World Cup - Football is caught in the grip of geopolitics and war

Recent statements by the president of the Iranian Football Federation, Mehdi Taj, that Iran's participation in the upcoming FIFA World Cup could be in question, show once again how fragile the separation between sport and geopolitics is. The military conflict that erupted on February 28 between the United States and Iran risks creating unprecedented tensions in a global competition that traditionally tries to present itself as a neutral space. With just months to go before the start of the final tournament, the discussion about Iran's participation brings to the fore an old question: how much sport can ignore the political realities of the world.

• World Cup, under the pressure of international conflicts

The world tournament is scheduled between June 11 and July 19, and Iran is expected to play its group stage matches in the United States, including in Los Angeles and Seattle. In Group G, the Iranian team is expected to meet Belgium, Egypt and New Zealand. Normally, these details would be part of the routine preparations for a major competition. In the current geopolitical context, however, the simple fact that the Iranian team would have to play in the territory of a country involved in a direct military conflict with the Islamic Republic raises many questions. Mehdi Taj explicitly stated on national television that sending the national team to the US in such a context could be difficult to justify to Iranian public opinion.

• FIFA tries to maintain the neutrality of sports

In the face of these tensions, FIFA is trying to send a message of stability. The organization's chief operating officer, Heimo Schirgi, told the American media that the institution is monitoring the situation in the Middle East and hopes that all qualified teams will participate in the tournament. For FIFA, organizing the World Cup is a huge logistical and financial project, impossible to postpone or reconfigure easily. The competition involves billions of dollars in investments, global commercial contracts and major political interests. In these conditions, the withdrawal of a team like Iran would create not only a sporting problem, but also a diplomatic one.

• Sport as a political tool

History shows that major sports competitions are often influenced by geopolitical conflicts. Examples are numerous: the Western boycott of the 1980 Moscow Olympics; the Soviet bloc's response by boycotting the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics; the exclusion of Yugoslavia from the 1992 European Championship; the exclusion of Russian teams from international competitions after the invasion of Ukraine. In the case of Iran, the situation is different, as there is currently no official sporting sanction. However, domestic political pressures could influence the final decision.

• Women's football, another front for tensions

The crisis has also been amplified by a recent controversy surrounding Iran's women's national team. Australia granted political asylum to five Iranian players after they refused to sing the national anthem before an Asian Cup match. The gesture was interpreted by Iranian authorities as a political act, and the case has fueled tensions between Tehran and Western states.

• A major test for sports diplomacy

For FIFA and the World Cup organizers, the situation represents a major test of the ability of sport to remain a space for dialogue in a world marked by conflict. In theory, sports competitions are designed to bring rival nations together. In practice, however, when geopolitical tensions reach a high level, sport inevitably becomes part of the symbolic confrontation between states. If Iran ultimately decides not to participate in the tournament, it would be one of the most spectacular episodes of geopolitical interference in world football in recent decades. For now, the Iranian authorities have not made a final decision, and FIFA continues to rely on the participation of all qualified teams. Depending on the evolution of the conflict in the Middle East, however, the World Cup could become more than a sports competition: a barometer of global geopolitical tensions.