Infantino: Trump does not oppose Iran's participation in the 2026 FIFA World Cup
The FIFA president said the president will welcome the Iranian national team, which will play its group stage games in the U.S.
Iran's national team before a match. File image
FIFA President Gianni Infantino said that President Donald Trump will not put any obstacles in the way of Iran's national team being able to participate in the 2026 FIFA World Cup, which will be played between June and July in the United States, Canada and Mexico.
After several days of speculation about the presence or absence of Iran in the next edition of the most important soccer competition in the world—for which they already qualified—due to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, Infantino informed that Trump would "welcome" to the players who will represent that country.
"I met with President Donald Trump to discuss the status of preparations for the upcoming FIFA World Cup, and the growing excitement as we are set to kick off in just 93 days," Infantino wrote on social media. "We also spoke about the current situation in Iran, and the fact that the Iranian team has qualified to participate in the FIFA World Cup 2026. During the discussions, President Trump reiterated that the Iranian team is, of course, welcome to compete in the tournament in the United States."
"We all need an event like the FIFA World Cup to bring people together now more than ever, and I sincerely thank the President of the United States for his support, as it shows once again that Football Unites the World," said the FIFA president.
Shortly after the start of the conflict in the Middle East, the president of the Iranian Football Federation, Mehdi Taj, raised the idea that the Iranian national team would not play in the 2026 FIFA World Cup despite the fact that they had already secured a bid to compete.
"These developments will not go unanswered. … But what is certain at this moment is that, with this attack and this cruelty, we cannot look forward to the World Cup with hope," Taj said, adding that his country's sports authorities would analyze the situation.
The Iranian national team is assured of playing three group stage matches. All three will be held in two U.S. cities: two in Los Angeles (against New Zealand and Belgium) and one in Seattle (against Egypt).
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