On Wednesday FIFA President Gianni Infantino said that Iran will for sure participate in the 2026 World Cup despite the middle east war.
An economic conference organised by the broadcaster CNBC was told by Infantino that Iran is coming for sure and that he hopes by then the situation will be peaceful as it would be the best case scenario for the World Cup.
He further said that Iran has to come, they have qualified and they have to represent their people. The players also want to play. He said this when asked about the team’s upcoming matches scheduled in the United States in June.
Similar comments were made by Infantino in March, when he was attending the Costa Rica-Iran friendly match in Antalya, Turkey.
However, US President Donald Trump had previously mentioned that Iranian players might not be safe in the United States.
According to FIFA schedule Iran is supposed to play 3 of its group matches in the United States, one in Seattle and two in Los Angeles. The base for their tournament is in Tucson, Arizona.
The participation of Iran in the tournament which is being hosted by the United States has thrown Iranian participation into doubt due to the conflict between the United States, Israel and Iran. The conflict started on February 28.
The governing body also rejected Iran’s request for moving its matches to Mexico. After that Iran raised the prospect of boycotting the World Cup.
Read more: Iran pushes to move FIFA WC matches from US to Mexico
The conflict that started from February 28 resulted in a ceasefire on April 8 after airstrikes on Iran and Iranian reprisals on Israel.
Also read: No change in schedule: Iran to play World Cup matches in US, FIFA says
