read an official statement from the Iranian Boxing Federation as reported by the Tehran Times, Tuesday WIB.

In addition to losing athletes, Iranian sports authorities also reported damage to several sports facilities. The Central Office of the Iranian Handball Federation in Tehran was also targeted in an attack by Israel last Monday. It was reported that there were no fatalities or injuries in the incident.

The Football Federation of Iran is still suspending several training camp agendas for their youth teams. One of the teams with the nearest agenda is the U-23 football team for the 2026 U-23 Asian Cup qualifiers, scheduled for September.

Iran's U-23 team is in Group I with the host, the United Arab Emirates, then Hong Kong and Guam.