The US president, who received the FIFA Peace Prize, said he welcomes the Iranian soccer team but that they should not come for their own safety.
listen to this article3 minutes
information
Published March 12, 2026
President Donald Trump has said it would not be appropriate for Iran’s national soccer team to participate in the FIFA World Cup, which will be co-hosted with the United States this summer.
The US president’s comments on Thursday came after Iranian authorities ruled out participation in the soccer tournament amid attacks on Iran by the US and Israel.
Recommended stories
list of 3 itemsend of list
“While I welcome the Iranian national soccer team to the World Cup, I truly don’t think it is appropriate for them to participate in the World Cup given their own lives and safety,” Trump wrote in a social media post, without elaborating.
This year’s World Cup will begin on June 11th, co-hosted by the United States, Mexico and Canada.
Iran’s group stage games against New Zealand, Belgium and Egypt are scheduled to be held in the Los Angeles area and Seattle, Washington, USA.
FIFA President Gianni Infantino, who is close to the US president, said in a social media post on Wednesday that President Trump had told him that the Iranian team would be welcome in the US.
“Now more than ever, we all need events like the FIFA World Cup that bring people together. I am deeply grateful to the President of the United States for his support, as it shows once again that football unites the world,” Infantino said.
FIFA’s president created the Peace Prize and awarded it to Trump last December, but it drew criticism from rights advocates who questioned soccer’s governing body’s commitment to political “neutrality.”
Less than four months after winning the FIFA Peace Prize, President Trump launched a full-scale attack on Iran, sparking a regional war that killed nearly 2,000 people and displaced many more.
FIFA has also faced widespread criticism, with critics seeing inconsistencies in the way it deals with global conflicts.
The association was quick to ban Russia after its 2021 invasion of Ukraine, but has resisted calls for sanctions against Israel despite its genocidal war in Gaza. The Israel Football Association’s ties to teams based in illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank have also drawn criticism, with some calling for their activities to be suspended.
With Iran unlikely to take part in the next World Cup, FIFA will decide how to deal with the team’s absence.
“If a participating member association withdraws from or is excluded from the 26th FIFA World Cup, FIFA shall decide the matter in its sole discretion and take any action it deems necessary,” the tournament regulations state.
“FIFA may decide to replace the participating member association in question with another association.”
It is unclear whether FIFA will have time to replace Iran. One option could be to choose Asia’s highest-ranked team, which did not qualify for the tournament.
Iran’s Group G could be played under special rules with three teams instead of four.
