Donald Trump Has ‘Banned Six Individuals’ From Attending World Cup Draw

The World Cup draw takes place on Friday but a number of players are said to be absent from the ceremony in relation to visa issues.

The draw for the 2026 showpiece will take place at the Kennedy Center Washington, D.C on December 5 at 5pm UK - with representatives from each federation expected to attend.

However, there have been major problems involving Iran, who are competing in their seventh World Cup after topping their AFC qualifying group with 23 points from 10 games.

Iran, as well as Haiti, are the two World Cup participants on the banned list announced by Donald Trump in June.

Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, Congo-Brazzaville, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen were also given travel restrictions.

Athletes are exempt, as are coaches and immediate family members - but the ban makes it incredibly difficult for Iranian citizens to attend games in the US.

Trump's administration has claimed the country is "the source of significant terrorism around the world, "does not co-operate on security risks" and has "historically failed to accept back its removable nationals" - comments which have been disputed by Iran.

Remarkably, it was reported that nine Iranian officials could be barred from the upcoming World Cup draw in Washington, including both FA president Mehdi Taj and head coach Amir Ghalenoei.

Iran will boycott the event if their visa issue is not resolved. Image: Getty

More recently, reports claimed that Iran were prepared to boycott the draw unless all requested visas were granted.

According to Khabar Online, the Iranian Football Federation sent a list of nine individuals for visas but were informed by Trump's administration that only three would be allowed - with six needed to be crossed off the list.

According to the Tehran Times, four people have been given visas - including manager Ghalenoei, executive director Mehdi Kharati, director of international relations Omid Jamali and spokesperson Amir Mehdi Alavi.

However, their football president Taj has not been given a visa and has reached out FIFA president Gianni Infantino over the situation. He had previously made assurances that all issues would be resolved and that everyone would be "welcome"

Iran's football president has not been given a visa. Image: Getty

He and Alavi, have both confirmed that Iran still intend to skip the event if not all visas are issued.

Alavi said: "With all due respect to the Iranian national team, if a visa is issued to attend the draw ceremony and discuss visiting and determining the host camp, the Iranian delegation will travel to the draw site.

"Otherwise, after quickly and clearly informing FIFA about the host's possible unsportsmanlike and political decisions regarding the ceremony, the Iranian delegation will not attend the World Cup draw."

Hosting alongside Canada and Mexico, the United States are set to stage 78 out of the 104 games - including the final in New Jersey on 19 July.

For those wanting to travel and attend, American embassies will give visa appointment priority to supporters with tickets - with the newly created FIFA Prioritised Appointment Scheduling System (Pass) set to make things smoother.

400 additional consular officers have been deployed to meet the overwhelming demand for tickets and visas, which are not guaranteed but allows fans to arrange an interview within a period of six to eight weeks from their application.