FIFA said on Tuesday that it expects Iran national football team will be allowed to travel to the United States to play in the upcoming FIFA World Cup, even though tensions and conflict exist between the two countries.
Iran is scheduled to play its group matches against New Zealand national football team on June 15 in Inglewood, Belgium national football team on June 21, and Egypt national football team on June 26 in Seattle.
The tournament will be hosted by the United States, Canada, and Mexico from June 11 to July 19.
However, some Iranian officials recently said that the team’s participation could be uncertain because of the ongoing conflict.
Last week, U.S. President Donald Trump said “I really don’t care” if Iran takes part in the 48-nation tournament.
FIFA President Gianni Infantino said he met with Trump on Tuesday night “to discuss the status of preparations” for the tournament and received assurances that Iran would be permitted to come to the U.S.
“We also spoke about the current situation in Iran, and the fact that the Iranian team has qualified to participate in the FIFA World Cup 2026,” Infantino said in an Instagram post.
“During the discussions, President Trump reiterated that the Iranian team is, of course, welcome to compete in the tournament in the United States. ”
Infantino has a close relationship with Trump, who was given FIFA’s inaugural peace prize — an award that many believe the football governing body created with Trump in mind.
In the first travel ban announced by the Trump administration, citizens of Iran were barred from entering the United States.
“We all need an event like the FIFA World Cup to bring people together now more than ever,” Infantino said, adding that he thanks Trump “for his support.”
Earlier this week, FIFA’s World Cup chief operating officer said the tournament is “too big” to be postponed because of global turmoil caused by the U.S. and Israeli war against Iran.
The CEO, Heimo Schirgi, said FIFA continues to closely monitor the Iran war.
“We basically take it day by day and at some stage we will have a resolution,” Schirgi said. “And the World Cup will go on obviously, right? The World Cup is too big and we hope that everyone can participate that has qualified.”
If the U.S. did not allow Iran to compete, FIFA could even remove the country as a World Cup host.
That is what happened to Indonesia three years ago when the country refused to welcome Israel for the men’s Under-20 World Cup eight months after the Israeli team qualified. FIFA dropped Indonesia just weeks before the scheduled first game and moved that tournament to Argentina.
