Iran to play in the next World Cup

FIFA President Gianni Infantino has confirmed that Iran will play their matches in the United States as scheduled at this year’s World Cup. He made the remarks at the start of the FIFA Congress in Vancouver on Thursday.

Iran to play in the next World Cup

Infantino said, “I want to make it clear from the start that Iran will definitely participate in the FIFA World Cup. And Iran will definitely play in the United States.”

Iran’s participation in the World Cup has been in doubt since the outbreak of war in the Middle East following the US and Israeli attacks in February. Iranian officials had proposed moving the group matches to Mexico instead of the United States. But Infantino has already rejected that proposal.

A new twist came last week. It is reported that the Italian-born US special envoy Paolo Giampaoli proposed that Italy take part in the World Cup instead of Iran. However, the US government later distanced itself from that proposal. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that Iranian footballers would be welcome.

Meanwhile, Iran was the only country absent from the 211-member FIFA Congress in Vancouver, following a standoff with Canadian border officials earlier this week.

Officials from the Football Federation of Iran (FFIRI) left Canada shortly after landing in Toronto. They had cancelled their plans to travel to Vancouver. Iranian media reported that FFIRI president Mehdi Taj and two of his colleagues had returned home after being “humiliated” by Canadian immigration officials. Taj is a former member of Tehran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). Canada designated the IRGC as a terrorist organization in 2024.

Iran will be based in Tucson, Arizona, for the World Cup. They face New Zealand, Belgium and Egypt in Group G. Iran will begin its World Cup campaign against New Zealand in Los Angeles on June 15.