Sports Minister Donyamali has demanded FIFA relocate Iran's group-stage matches from the US to Mexico. FIFA has rejected this. As of 7 April, Iran had received no formal FIFA response.Source: FIGC / ESPN / media

Has Iran formally withdrawn from the 2026 World Cup?

No. The AFC confirmed no formal withdrawal has been lodged. Only the sports minister has issued a conditional statement — the FFIRI federation has not complied.Source: AFC / ESPN

When does FIFA have to decide on Iran's World Cup participation?

The 76th FIFA Congress in Vancouver on 30 April 2026 is the institutional Deadline. If Iran's status is unresolved by then, FIFA's replacement mechanism activates.Source: media / FIFA

Background

Ahmad Donyamali serves as Iran's Minister of Sport and Youth Affairs under President Masoud Pezeshkian, appointed as part of the Islamic Republic's post-2024 executive. His portfolio carries acute foreign-policy weight: on 11 March 2026, eight days after the US-Israeli strike killing Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, he declared Iran "cannot participate" in the 2026 FIFA World Cup co-hosted by the United States. By 5 April his language shifted from outright refusal to conditional: participation would be "certain" if FIFA accepted Iran's request to relocate group-stage matches to Mexico, a request FIFA had already publicly rejected.

His public declaration placed him in direct institutional conflict with FFIRI president Mehdi Taj, who on 19 March drew a distinction between boycotting America and withdrawing from the tournament. The split exposes a structural fault in Iran's post-Khamenei authority: a government minister issuing a public withdrawal, while a sports federation with partial FIFA-protected autonomy refuses to comply.

By mid-April Donyamali had shifted further: the more normal the geopolitical situation becomes, the more likely Iran's participation becomes. That conditional is explicitly tied to the US-Iran ceasefire expiring 22 April 2026. If the Ceasefire collapses, his March "under no circumstances" position has an institutional platform to re-emerge. The 76th FIFA Congress in Vancouver on 30 April is the hard Deadline; Iran's status unresolved by then triggers FIFA's replacement mechanism.