TEHRAN – Iran’s football federation has reconsidered its stance on attending the 2026 FIFA World Cup draw and will send two representatives to the ceremony.

The federation had previously announced it would withdraw from the ceremony after two top officials were denied visas. Now, Iran is set to send Team Melli head coach Amir Ghalenoei and Omid Jamali, the head of the federation’s International Relations Department, to the United States.

The ceremony will be held in Washington, D.C. on Friday.

The draw will divide the 48 qualified and play-off-bound teams into 12 groups of four, using FIFA’s latest men’s world rankings to allocate nations into four pots.

One team from each pot will be drawn into every group.

The three co-hosts — Canada, Mexico and the United States — are allocated to Pot 1. The nine top teams in the current FIFA rankings are also placed in Pot 1.

The next three pots were decided by the FIFA rankings, with the lowest-ranked qualified teams in Pot 4. The 12 groups for the World Cup will then be formed by one team from each pot.