FIFA President Gianni Infantino said Iran would take part in World Cup matches, leading to the US president’s agreement.
Published April 30, 2026
US President Donald Trump told reporters that “I’m fine” with Iran participating in the soccer World Cup, which will be held in North America in June and July.
The comments came after FIFA President Gianni Infantino said on Thursday that Iran would attend the tournament and play in the United States.
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“If Gianni says so, then I’m fine with it,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office.
“You know what? Let them play.”
Earlier on Thursday, Infantino reiterated at the beginning of his address to delegates at the 76th FIFA General Assembly that Iran would play its World Cup matches in the United States as scheduled.
Iran’s participation in this year’s World Cup, to be held in Canada, Mexico and the United States, has been shrouded in uncertainty since the US-Israel war against Iran broke out in February.
“First of all, let me just say that, of course, I can immediately confirm that Iran will be participating in the 2026 FIFA World Cup,” Infantino said at a meeting of soccer’s leading figures in Vancouver.
“And of course Iran will play in the United States.”
Iranian officials had floated the idea of moving group games from the United States to Mexico, but that idea had already been rejected by Infantino.
Tensions over Iran’s participation in the World Cup echoed in the run-up to Thursday’s summit.
The Iranian delegation was the only absentee from the 211-member parliament as Thursday’s session began after clashes with Canadian border officials earlier this week.
After arriving in Toronto, officials from the Football Federation of Iran (FFIRI) abruptly left Canada, abandoning their plans to travel to Vancouver.
Iranian media reported that FFIRI Chairman Mehdi Taj, a former member of Tehran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), and two of his colleagues were flown home after being “insulted” by Canadian immigration officials.
Canada, which designated the Revolutionary Guards as a “terrorist organization” in 2024, said Wednesday that individuals associated with the group are “unacceptable.”
Iran, who will be based in Tucson, Arizona, during the World Cup, will face New Zealand, Belgium and Egypt in Group G.
The Iranian national team will open the World Cup against New Zealand in Los Angeles on June 15th.
