MIAMI (AP) — FIFA said Tuesday night that it anticipates Iran’s national team will be allowed to come to the United States, even with war going on between the countries, and compete in the World Cup that begins in about three months.
Iran is scheduled to play in Inglewood, California, against New Zealand on June 15 and Belgium on June 21 before finishing group play against Egypt in Seattle on June 26. The U.S. is hosting the tournament with Canada and Mexico from June 11 to July 19.
Iranian officials have suggested recently that its country’s participation is in some doubt because of the war.
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 soccer governing body created with Trump in mind.
Fans from Iran were already banned from entering the U.S. in the first iteration of the travel ban announced by the Trump administration.
“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. refused to host the Iran team it could risk being removed as World Cup host by FIFA.
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.
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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
By TIM REYNOLDS
AP Sports Writer
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