FIFA President guarantees Iranian participation in the tournament in June in North America after visiting the team in Türkiye
The president of , Gianni Infantino, stated on Wednesday (April 15, 2026), in an interview with CNBCwhich Iran will compete for . The speech took place after a visit to the Iranian national team’s training center in Antalya, Turkey, in March, and the .
“We hope that, by then, the situation will be pacified, which would certainly help”Infantino said. “Iran needs to come, obviously. They represent their people. They qualified. Players want to play.”
The FIFA president defended the separation between sport and politics. “They should play, sport should be out of politics”said Infantino. “Now, okay, we don’t live on the Moon, we live on planet Earth, but if there’s no one else who believes in building bridges and keeping them intact and together, then we’re doing it.”
The Iranian team’s 3 games in the group stage are scheduled to be held in North American territory:
- June 15 – New Zealand, in Los Angeles;
- June 21 – Belgium, in Los Angeles;
- June 26 – Egypt, in Seattle.
but the proposal was denied. The request came after US President Donald Trump (Republican Party) expressed concern about the “life and safety” of Iranian players.
There is no record of national teams withdrawing from World Cups since 1950, the first tournament held after the end of the Second World War.
