FIFA has invited the Iranian Football Federation to its headquarters in Zurich “before May 20 to prepare for the World Cup,” sources close to the tense and uncertain process told AFP on Tuesday.
Iran’s participation in the upcoming World Cup in North America (June 11 to July 19) is not 100 percent guaranteed, amid the ongoing conflict in the Middle East that escalated in late February with Israeli and U.S. airstrikes on Iranian territory.
Despite the situation, FIFA President Gianni Infantino has repeatedly stated that Team Melli will play its group-stage matches on U.S. soil as scheduled. “I want to confirm unequivocally that Iran will obviously participate in the 2026 FIFA World Cup. And, of course, Iran will play in the United States,” he said on April 30 at the opening of the 76th FIFA Congress in Vancouver.
“If Gianni said it, then I agree,” Donald Trump later told reporters. “I told him: ‘Do what you want. You can have them.’ (…) I think they should be allowed to play,” added the U.S. president, who at other times has hinted that Iranian players would not be “safe” if they traveled to his country.
These remarks initially led Iranian football officials to consider a boycott, then to request that Team Melli’s matches be relocated to Mexico — a request rejected by FIFA.
Despite Infantino’s statements, the recent FIFA Congress highlighted potential logistical difficulties regarding Iran’s presence in North America. The day before, the Iranian delegation canceled its appearance in Vancouver, citing offensive behavior by immigration police upon arrival at Toronto Airport. Canada has designated Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, the ideological armed wing of the Islamic Republic, as a terrorist group. The president of the Iranian Football Federation, Mehdi Taj, is a former member of this powerful body.
Upon returning to the Middle Eastern country, Taj told local media that he wanted “a meeting with FIFA,” with whom “we have many issues to discuss.”
FIFA is awaiting a response from the Iranian Federation, which it hopes to receive no later than three weeks before the World Cup begins. Iran’s first match is scheduled for June 16 in Los Angeles against New Zealand. They will then play Belgium on June 21, also in Los Angeles, and Egypt on June 27 in Seattle. Their base camp is expected to be established in Tucson, Arizona.