SANYA, China, April 23 (Xinhua) -- Iran has not yet made a final decision on whether to participate in the 2026 FIFA World Cup, Secretary General of the Iranian National Olympic Committee Mahdi Alinejad said on Thursday.
Speaking to the media at the beach soccer venue of the Asian Beach Games in Sanya, Alinejad said the matter must be decided by the government.
"Iran's government has not made a final decision yet, but the team is preparing for it," he said. "Our situation is special because the World Cup will be held in the United States. The matter must be decided by the government as the safety of athletes is the top priority."
The 2026 FIFA World Cup will be held from June 11 to July 19 in the United States, Canada and Mexico. A traditional powerhouse in Asian football, Iran has qualified for the finals and was drawn in Group G with Belgium, Egypt and New Zealand, with all three group matches originally scheduled to be played in the United States.
Since the outbreak of the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran, whether the team will participate in the tournament as scheduled has remained uncertain.
According to a report by the Associated Press on April 16, FIFA President Gianni Infantino said Iran would participate in the World Cup "for sure". However, Alinejad said: "That was Infantino's idea. As I said, we have not made a decision yet. I hope the team can go to the World Cup and participate, but it is not my decision, it is the government's."
Iran's Mehr News Agency reported on April 19 that the team would follow the coaching staff's plan to hold training camps in preparation for the 2026 World Cup, and it also released a 30-man squad list.
The Financial Times reported on April 22 that an envoy to U.S. President Donald Trump had asked FIFA to replace Iran with Italy at the World Cup.
According to Alinejad, Iranian sport has suffered severe losses as more than 100 athletes have died in the war and sports facilities in the country have been badly damaged, especially the Azadi Sports Complex, which was built for the 1974 Asian Games.
Despite the difficulties, nearly 100 members of the Iranian sports delegation traveled via Turkmenistan before flying to Beijing and then transferring to Sanya to attend the 6th Asian Beach Games as scheduled. ■
