• Iran to attend draw
The FIFA World Cup trophy arrived in Washington DC, yesterday, touring some of the United States capital’s most iconic sites ahead of the much-anticipated final draw for the 2026 edition, which is holding today.
Football’s ultimate prize was then showcased at the legendary John F. Kennedy Centre for the Performing Arts, where FIFA Legend Rio Ferdinand and FIFA representatives welcomed media for an exclusive sneak peek of the draw hall. The former England captain shared his pride and excitement as he prepared to conduct the historic 48-team final draw alongside award-winning broadcaster Samantha Johnson today.
A stellar line-up of draw assistants — Tom Brady, Wayne Gretzky, Aaron Judge and Shaquille O’Neal — will join the proceedings in a remarkable crossover of global sporting greats, with special guest Eli Manning bringing additional star power as the event’s red carpet host.
FIFA has described the World Cup draw as a “thrilling milestone” on the road to the finals. But it feels more like a road full of potential potholes and dead ends.
The draw will show teams which groups they are in, and who they will face. But competing nations will have to wait at least another 24 hours before being able to start the serious planning. Because for the first time in World Cup history, the venues and kick-off times for all 104 matches won’t be released on the same day as the draw itself.
The full schedule will be revealed on Saturday, with Infantino taking the opportunity to be joined on stage by some “FIFA legends”. This will be when teams will find out which time zones they will be in, and when. Which feels ironic, considering Infantino and his band of merry men at FIFA appear to be in their own separate time zone altogether.
FIFA wants to keep apart the top four ranked teams until the semifinals. In terms of an explanation, FIFA says: “For pots 2, 3 and 4 (pot 1 has already been allocated 12 teams), each team’s group position will be determined according to a predefined allocation pattern.
“This pattern is detailed in the table included in the draw procedures document. A team’s position within the group will then be determined by the pot from which they are drawn, and by the group into which they are drawn.”
Meanwhile, a delegation from Iran will attend the draw after threatening to boycott it over a visa row.
Iran applied for nine visas but were issued four, with Mehdi Taj, president of Iran’s football federation (FFIRI), among those rejected.
Taj said this week that he spoke with FIFA president Gianni Infantino and that no-one from Iran would attend the draw “unless all visas are issued”.
However, Iran coach Amir Ghalenoi and Omid Jamali, head of international relations at the FFIRI, have travelled to the US and could be joined by more delegates.
Iran have qualified for their seventh World Cup and fourth in succession.
The US, which is co-hosting the tournament with Canada and Mexico, has long-standing strict visa restrictions on Iranians for political and security reasons.
In June US President Donald Trump signed an executive order banning nationals from 12 countries from entering the US, citing an effort to manage security threats.
Iran is among the countries affected by the ban, although the executive order is supposed to exempt athletes and coaching staff travelling for the World Cup and 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.
