FIFA president Gianni Infantino said Wednesday that Iran would “for sure” participate in the 2026 soccer World Cup despite the Middle East war.

“Iran is coming for sure. We hope that by then the situation will be a peaceful situation. That would definitely help,” Infantino told an economic conference organized by broadcaster CNBC.

“But Iran has to come, they represent their people, they have qualified, the players want to play,” he said of the team’s upcoming matches scheduled in the United States in June.

Iran, which dominated the Asian qualifying rounds to book its place at the tournament in March last year, is scheduled to play all three Group G matches on American soil — two in Los Angeles and one in Seattle — against Belgium, Egypt and New Zealand. Their base for the tournament will be in Tucson, Arizona.

Infantino had made similar comments in March, when he attended an Iran-Costa Rica friendly in Antalya, Turkey, even though US President Donald Trump had previously suggested that Iranian players might not be “safe” in the United States.

‘Outside of politics’

Iran’s participation in the global tournament being co-hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico had been thrown into doubt by the conflict launched by Israel and the........

© The Times of Israel