Iran, World Cup loom over FIFA Congress

Infantino told AFP that Iran will play at the World Cup "where they are supposed to be, according to the draw."

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio insisted last week that Iran's footballers would be welcome to compete at the tournament.

But Rubio warned that the United States may yet bar entry to members of the Iranian delegation with ties to the IRGC.

• Infantino under scrutiny -

The FIFA boss heads into Thursday's meeting facing scrutiny following criticism over skyrocketing World Cup ticket prices and his close friendship with US President Donald Trump.

FIFA on Tuesday announced it had boosted World Cup financial distributions to nearly $900 million, up from the initial $727 million announced in December.

The move came after several World Cup-qualified teams reportedly warned that they risked losing money from competing at the sprawling tournament, citing the high cost of travel, taxes and overall operations.

Rights groups meanwhile have called for the football supremo to use his upcoming address to FIFA delegates to give assurances that World Cup visitors face no risk of being caught in the Trump administration's draconian immigration crackdown.

"FIFA President Gianni Infantino has yet to publicly outline how fans, journalists and local communities will be safe from arbitrary detention, mass deportations and crackdowns on free expression," Amnesty International's head of economic and social justice Steve Cockburn said Wednesday.

"This FIFA Congress should be the moment he does so, and the global football community must receive more than empty platitudes," Cockburn added in a statement.

Infantino is also facing calls to abolish the FIFA Peace Prize, which he awarded to Trump during last December's World Cup draw in Washington.

"We want to see (the prize) abolished," Norwegian football association president Lise Klaveness told reporters this week. "We don't think it's part of FIFA's mandate to give such a prize."

Thursday's Congress could also address the issue of Russia's ongoing ban from international football, which has been in force since the 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

Infantino spoke in favor of lifting the ban on Russia earlier this year.

"We have to (look at readmitting Russia). Definitely," Infantino told Britain's Sky News.

"This ban has not achieved anything, it has just created more frustration and hatred."

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