The president of Iran’s soccer federation said Sunday the nation’s participation in this summer’s FIFA World Cup in North America is in doubt after the U.S.-Israeli airstrikes in Iran plunged the country into war.
“What is certain is that after this attack, we cannot be expected to look forward to the World Cup with hope,” Mehdi Taj, head of Iranian soccer’s governing body, told sports news outlet Varzesh3 following the airstrikes.
Uncertainty around Iran’s future is growing as the country sustains a second day of airstrikes after Saturday’s attacks led to the deaths of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and several other Iranian senior officials.
President Donald Trump, who received the inaugural FIFA Peace Prize last year ahead of the U.S. co-hosting this summer’s World Cup, said Sunday he expects fighting in Iran to continue for potentially four more weeks.
FIFA secretary general Mattias Grafström said the organization remains committed to facilitating all qualified teams’ participation in the tournament this summer.
“I read the news the same way as you did this morning … Our focus is to have a safe World Cup with everybody participating,” Grafstrom said during a press conference in Cymru, Wales, on Saturday.
Uncertainty around the future of Iran’s leadership complicates existing tensions between the Trump administration and Iran’s World Cup delegation. The State Department did not approve all visa applications for representatives from Iran who planned to travel to Washington in December for the World Cup draw. In response, Iran threatened to boycott the ceremony, forcing FIFA to mediate the disagreement.
Fans who are Iranian nationals will have difficulty traveling to the U.S. for the World Cup following a travel ban imposed by the Trump administration last year on people from 19 countries, including Iran.
Andrew Giuliani, head of the White House’s World Cup task force, praised Trump for taking action against Iran while downplaying the consequences the strikes may have on the tournament.
“My heart is with the thousands of American service members’ families who were victims of the Ayatollah’s ‘Death to America’ mission. The head of the snake spreading that vile message has now been cut off, and I pray the Iranian people will seize their liberty,” Giuliani wrote Saturday on social media. “We’ll deal with soccer games tomorrow–tonight, we celebrate their opportunity for freedom.”
Iran is scheduled to play its first two games against New Zealand and Belgium in Los Angeles, before travelling to Seattle for a match against Egypt.
Sophia Cai contributed to this report.