Iran Will Participate in the World Cup, FIFA Chief Says

FIFA President Gianni Infantino speaks during the 76th FIFA Congress at the Vancouver Convention Centre in Vancouver, Canada, on April 30, 2026. —Don MacKinnon—AFP/Getty Images

FIFA Chief Gianni Infantino announced on Thursday that Iran will participate in the upcoming 2026 World Cup.

"Let me start at the outset confirming, straightaway for those who maybe want to say something else or want to write something else, that of course Iran will be participating at the FIFA World Cup 2026," Infantino announced while speaking at the FIFA World Congress in Vancouver, Canada. "And of course Iran will play in the United States of America."

"The reason for that is very simple, dear friends, is because we have to unite. We have to bring people together. It is my responsibility," Infantino said.

Questions had been raised over Iran’s participation in the international soccer tournament due to the ongoing U.S.-Israeli war with the country.

On Tuesday, Iranian Football Federation president Mehdi Taj and other soccer officials from the country were turned away at the Toronto airport on their way to attend the FIFA Congress. The federation said the officials had valid visas to attend the gathering, but returned to Turkey due to what it described as the “unacceptable behaviour” of Canadian immigration officials.

"I can provide the following assurances and facts. One is that, as you know, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard and all those members have been listed as a terrorist organisation for several years," Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said. "The members are ​prohibited from coming. We have a ​series of screenings, and we take ⁠action. And no members have entered the country. Action has been taken appropriately."