Keisuke Honda loses US advertising deal over Iran support at World Cup

Keisuke Honda loses US advertising deal over Iran support at World CupJapanese football legend says his opinion prompts a US company to cancel an advertising campaign before the FIFA World Cup.Published On 15 Mar 2026Former Japanese footballer Keisuke Honda says he has lost an advertising deal in the United States after voicing support for the Iranian national team’s participation in the upcoming FIFA World Cup.Without naming the sponsor, Honda revealed on Saturday that an from a US-based company had been “put on hold” after he posted on X that he wants Iran to compete in the tournament cohosted by the US, Mexico and Canada.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3How Iran’s women footballers took asylum in Australia and what happens nextlist 2 of 3Indian Wells: Medvedev stuns Alcaraz after Dubai exit amid Middle East warlist 3 of 3MotoGP postpones Qatar Grand Prix due to Middle East conflictend of list“I know it’s a very sensitive thing, but I personally want them to participate in the World Cup,” the 39-year-old wrote in a tweet on Thursday, a day after Iran’s sports minister said the country cannot take part in the World Cup after the US and Israel launched a war on it and killed its supreme leader.Honda, who represented Japan from 2008 to 2018 and scored 38 international goals for his country, posted a follow-up tweet in which he indicated that the , which had been expected to be finalised in time for the World Cup, had been shelved due to his earlier post.“Apparently, this statement caused a US company to cancel an that was about to be finalised to coincide with the World Cup,” he wrote.“We don’t want anything to do with companies that ignore the essence of things and make decisions based on rotten thinking.”Iran’s place at the 48-team tournament is in doubt even after they qualified because of the US-Israeli attacks that began on February 28, following which Tehran responded by launching waves of missiles and drones at Israel, several military bases in the Middle East where US forces operate and infrastructure in the region.