Infantino rules out moving Iran World Cup 2026 matches from US

FIFA president Gianni Infantino said Iran will take part in the 2026 men’s World Cup and their group-stage fixtures will be staged in the United States as planned, despite Iranian requests to explore moving games to Mexico amid the US-Israel conflict with Iran.“Iran will be at the World Cup,” Infantino told AFP at half-time of Iran’s friendly against Costa Rica in Turkey. “The matches will be played where they are supposed to be, according to the draw.”The comments are FIFA’s clearest public effort to close down uncertainty around a politically sensitive operational issue for the tournament’s lead host market, with potential consequences for security planning, city-level hosting commitments, ticketing operations and broadcaster and sponsor deliverables.Iran’s football federation said earlier this month it was “negotiating” with FIFA to relocate the team’s games away from the US, and Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said Mexico was prepared to host if required.Infantino also reiterated the stance in an interview with Univision, describing “Plan A” as the only option for the tournament organisers and arguing that FIFA’s role was to keep the competition on track despite geopolitical tensions.Iran are currently scheduled to play New Zealand and Belgium in Los Angeles on June 15 and June 21, before facing Egypt in Seattle on June 26.The expanded 48-team tournament begins on June 11 and is being co-hosted by the US, Canada and Mexico, with FIFA working alongside host governments and local organisers on security, travel and event delivery across multiple jurisdictions.Iran’s participation has been questioned since the outbreak of war on February 28, including after US President Donald Trump posted on social media that Iran would be “welcome to the World Cup” before suggesting they should not attend for “their own life and safety”.Mehdi Mohammad Nabi, vice-president of the Iranian Football Federation (FFIRI), said his organisation would accept FIFA’s decision on the matter. “For us, what matters most are FIFA’s rules and regulations. We will comply with whatever FIFA decides,” he said.Infantino attended Iran’s 5-0 friendly win over Costa Rica in Antalya on Tuesday and said he had spoken to the squad and staff. “I’ve seen the team, I’ve spoken to the players and the coach, so everything is fine,” he said.