FIFA President Gianni Infantino says Iran will 'for sure' play in World Cup despite conflict involving US
FIFA President Gianni Infantino said Wednesday that Iran "for sure" will play in the World Cup this summer despite the ongoing war involving the United States.
The conflict in the Middle East begged the question whether Iran, which qualified for the World Cup that begins in June in the U.S., Mexico and Canada, would still participate given the circumstances.
All three of Iran’s group stage games are scheduled to be played in the U.S. That remains the case after Iranian government officials suggested to FIFA that their games be moved to Mexico because they could not travel to the U.S.
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Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum revealed FIFA’s rejection of Iran’s request, and it is insisting Iran play where its scheduled — SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California, and Lumen Field in Seattle.
According to Infantino, Iran is going along with the original schedule.
"The Iranian team is coming, for sure," Infantino said during the CNBC Invest in America Forum Tuesday in Washington, D.C.
"We hope that, by then, of course, the situation will be a peaceful situation. That would definitely help. But Iran has to come, of course. They represent their people. They have qualified. The players want to play."
Infantino visited the Iranian national team in Turkey, which is where it has its training camp.
"They were having a training camp in Antalya," Infantino added about his trip last month to visit the team. "And they really want to play. And they should play. Sports should be outside of politics.
Iran is scheduled to play at SoFi Stadium against New Zealand on June 16 to begin its tournament. It will also play Belgium at the stadium before finishing group play against Mo Salah and Egypt in Seattle June 26.
President Donald Trump wrote in a Truth Social post last month that Iran would be welcome to compete in the World Cup as scheduled, though it might not be "appropriate" considering the conflict.
"The Iran National Soccer Team is welcome to The World Cup, but I really don’t believe it is appropriate that they be there, for their own life and safety," he wrote.
Trump also told Politico, "I really don’t care," when asked about Iran’s participation in the tournament. Infantino, who holds a strong relationship with Trump, said Trump has "reiterated" to him that the U.S. welcomes Iran’s team to compete.
Fox News’ Paulina Dedaj and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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