Donald Trump has stated he is indifferent to Iran’s participation in the upcoming summer World Cup, co‑hosted by the United States, Mexico and Canada. The United States and Israel started striking targets in Iran on Saturday, and the Middle‑East conflict has since broadened across the region.
President Trump told Politico: “I really don’t care. I think Iran is a very badly defeated country. They’re running on fumes.” Iran was the sole country absent from a FIFA planning summit for World Cup entrants held this week in Atlanta, raising further doubts about whether its squad will play on American soil this summer as the regional war intensifies.
FIFA did not immediately answer a Reuters request for comment.
Mehdi Taj, head of the Football Federation of the Islamic Republic of Iran, said the brutality of the US and Israeli attacks bodes poorly for the tournament, scheduled for 11 June to 19 July. Iran earned a place in a fourth consecutive World Cup by winning Group A in the third round of Asian qualifying last year.
The Iranian side was drawn into Group G with Belgium, Egypt and New Zealand. Their games are set for the United States – two in Los Angeles and one in Seattle. Should both the United States and Iran finish second in their groups, they could clash in a 3 July knockout match in Dallas.
Iran is one of two competing nations covered by Trump’s most stringent travel ban, issued by executive order last June, according to Politico. While the ban exempts World Cup squads and support staff, visa waivers for others – such as officials or executives of sponsoring firms – are decided by the State Department individually.
Andrew Giuliani, director of the White House FIFA World Cup Task Force, said in a January interview in Colorado Springs that security considerations would guide the administration’s handling of travel‑ban exceptions.
In a statement to Politico on Tuesday, Giuliani added: “President Trump’s decisive action to eliminate the Ayatollah, the most notorious state sponsor of terrorism in my lifetime, removes a major destabilising threat and will help protect people around the world, including Americans and the millions planning to attend the 2026 World Cup in the United States.“
In recent decades, every qualified team has taken part in the finals. Iran would almost certainly be replaced if it withdrew from the competition.
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