Gathered in Cardiff, Wales, for the annual meeting of Ifab (International Football Association Board), FIFA leaders were surprised in the early hours of this Saturday (28) by the joint attack by the United States and Israel on Iran and the subsequent Iranian retaliation, which placed the Middle East at the center of a new armed conflict.
The meeting in the country, called to approve measures aimed at speeding up the pace of matches and reducing the so-called “wax”, ended with the creation of a crisis office to monitor the escalation in the Gulf and its possible impacts on the World Cup scheduled for June. The tournament will have the United States, Mexico and Canada as hosts and has Iran among the qualified teams.
In a speech shown on Iranian state television, the president of the Iranian Football Federation, Mehdi Taj, classified the country’s participation in the World Cup as “unlikely”.
“With what happened today and the attack from the United States, it is difficult to look at the World Cup with hope, but this is a decision that belongs to the sport’s directors,” he said.
The Iranian presence was already the subject of controversy before the conflict, due to the migration policies adopted by Donald Trump’s government. Since June 2025, Iranian citizens have been banned from entering the United States, although there are exceptions for athletes, delegation members and family members involved in major sporting events.
According to the website The Athletic, Iranian delegates had visa applications denied before the World Cup draw in December last year. At the time, Andrew Giuliani, head of the White House World Cup task force, stated that visa decisions are treated as national security issues.
Wanted by Sheet this Sunday (1st), FIFA did not respond about Taj’s statement or about possible consequences of the conflict for the tournament.
Iran’s three group stage matches are scheduled to take place on American soil: against New Zealand, on June 15, in Los Angeles; against Belgium, on the 21st, in the same city; and against Egypt, on June 26, in Seattle. There is also the possibility of a direct confrontation between Iran and the United States in the first knockout phase, if both finish second in their groups.
FIFA’s general secretary, Mattias Grafstrom, stated that the entity is monitoring the situation, but considers it premature to assess concrete impacts. “We had meetings today and it is still too early for detailed comments. We will monitor global developments,” he said.
According to him, the federation will maintain direct contact with the governments of the three host countries to guarantee the safety of the competition. “We will continue to communicate, as we always do. Everyone will be safe,” he said.
To date, there are no official announcements of boycotts or sports sanctions related to the conflict.
The Qatar Federation, however, announced the suspension, for an indefinite period, of all matches and competitions in the country, with resumption subject to the evolution of the security scenario. Two matches in the Stars League, the first national division, which were to be played on Saturday (28), had already been postponed.
The decision also casts uncertainty over the holding of the Final between Argentina, champion of the Copa América, and Spain, winner of the European Championship, initially scheduled for March 27 in Qatar, still without official confirmation given the escalation of the conflict in the region.
The crisis occurs amid political proximity between FIFA and the American government. The entity’s president, Gianni Infantino, has strengthened relations with Donald Trump, to whom he presented the FIFA “Peace Prize” during the draw for the 2026 World Cup, in December 2025.
The previous year, the United States hosted the first edition of the Club World Cup with 32 participants, won by Chelsea, a central tournament in the entity’s global expansion strategy. During the competition, FIFA opened a headquarters in Trump Tower, in New York.
Infantino had also publicly argued that Trump should receive the Nobel Peace Prize for his role in ceasefire negotiations in the Middle East.
The military buildup also mobilizes other sporting organizations. F1 reported that it is monitoring the situation given the proximity of the stages in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, scheduled for April.
Iranian forces struck American installations and targets in Gulf countries — including Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates, all linked to the category’s calendar — in response to the initial offensive.
The Bahrain GP is scheduled for April 10th to 12th, followed by the Saudi Arabian GP, between April 17th and 19th. The races continue, but Pirelli canceled wet tire tests at the Bahrain International Circuit for safety reasons.
“The tests were canceled due to the evolution of the international situation,” said the company, adding that its employees in Manama remain safe while the company organizes the teams’ return.
The F1 season begins next week in Melbourne, Australia, between March 6 and 8, before heading to China and Japan. A spokesperson for the category stated that the championship remains outside the Middle East in the next stages, but that the organization is monitoring the scenario in coordination with local authorities.
