Fatimah Otunsanya
United States President, Donald Trump, has said he is unconcerned about whether Iran national football team participates in the 2026 FIFA World Cup, amid growing uncertainty surrounding the country’s involvement in the tournament.
Trump made the remark in an interview with Politico on Tuesday, saying, “I really don’t care,” if Iran takes part in the competition.
“I think Iran is a very badly defeated country. They’re running on fumes,” he stated.
Questions have emerged over Iran’s participation following rising tensions in the Middle East and concerns about whether Iranian officials and supporters would be allowed entry into the United States, one of the host nations of the tournament.
The US and Israel launched coordinated strikes on Iranian targets on Saturday.
Iran later retaliated with missile and drone attacks on American and allied facilities across the Gulf region, raising fears of a wider regional conflict.
The global football governing body, FIFA, has traditionally sought to keep politics separate from the World Cup, which will be hosted across the United States, Canada and Mexico.
Iran had earlier qualified for the tournament and is scheduled to face New Zealand national football team, Belgium national football team and Egypt national football team during the group stage.
However, Iran’s football federation president, Mehdi Taj, recently suggested that the current security situation could affect the country’s plans to participate.
“What is certain is that after this attack, we cannot be expected to look forward to the World Cup with hope,” Taj told the Iranian sports outlet Varzesh3 following the strikes.
The tournament, scheduled for 2026, will be the first World Cup hosted by three countries and is expected to attract millions of fans from around the world.
