FIFA president Gianni Infantino confirmed on Wednesday that Iran will “for sure” participate in the 2026 World Cup despite the Middle East war.
“Iran is coming for sure. We hope that by then the situation will be a peaceful situation, which would definitely help,” Infantino told an economic conference organized by broadcaster CNBC.
“But Iran has to come; they represent their people, they have qualified, and the players want to play,” he said of the team’s upcoming matches scheduled in the United States in June.
Infantino had made similar statements in March, when he attended an Iran-Costa Rica friendly in Antalya, Turkey, even though US President Donald Trump had previously suggested that Iranian players might not be “safe” in the United States.
Iran will play three Group G matches in the United States (two in Los Angeles and one in Seattle), with their base in Tucson, Arizona.
Their participation in the global tournament, co-hosted by the US, Canada, and Mexico, was impacted by the conflict between the US and Israel on February 28.
Iran threatened a “boycott” of the competition before asking FIFA to relocate its matches from the United States to Mexico, a proposal the world governing body denied.
Following several weeks of air assaults on Iran and Iranian retaliation against Israel and other countries in the region, a tenuous truce was declared on April 8.
However, Tehran has closed the crucial Strait of Hormuz, and Washington has put a blockade on ships leaving or entering Iranian ports since Monday.
“Sports should be outside of politics,” Infantino said on Wednesday.
“If there’s nobody else that believes in building bridges and keeping them intact and together, we are doing the job,” he said.
The World Cup is scheduled to start on June 11, featuring 48 teams.
