FIFA confirms Iran's participation in 2026 World Cup in the US despite geopolitical tensions

FIFA President Gianni Infantino said Iran will "definitely" participate in the 2026 World Cup despite uncertainties over the Middle East conflict and concerns about the security of the Iranian delegation in the United States, one of the tournament's host countries, according to Reuters. The official's statement comes at a time when the participation of the Iranian national team in the competition had been questioned amid military tensions between Tehran, Washington and their regional allies, as well as logistical and diplomatic difficulties associated with organizing the tournament. According to Infantino, football must remain separate from political disputes and function as a tool for dialogue between nations. "Iran will come, that's for sure. They represent their people, they qualified, and the players want to play," the FIFA chief said at an economic conference in Washington, according to international media.

• Geopolitical pressures ahead of the tournament

The statements come in an extremely tense international context, less than two months before the start of the World Cup, scheduled for June 11, 2026. Iran's participation in the final tournament has been called into question after the escalation of the regional conflict in the Middle East, which led Iranian authorities to consider boycotting the competition. Tehran had recently requested that FIFA relocate its matches from the United States to Mexico, citing security reasons, but the world body rejected the request. Moreover, the US administration has previously expressed reservations about the possibility of safely holding matches with Iranian participation on US territory, in the context of the tense political climate.

• Iran's matches scheduled entirely in the US

According to the official competition schedule, the Iranian national team will play all of its group stage matches in the United States. Iran is in Group G and will face: New Zealand, Belgium, Egypt. According to the competition schedule published by FIFA, the group matches are scheduled in American cities such as Los Angeles and Seattle, and the Iranians' training base is to be established in Tucson, Arizona.

• FIFA insists on the neutrality of sports

In his statement, Infantino reiterated FIFA's traditional position on the separation of sports from international political disputes: "Sports must be outside of politics. We do not live on the moon, we live on planet Earth. But if no one else builds bridges between people, then we must do this work." The message comes in a climate in which major sports competitions are increasingly affected by geopolitical considerations, and international bodies are forced to manage unprecedented diplomatic and security pressures.

• The biggest World Cup in history

The 2026 final tournament will be the largest in the competition's history, featuring 48 national teams, up from 32 in previous editions. The competition will be held from June 11 to July 19, 2026, in 16 cities across North America, and FIFA estimates that it will become the most profitable and most watched World Cup ever organized. Infantino stressed that the success of the competition will depend primarily on the security of its holding. "The tournament will be a success if it is safe, without incidents and if we have quality matches, with exciting football,” he said.

• A decision with a major symbolic impact

Keeping Iran in the competition is also an important symbolic decision for FIFA, as excluding an already qualified team for geopolitical reasons could have set a sensitive precedent for future international tournaments. The decision also comes at a time when FIFA is trying to solidify its image as a neutral institution capable of managing global competitions in an increasingly fragmented international climate. Iran's participation in the 2026 World Cup could thus become one of the most watched and discussed topics of the tournament, not only from a sporting perspective, but also from a diplomatic one.