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Fifa’s president, Gianni Infantino, has repeated his belief that Iran will take part in the World Cup this summer despite the federation failing to attend congress in Vancouver.
A three-man delegation representing the Iranian Football Federation flew to Toronto on Tuesday, but one of their number was denied entry to Canada, with the two others declining to attend congress in an apparent act of protest.
Iranian media reported earlier this week that the IFF president, Mehdi Taj, was turned away at Toronto’s Pearson airport despite having been given permission to travel. Fifa sources described the matter as a “regrettable situation” but insisted that Iran had been invited to attend congress and that responsibility for deciding who enters the country lay with the Canadian authorities.
Following a roll call of the 210 Fifa members who were in attendance, the general secretary, Mattias Grafström, did not mention Iran’s absence. Iran’s participation has been the subject of uncertainty since the US and Israel launched airstrikes on the Islamic Republic in February, but Infantino insisted they will fulfil fixtures against New Zealand, Belgium and Egypt.
“Let me start at the outset by confirming straight away, for those who maybe want to say something else or write something else, that of course Iran will be participating at the Fifa World Cup 2026,” Infantino said. “And of course, Iran will play in the United States of America. The reason for that is simple, because we have to unite. We have to bring people together.
“There are enough problems around the world. There are enough people who try to divide all over the world. If nobody tries to unite, what will happen to our world? We have to do it, and we have this opportunity.”
Iran will begin their World Cup against New Zealand in Los Angeles on 15 June. If they and the USA finish second in their respective groups, the sides will meet in the last 32, having played each other in the group stage at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
Despite Infantino’s confidence there remain concerns that Iran could experience immigration problems this summer. The US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, said last week that Iran’s players will be welcome, but indicated that some members of their federation may experience difficulties.
“The problem with Iran would be some of the other people they would want to bring with them, some of whom have ties to the IRGC [Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps],” Rubio said.
Taj is a former commander in the IRGC, which Canada has listed as a terrorist entity since 2024. The Canadian government had issued Taj with a temporary resident permit (TRP) allowing him to enter Canada to attend congress, but it appears to have been revoked. “My understanding is that there is a revocation of the permission,” Canada’s foreign affairs minister, Anita Anand, said.
Elsewhere in his address, Infantino defended Fifa’s controversial ticket sales process amid widespread complaints over prices, saying that they have received 500m requests for tickets and that 90% have already sold out, with some held over for future sales.
“We have had 500m ticket requests,” Infantino said. “In the last two World Cups we had 50m requests in total. We have sold 100% of the tickets we’ve made available, which is 90% of the global inventory. There are expensive tickets, yes, but some that are less expensive. And all of the money we have goes back into the game.”
Infantino also announced that Fifa’s projected revenues for the 2023-26 cycle that concludes with this summer’s World Cup have increased to $14bn (£10.3bn), a growth of 20% on the previous cycle.
