VANCOUVER, British Columbia – FIFA president Gianni Infantino said again on Thursday that Iran will take part in this summer’s World Cup as scheduled, despite the fact that the country’s delegation was missing from the FIFA Congress.
“Of course, Iran will be participating at the FIFA World Cup 2026 and of course, Iran will play in the United States of America and the reason for that is very simple because, dear friends, we have to unite,” Infantino said during a speech. “We have to bring people together. It is my responsibility — it is our responsibility. Football unites the world. FIFA unites the world. You unite the world.
“We unite the world, and we have to remember, always, that we have to be positive. We have to be smiling. We have to be happy. There are enough problems around the world. There are enough people who try to divide all over the world. If nobody tries to unite, what will happen to our world? We have to do it and we have this opportunity. We have it at the FIFA Congress. We have it with the FIFA Series. We have it, of course, with the FIFA World Cup. We have it with the power and the magic of all of you, united because together we are unbeatable.”
Iran’s delegation was the only one missing as the remaining 210 FIFA member associations convened for the annual congress on Thursday. Those officials were also absent for Tuesday’s meeting of the AFC Congress, which also took place in Vancouver.
A source close to the situation told CBS Sports that two members of the delegation did receive permission to enter Canada and would have been able to take part in the congress, though they opted not to attend after a third member was not granted a visa.
Several soccer dignitaries passed by protestors associated with the Mission for My Motherland, a group that is pushing FIFA to kick Iran out of the World Cup because of the federation’s association with the country’s current government. Though the protestors were mostly based in Vancouver, they plan to protest the Iran team at the World Cup.
Infantino used his time at the podium on Thursday to reiterate a stance he has held since the U.S. and Israel’s joint military operation in February, which has raised questions about the ability for teams based in the Middle East to travel and adequately prepare for the World Cup. For Iran specifically, security questions have also been paramount – the national team at one point said it was lobbying FIFA to move their World Cup games to Mexico, though CBS Sports reported that the change was unlikely and seems increasingly improbable with the tournament less than two months away. U.S. President Donald Trump also said in March that the team should not travel for their own safety, but changed his tune on Thursday when he was asked about Infantino’s remarks.
“Well if Gianni said it I’m OK,” Trump said at the White House. “Gianni Infantino, that’s a piece of work. You know what, let them play. Gianni’s fantastic, he’s a friend of mine. He talked about it. I said: ‘You do whatever you want.’ You can have them. You don’t have to have them. Probably have a good team. Do they have a good team? It would be hard to believe. But I think let them play.”
Iran are slated to arrive in the U.S. in early June and will be based in Tucson, Ariz. during the tournament. They are slated to open play on June 15 at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, Calif., before facing Belgium in the same venue six days later. They will close out the group stage on June 26 against Egypt at Seattle’s Lumen Field.
