The escalating conflict in the Middle East has cast uncertainty over Iran’s involvement in the upcoming FIFA World Cup. Additionally, plans for Iran’s soccer team to train at Tucson’s Kino Sports Complex are now unclear.
Sarah Horvath, the facility’s director, has yet to receive any updates regarding changes to Iran’s plans but remains hopeful for more information soon. “We see sports as a great unifier,” Horvath commented. “Even when there’s all kinds of muck going on in the world, you have sports that unify us all. When it really breaks down to it, we are all a lot more alike than we are different.”
Conversely, Mehdi Taj, Iran’s top soccer official and a vice president of the Asian Football Confederation, expressed less optimism about the situation. “What is certain is that after this attack, we cannot be expected to look forward to the World Cup with hope,” he told ESPN.
In February’s end, Kino Sports Complex was confirmed as a training base for Iran’s national team. Now, both the city and the complex await further developments.
Güneş Murat Tezcür, a political science professor at Arizona State University, explained that banning Iran would be “extraordinary” but not without precedent. “There’s always a kind of element of connectivity when it comes to what countries get punished and what kind of countries are not punished,” he noted. “Typically, the more powerful hegemonic actors are the ones who get to decide what norms should be enforced and what norms should not be enforced.
“Iran is a terrible dictatorship, but then again there are other terrible dictatorships in the world. At the same time, Iran did not start the war. It was being attacked and now it’s basically retaliating and then obviously attacking some other countries in the (Persian) Gulf.”
The situation intensified following a U.S.-Israeli airstrike resulting in the death of Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Tensions had been building, particularly with drone attacks involving countries like Saudi Arabia, the host of the 2034 World Cup.
Historically, FIFA has banned countries from participating in the World Cup. Russia, for example, was prohibited after its invasion of Ukraine. Iran’s future participation might be in jeopardy, with possibilities ranging from a FIFA ban to a forced decision by President Donald Trump.
In 2024, FIFA expanded its operations to the United States, establishing new offices, including one in Trump Tower, New York. During the World Cup draw, President Trump received the inaugural FIFA Peace Prize, presented by FIFA President Gianni Infantino.
Tezcür remarked, “FIFA had always (been) very political and not very transparent. How FIFA evolved over the years, I think it became a success, commercially, in addition to this kind of U.S. connection. I think this has been a trend for a while and now we basically see the escalation of that trend.”
If Iran is excluded from the World Cup, FIFA’s rules offer two possibilities: either the group reduces from four to three teams, or Iran is replaced by another team. Finding a replacement might pose logistical challenges, as FIFA would need to finalize the decision before the tournament’s June start, leaving a tight three-month preparation window.
On December 5, 2025, Iran was grouped with New Zealand, Egypt, and Belgium. If Iran withdraws, the United Arab Emirates or Iraq could potentially take its spot, contingent on the World Cup playoffs set for late March, The Guardian reported. Should Iraq not qualify, the UAE would likely be the next candidate.
While nothing is confirmed, Iran’s participation in the World Cup hangs in the balance, with the next few months likely to be decisive for its soccer federation.
This article first appeared on Cronkite News and is republished here under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
