FIFA President confident Iran will play at World Cup

FIFA President Gianni Infantino said he is “certain” that Iran will participate in this summer’s FIFA World Cup (June 11 – July 19), despite the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, just two months before the tournament hosted by the United States, Mexico, and Canada, AFP reports, CE Report quotes AGERPRES.

“Iran will come, that’s certain,” Infantino said at an economic conference organized by CNBC in Washington, D.C.. “We hope the situation will be peaceful by then, which would really help,” he added.

“But Iran must come, it represents its people, it has qualified, and the players want to play,” Infantino said. He had visited the Iranian national team during a training camp in Antalya at the end of March and attended a friendly match.

The FIFA president has consistently supported Iran’s participation, even though U.S. President Donald Trump had previously suggested that Iranian players might not be safe in the United States.

According to the official schedule, Iran will play its three Group G matches in the United States: against New Zealand on June 16 and Belgium on June 21 — both in Los Angeles — and against Egypt on June 27 in Seattle.

Iran’s training base during the tournament is expected to be in Tucson, Arizona.

At the start of the conflict involving the United States and Israel on February 28, Iran had mentioned a possible boycott before requesting FIFA to move its matches from the United States to Mexico — a request that was rejected.

After weeks of airstrikes and retaliatory attacks, a fragile ceasefire came into effect on April 8 for a two-week period. However, Tehran closed the Strait of Hormuz, and Washington imposed a blockade on ships entering or leaving Iranian ports.

“Sport must be kept out of politics,” Infantino reiterated. “We don’t live on the Moon, we live on Earth. But if no one else believes in building bridges and keeping them intact, then we are the ones who must do it.”

He also expressed confidence that the largest World Cup ever (three host countries, 48 teams) will be a success if it is “secure — meaning without incidents — and successful on the pitch, with great matches and exciting football.”