FIFA president Gianni Infantino said Wednesday that Iran would “for sure” be at the World Cup this summer, despite the ongoing war with the United States.
The start of the conflict on Feb. 28 immediately cast doubt on Iran’s ability and willingness to fulfill a World Cup entry secured in March 2025 as one of the best teams in Asia.
The World Cup is being co-hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico but with Iran set to play all three of its group-stage games in the U.S.
In the first half of March, Iranian government officials variously suggested the team could not play at the World Cup, could not travel to the U.S. and FIFA should move Iran’s games to Mexico.
However, Mexico President Claudia Sheinbaum confirmed last week that FIFA had rejected that request, with world soccer’s governing body insisting that the World Cup will proceed as scheduled.
FIFA president Gianni Infantino watched Iran take on Costa Rica in a friendly in Antalya, Türkiye, on March 31. Orhan Cicek/Anadolu via Getty Images)“The Iranian team is coming, for sure. Yes,” Infantino said at CNBC’s Invest in America Forum on Tuesday in Washington, D.C.
“We hope that by then, of course, the situation will be a peaceful situation, that would definitely help. But Iran has to come, of course. They represent their people. They have qualified. The players want to play.”
Prospects of Iran playing the World Cup in the U.S. appeared to improve at the end of last month when Infantino visited the team during a training camp in Antalya, Türkiye.
“I went to see them two weeks ago, they were having a training camp in Antalya,” Infantino said. “And they really want to play. And they should play — sports should be outside of politics.
“Now, OK — we don’t live on the moon, we live on planet Earth, but if there is nobody else that believes in building bridges and in keeping them intact and together, well we are doing that.”
The Iranian delegation is due at its Tucson, Arizona, training camp no later than June 10 for the June 11-July 19 tournament. Its first game is scheduled for June 15 against New Zealand at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California. It is set to take on Belgium at the same venue on June 21 before facing Egypt in Seattle on June 26.
If Iran was to advance in the tournament, its knockout games would also likely be held in the U.S.
Despite FIFA’s public confidence, U.S. President Donald Trump has variously said “I don’t really care” if the Iran team comes, that it was welcome and players would be treated as stars and that the players’ safety was at risk.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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