Reported by: Ijeoma G | Edited by: Oravbiere Osayomore Promise.
The president of FIFA, Gianni Infantino, has ended months of speculation over Iran’s participation in the 2026 World Cup by giving a firm and unequivocal assurance that the team will take part in the tournament this summer and will play all its group‑stage matches in the United States as originally scheduled, despite the ongoing state of war between Washington and Tehran. Infantino’s announcement came on Thursday, 30 April 2026, at the 76th FIFA Congress in Vancouver, Canada, where he opened his address with a direct confirmation that the Iranian national team would be competing at the finals.
“Let me start at the outset, confirming straightaway, for those who maybe want to say something else or want to write something else, that of course Iran will be participating at the FIFA World Cup 2026,” Infantino told delegates from more than 200 member associations. “And of course, Iran will play in the United States of America.”
The FIFA president framed the decision as a commitment to unity in a fractured world. “The reason for that is very simple, dear friends, is because we have to unite. We have to bring people together. It is my responsibility, it is our responsibility,” he said. “Football unites the world, FIFA unites the world, you unite the world, we unite the world.”
Iran’s participation had been in serious doubt since 28 February 2026, when the United States and Israel launched a coordinated military assault on Iran. In the weeks that followed, Iranian officials sought to have the team’s three group‑stage matches moved from the United States to Mexico, a neighbouring co‑host of the tournament, citing security and travel concerns. Infantino rejected that proposal, insisting that the original schedule would remain unchanged. The Iranian team will base themselves in Tucson, Arizona, for the duration of the tournament.
Iran is drawn in Group G alongside Belgium, Egypt and New Zealand. The team will open its campaign on 15 June against New Zealand at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, Los Angeles. Its second match, against Belgium, will be played at the same venue on 21 June. Iran will then travel to Seattle for its final group‑stage fixture against Egypt at Lumen Field on 26 June.
The controversy over Iran’s participation has deepened in recent days after a diplomatic row at the Canadian border. Officials from the Iranian Football Federation (FFIRI), including its president Mehdi Taj, travelled to Toronto intending to attend the FIFA Congress but were stopped by Canadian immigration authorities. Taj, a former member of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), which Canada has designated a terrorist organisation since 2024, was deemed inadmissible. The delegation abandoned its onward journey to Vancouver and flew back to Iran, making the country the only absent member among FIFA’s 211 associations at the congress.
Tensions surrounding Iran’s presence at the tournament have also played out in the United States. In March, President Donald Trump publicly stated that Iran should not compete in the World Cup, citing “security concerns for the Iranian delegation amid the ongoing war”. However, after Infantino’s confirmation on Thursday, Trump struck a different tone. Asked about the FIFA president’s remarks, Trump told reporters in the Oval Office: “If Gianni said it, I’m OK. You know what? Let them play.”
A proposal by an Italian‑born US special envoy to have Italy replace Iran at the finals was swiftly dismissed, and the US government later made clear that Iranian footballers would be welcome on American soil. Nevertheless, the diplomatic friction that has shadowed Iran’s qualification is unlikely to disappear entirely as the team prepares to travel to the United States for the first World Cup to be co‑hosted by three nations. The tournament, which runs from 11 June to 19 July, will be played across 16 cities in the United States, Canada and Mexico.
Outside the Vancouver congress, a small group of protesters called on FIFA to ban the Iranian team, arguing that the squad represents the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps rather than the people of Iran. “This is not Iran, this is the Islamic Republic’s team. This is IRGC’s team,” an organiser told Reuters. “They’re here not to represent Iran. They’re here to normalise what’s happening in Iran, the massacre in Iran. So, no, they should not be in the World Cup.”
For now, FIFA has made its position unmistakably clear. Politics will not keep Iran off the pitch. As Infantino put it: “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.”
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