‘Can’t solve geopolitical conflicts’: FIFA president Infantino rules out World Cup schedule changes despite Iran-US tensions

Amid the raging West Asia conflicts involving the United States, Israel, and Iran, FIFA president Gianni Infantino on Thursday said that he is “looking forward to all teams participating” at the 2026 World Cup to “compete in a spirit of fair play and mutual respect.” Despite Iran beginning negotiations with FIFA earlier this week to move their World Cup matches out from the United States to Mexico, Infantino ruled out changes to the original schedule. “We have a schedule. We will soon have the 48 competing teams confirmed, and we want the World Cup to go ahead as scheduled,” Infantino was quoted as saying from Zurich in an online FIFA Council meeting, according to AFP. The World Cup is slated to kick off on June 11 in the U.S., Canada and Mexico, with Iran scheduled to play two group matches in Los Angeles and one in Seattle. Belgium, Egypt and New Zealand are Iran’s opponents in ​Group G. Iran had booked their place in a fourth successive ​World Cup by topping their group in the third round of Asian qualifying last year. After U.S. President Donald Trump recently said that he could not assure the safety of the players during the World Cup, Iran doubled down on their demand to move their games out of the United States. “When Trump has explicitly stated that he cannot ensure ​the security of the Iranian national team, we will certainly not travel to America,” said Iranian football ‌president Mehdi Taj on X. “We are negotiating with FIFA to hold Iran’s World Cup matches in Mexico,” Taj said on the Iranian embassy in Mexico’s X account. Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum on Tuesday said that her country would be open to hosting Iran’s first-round matches if required.Story continues below this ad However, Infantino downplayed questions over a possible change in the scheduling, insisting that the world body could not resolve geopolitical conflicts. “FIFA can’t solve geopolitical conflicts, but we are committed to using the power of football and the World Cup to build bridges and promote peace as our thoughts are with those who are suffering as a consequence of the ongoing wars,” added Infantino.

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