2026 World Cup: Infantino reaffirms that Iran will play in the United States, Trump is "OK"

FIFA President Gianni Infantino reaffirmed on Thursday that Iran would participate in the 2026 World Cup and would play its three group matches in the United States as planned, before being backed by Donald Trump.

While Team Melli's participation in the major football event continues to raise questions in the context of the conflict in the Middle East, triggered at the end of February by strikes by Israel and the United States on Iran, the Infantino-Trump duo sought to reassure six weeks before the start of the competition (June 11-July 19).

"To begin with, I want to confirm unambiguously that Iran will obviously participate in the 2026 FIFA World Cup. And of course Iran will play in the United States," Infantino said at the opening of the 76th FIFA Congress held in Vancouver, Canada, one of the host cities of the tournament co-organized from June 11 to July 19 by the United States, Mexico and Canada.

“If Gianni said so, then I’m OK,” Donald Trump later told reporters in the Oval Office. “He talked about it. I told him, ‘Do what you want. You can have them. You don’t have to have them.’ They probably have a good team… It’s hard to believe, actually, but I think we should let them play,” the US president added.

Iran's first match is scheduled for June 16 in Los Angeles against New Zealand. They will then face Belgium on June 21, also in Los Angeles, and Egypt on June 27 in Seattle. Their tournament base camp is expected to be in Tucson, Arizona.

Iran boycotts Congress

Infantino, the guarantor of the World Cup, has been tirelessly repeating since the end of March that Team Melli will indeed be present in the United States, despite statements that are not always reassuring from his ally Donald Trump, who had estimated in March that the Iranian players might not be "safe" in his country.

Iran, which had mentioned a "boycott" of the competition at the start of the Middle East war, subsequently asked FIFA to move its matches to Mexico. The request was rejected.

Despite Infantino's statements, the FIFA Congress illustrated the potential logistical difficulties of an Iranian presence in North America.

The Iranian delegation cancelled its presence in Vancouver on Wednesday, citing insulting behavior by immigration police upon arrival at Toronto airport, according to Iranian media.

Canada has designated the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, the ideological army of the Islamic Republic, as a terrorist group. Mehdi Taj, president of the Iranian Football Federation, is a former member of this powerful force.

Iranian Revolutionary Guards have "no place" in Canada, federal officials said Wednesday, without giving further details.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio had recently reiterated that the players' arrival did not pose a problem, unlike some members of the delegation.

Infantino is running for re-election

Infantino also responded during Congress to criticisms from fans regarding the exorbitant costs of the competition, starting with ticket prices.

"There are expensive seats but also affordable seats," Infantino said, adding that "what is important is that all the profits generated are redistributed around the world to finance football in all countries."

A routine statement that sounds like a campaign slogan for the 56-year-old Italian-Swiss, who declared from the podium his candidacy for re-election next year. On Thursday, he received the support of the African (CAF) and Asian (AFC) Confederations, representing 101 votes out of 211, in addition to the 10 votes already secured in South America (each member national federation, regardless of its size, has one vote at FIFA).

At the helm of world football since 2016, Infantino has faced numerous controversies, particularly in recent months due to his close ties with US President Donald Trump, to whom he awarded the inaugural FIFA Peace Prize. The awarding of this prize in December 2025 prompted the FairSquare association to file a complaint with FIFA's Ethics Committee.