FIFA president Gianni Infantino insists Iran will play in this summer’s World Cup, and in the U.S.

VANCOUVER, B.C. — FIFA president Gianni Infantino did not hide from the most sensitive subject on Thursday at the organization’s Congress gathering.

Iran was the only one of FIFA’s 211 member nations not present after Canada’s government reportedly revoked visas it had given to Iranian soccer leaders.

This was the latest controversy involving Iran’s role in this summer’s World Cup, amid the U.S. and Israel’s ongoing conflict with the country.

Iran’s soccer federation had visa problems before the World Cup draw in Washington that were resolved just before the December event. And since the war started, President Donald Trump has weighed in several times, sometimes requiring Infantino to personally meet with Trump at the White House to smooth things over.

This time, Infantino had the stage to himself.

“Let me start at the outset, confirming straight away for those who maybe want to say something else or want to write something else,” he said, “that of course, Iran will be participating at the FIFA World Cup 2026. And of course, Iran will play in the United States of America.”

The crowd applauded when he said that.

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“And the reason for that is very simple, dear friends,” Infantino said. “It’s because we have to unite. We have to bring people together. It is my responsibility. It is our responsibility.”

Iran’s soccer federation requested in March to have its group games moved to Mexico. FIFA refused. Infantino then met with Iran’s team at its game against Costa Rica at the end of that month. That seemed to calm the waters.

But the story isn’t expected to dissipate until the World Cup — and perhaps well into the tournament. If Iran and the United States finish second in their respective groups, they’ll meet in the first knockout round in Arlington, Texas.

As for Iran’s delegation not being at the Congress, some of what happened remained hazy as of Thursday morning. But a source with knowledge of the matter offered a few details.

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The source said two members of what would have been Iran’s FIFA Congress delegation had permits to enter Canada. It was widely reported this week that Iranian Football Federation president Mehdi Taj was one of them. Taj formerly was an intelligence commander in Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, which Canada labeled a terrorist organization in 2024.

Iran’s state news agency said secretary-general Hedayat Mombeni and his top deputy, Hamed Momeni, also were in the delegation.

The source did not know which two people had the permits, only that two people had them. The source also said one person in Iran’s delegation was formally denied entry, and they all decided to leave after that.

A video that circulated on X (formerly Twitter) on Wednesday seemed to show Taj getting escorted back out of an immigration/customs area at Toronto Pearson Airport. It was unclear where the account, called The Iran Watcher, got the video or when it was filmed.

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The source said FIFA asked that Iran have a presence at the Congress. But the decision was always up to Canada’s government, not FIFA.

Though Canada’s foreign minister Anita Anand said she’d been told the denial of entry was “unintentional,” the Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada agency said otherwise in a statement to sports investigative outlet Josimar: “While we cannot comment on individual cases due to privacy laws, the government has been clear and consistent: [Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps] officials are inadmissible to Canada and have no place in our country.”

The first time Iran came up during the Congress was when FIFA secretary-general Mattias Grafström called the roll for attendance. As he named all 211 members, when he got to Iran, he simply said, “Absent.”

There was no reaction in the hall. Grafström took a breath, then moved on to the next nation in line, Iraq.

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At the end of the day, as the delegates left Vancouver’s convention center, they walked by a group of Iranian expatriates who were protesting the Iranian government.

“IRGC is terrorists — no deal with terrorists. Hey FIFA,” they chanted, referring to the Revolutionary Guard, followed by “What do we want? Regime change in Iran.”

A woman who gave her name as Inaz G.H. was a spokesperson for the protesters through a local group that organized the rally. She said when word arrived that Taj had been refused entry to Canada, “we felt at ease, maybe for one hour.”

The group was not happy with Infantino’s remarks, and does not want Iran to be allowed in the World Cup.

“If FIFA decides to let IRGC and Islamic Republic play in those [World Cup] games, they are walking against human rights,” she said. “They are doing everything against human rights. We do not accept it. … We’ll be in the streets to the day the Islamic Republic is gone, until the day King Reza Pahlavi [Iran’s exiled former Crown Prince] back in Iran.”

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The Congress began with remarks from Concacaf president, FIFA vice president, and Vancouver native Victor Montagliani. It’s the first time since 2016 that the event has been held in North America. The Congress usually happens at the start of the World Cup, but this time, it’s six weeks before the opening game.

As Montagliani praised various soccer and political leaders, the words he used for Canadian prime minister Mark Carney were notable.

“At a moment when the world is looking for principle of leadership, leadership that understands cooperation as a strength, his voice matters,” Montagliani said. And a moment later, speaking of the world at large, he added: “Right now, outside these walls, the world feels a little less stable. In many places, cooperation is weakening, trust is disappearing, and the rules that tie us together are being tested, if not ignored.”

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He didn’t say who he was speaking to or who was responsible for that.

U.S. Soccer had four people in its delegation: president Cindy Cone, CEO JT Batson, new chief operating officer Dan Helfrich, and longtime managing director of administration Tom King. Cone sat at one of the seats on main stage as a member of FIFA’s governing council.

All but King left the Congress early, with previously booked travel to Dallas for the National Soccer Hall of Fame induction ceremonies that started Thursday night. As a result, they did not speak with the media at the Congress, or at all during the week in town.

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