The Iranian Men’s National Soccer Team is one of the first teams to qualify for the 2026 FIFA World Cup to be held in North America, an event that is shaping up to be the largest in FIFA history and is projected to generate more than $11 billion in revenue, not only in terms of footprint and participating teams, but also commercially.
However, amid the war between the US and Iran, there remains a question mark over Iran’s participation in the tournament.
Last month, Iran’s sports minister made his position clear, saying: “Under no circumstances can our country participate in the World Cup, given that this corrupt regime assassinated our leader.”
US President Donald Trump said in a Truth social post in March that while Iran would be “welcomed” to the World Cup, “for their own lives and safety, I really don’t think it’s appropriate for them to be there.”
But FIFA president Gianni Infantino said Iran was “certainly coming.”
“Obviously, I hope by then the situation will be peaceful. That will definitely help,” Infantino told CNBC’s Sarah Eisen at CNBC’s American Investment Forum in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday. “But of course Iran has to come. They represent their people and have qualified. The players want to play.”
Infantino recently visited the Iranian national team’s training camp in Antalya, Turkey, where he said the team had expressed interest in playing.
“They should play. Sports should be outside of politics,” Infantino said. “Okay, I get it. We don’t live on the moon, we live on Earth. But we do it, even if no one else believes in building the bridge and keeping it intact and together.”
Iran is scheduled to play all three group stage matches in the United States: against New Zealand in Los Angeles on June 15th, against Belgium in Los Angeles on June 21st, and against Egypt in Seattle on June 26th. If Iran advances to the tournament, future matches are likely to be played in the United States.
The Iranian Football Federation previously said it had asked FIFA to move the team’s matches to Mexico, which is co-hosting the World Cup along with the United States and Canada. However, the request was denied.
The last time a national team withdrew from the FIFA World Cup was in 1950, when multiple teams did not participate in the first tournament held after World War II.
The 2026 World Cup faces two other major concerns for fans: the cost of tickets and the safety and security of the millions of overseas fans expected to attend.
Infantino said there was “unprecedented demand for tickets” and that there had been more than 500 million requests for tickets.
“Security is obviously key, it’s extremely important, it’s important,” he said. “Of course you always hear and read that there’s a ban and this and that, but the reality is that we’re getting requests for tickets from all 211 countries. Everyone is coming and everyone wants to come.”
With 57 days until the start of the 2026 World Cup, Eisen asked Infantino what a successful tournament looks like.
“Winning is a successful World Cup from a security point of view, no incidents. And from a football point of view, it’s a great game, a great game and people’s excitement,” he said.
