FIFA President Gianni Infantino made a blunt call on Iran’s World Cup status Wednesday, saying the country will participate “for sure” even as its war with the United States continues to cast a long shadow over the tournament.
Speaking at the CNBC Invest in America Forum, Infantino said he expects the Iranian national team to be there when the World Cup begins, and he tied that hope to a calmer, more peaceful situation by then. “The Iranian team is coming for sure, yes,” he said. “We hope that by then, of course, the situation will be a peaceful situation… But Iran has to come.”
It wasn’t long after that emphasis that Infantino leaned harder into his core argument: the players qualified, they want to play, and sports should not get swallowed by geopolitics. He also recalled meeting the team in Antalya, Turkey, about two weeks ago, adding that he was impressed. “I went to see them. They are actually quite a good team as well,” he said. The way he framed it, the desire to compete wasn’t theoretical—it was personal, and it was the point.
Infantino’s remarks came in a broader stretch of high-stakes diplomacy and symbolism from FIFA. In December, he presented Donald Trump with the inaugural FIFA Peace Prize. Wednesday’s comments echoed that same language of “peace” and bridge-building, even as the immediate reality is anything but calm.
And still, he didn’t pretend separation between sports and politics is easy. “OK we don’t live on the moon, we live on planet Earth,” Infantino said. He argued that if nobody is trying to build bridges—keeping them “intact and together”—then what’s the alternative? Even if it’s difficult, he suggested, FIFA has a role to play.
The practical details make the stakes feel very real for fans as well. The United States will co-host the World Cup with Canada and Mexico. Iran is scheduled to play two group-stage games in Inglewood, California, and one in Seattle. That schedule is exactly where questions have lingered, because the war has raised doubts about whether Iran would actually take the field.
Misryoum newsroom reporting and editorial desk noted that there have been conflicting public comments from Iranian government and soccer officials. U.S. President Donald Trump discouraged the Iranian team from attending, citing safety concerns. Wednesday’s message from Infantino was, essentially, a bet placed on the possibility that the situation will ease enough for the team to arrive—quietly, safely, and on time.
Outside the forum, there was that familiar, faint hush that comes before a big statement—like everyone in the room is waiting to see which way the sentence will land—then Infantino leaned into certainty anyway. Whether that certainty holds, though, depends on events that neither FIFA nor the players can fully control, and maybe that’s the part no one can quite tidy up.
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