Iranian football officials will soon meet with FIFA in Zurich about their World Cup matches in the United States in June.
Iran’s top football official Mehdi Taj said Friday «we have many issues to discuss» as he returned from Canada, where he did not attend the annual FIFA congress in Vancouver on Thursday.
FIFA Secretary General Mattias Grafström has invited an Iranian delegation to the headquarters before May 20, a person familiar with the proposal told the Associated Press on Friday. The person spoke on condition of anonymity due to the ongoing sensitivity of the issue.
That target date in Zurich is three weeks before the Iranian team will be in the US, where they will stay at a training base in Tucson, Arizona, to prepare for three group matches in Inglewood, California and Seattle.
“Our position is that we will have a meeting with FIFA soon,” Taj told Iranian media on Friday.
Iran is an Asian football power, but its ability and willingness to attend the World Cup have been in doubt since the US and Israel launched military strikes on February 28. The tournament is co-organized by Canada and Mexico,
On Thursday, FIFA President Gianni Infantino opened his keynote speech to global football leaders – with only Iran missing from the 211 member federations – and re-emphasized that Iran will come to play in the US as scheduled.
Later Thursday, US President Donald Trump confirmed his support for the Iranian team at the White House, adding: “If Gianni said so, I’m fine.”
Trump and Infantino have worked closely together on preparations for the World Cup, which, outside of Iran with fans from several African countries, pose challenges in terms of granting entry visas and security concerns.
Taj and two other Iranian officials had problems landing in Toronto this week on their way to Vancouver, where they were expected at FIFA’s annual meeting.
Taj, who is also vice-president of the Asian Football Association, detailed the problems with Canadian authorities on Friday, although he said he has not been deported.
“In Canada they asked us: ‘Are you a member of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps?’ We told them: ‘In Iran there are 90 million of us IRGC,'» Taj was quoted as saying in Iranian media.
After being held at Toronto airport for two hours, the Iranian football delegation, which had arrived from Istanbul, was told it could continue the journey.
“There was some discussion and he said, ‘It’s up to you,’ and then we decided to go back as a group” to Istanbul, Taj said. «They did not officially deport us. There is nothing in our file that is labeled as deportation, but in practice it was.»
Taj had a valid visa to enter Canada after he was denied a visa by the US to attend the World Cup draw in Washington, DC, on December 5. At that event, Infantino presented Trump with the first FIFA Peace Prize.
Iran has World Cup group matches against New Zealand, Belgium and Egypt respectively from June 15 to 26. The first two games will be at the Los Angeles Rams’ NFL Stadium and the third will be at the Seattle Seahawks Stadium.
If Iran finishes second in its group, the team could face the United States in the round of 16 at the Dallas Cowboys Stadium on July 3.
The Iranian football league was closed after the start of the war and will not resume until the World Cup. The team played two warm-up games in March at a training camp in Antalya, Turkey, where it could return this month in preparation for the World Cup that starts on June 11.
Published on May 2, 2026
