Iran will ‘boycott America, but not the World Cup’ – federation president

By Jamie Gardner, Press Association Chief Sports Reporter

Iran will “boycott America, but not the World Cup”, the president of the country’s football federation is reported to have said.

Iran’s participation at the finals has been cast into doubt after the United States and Israel launched air strikes on the country at the end of February.

Iran are due to play all three of their group matches in the US, but the country’s football federation chief, Mehdi Taj, said in quotes reported by the Fars news agency on Wednesday: “We will boycott America, but we will not boycott the World Cup.”

That followed on from quotes attributed to Taj posted on the X account of the Iranian embassy in Mexico on Tuesday, in which he claimed to be “negotiating” with FIFA to move Iran’s matches to Mexico.

The Press Association understands that as of Thursday morning, nothing had been communicated to FIFA by the Iranian federation regarding the relocation of Iran’s matches.

FIFA issued a statement on Tuesday which appeared to rule out the possibility of moving Iran’s games, saying it looked forward to all teams competing “as per the match schedule announced on December 6th, 2025”.

Even if Iran’s group games were moved, there would still be an issue with subsequent knockout matches. If Iran and the US finish second in their group, for example, the sides would meet in Dallas on July 3rd.

US president Donald Trump said last week it would not be “appropriate” for Iran to play at the World Cup “for their life and safety”.

Taj is also reported to have told the Fars news agency on Wednesday that Iran intended to press ahead with friendlies against Nigeria and Costa Rica in Turkey later this month.