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03-06-2026, 04:36 AM
The top executives of soccer’s world governing body were sitting inside a castle in South Wales last weekend when they suddenly became distracted by their buzzing phones. They had gathered at an annual rules meeting to review tweaks to substitutions and video replay. But now the FIFA brass was being interrupted by a far more pressing matter.
The U.S., a co-host of this summer’s World Cup, had launched what it called “a major combat operation” against Iran, one of the countries due to play in the tournament. And no one at FIFA was quite sure what it entailed.
All they knew was that the 2026 World Cup was heading into uncharted territory.
“Of course, we’ll monitor the developments around all issues around the world,” FIFA secretary-general Mattias Grafstrom said. “Our focus is to have a safe World Cup with everybody participating.”
Geopolitics have always been a feature of these international sporting extravaganzas, but not since the last world war have global developments collided so violently with the planet’s most popular event. In the space of a few weeks, the World Cup organized across the U.S., Canada, and Mexico, has faced a growing list of serious questions over its ability to go ahead as planned.
Beyond the situation in Iran, FIFA is watching events in Guadalajara, where cartel-related violence has engulfed a Mexican city that is supposed to host four matches in June. The tournament’s organizers are also unsure of how to deal with the Trump administration’s travel ban, which came into effect on Jan. 1 and could prevent fans and even staff of the Haitian national team from following their squad to the World Cup.
All of which has left FIFA in an uncomfortable game of wait-and-see with less than 100 days to go before the tournament kicks off.
“What is certain is that after this attack, we cannot be expected to look forward to the World Cup with hope,” the president of Iran’s soccer association, Mehdi Taj, told national media.
Iran is due to play its first two matches of the tournament on June 15 and June 21 outside Los Angeles, home to one of the largest Iranian diaspora communities in America. The team is then supposed to move on to Seattle for its third group game. In between, Iran is expected to shuttle back and forth to its World Cup base camp in Tucson, Ariz.
Should the team pull out, it would be unprecedented in the modern history of the World Cup. No qualified nation has failed to send a squad in more than half a century. And for the moment, organizers aren’t discussing contingency plans.
The U.S., a co-host of this summer’s World Cup, had launched what it called “a major combat operation” against Iran, one of the countries due to play in the tournament. And no one at FIFA was quite sure what it entailed.
All they knew was that the 2026 World Cup was heading into uncharted territory.
“Of course, we’ll monitor the developments around all issues around the world,” FIFA secretary-general Mattias Grafstrom said. “Our focus is to have a safe World Cup with everybody participating.”
Geopolitics have always been a feature of these international sporting extravaganzas, but not since the last world war have global developments collided so violently with the planet’s most popular event. In the space of a few weeks, the World Cup organized across the U.S., Canada, and Mexico, has faced a growing list of serious questions over its ability to go ahead as planned.
Beyond the situation in Iran, FIFA is watching events in Guadalajara, where cartel-related violence has engulfed a Mexican city that is supposed to host four matches in June. The tournament’s organizers are also unsure of how to deal with the Trump administration’s travel ban, which came into effect on Jan. 1 and could prevent fans and even staff of the Haitian national team from following their squad to the World Cup.
All of which has left FIFA in an uncomfortable game of wait-and-see with less than 100 days to go before the tournament kicks off.
“What is certain is that after this attack, we cannot be expected to look forward to the World Cup with hope,” the president of Iran’s soccer association, Mehdi Taj, told national media.
Iran is due to play its first two matches of the tournament on June 15 and June 21 outside Los Angeles, home to one of the largest Iranian diaspora communities in America. The team is then supposed to move on to Seattle for its third group game. In between, Iran is expected to shuttle back and forth to its World Cup base camp in Tucson, Ariz.
Should the team pull out, it would be unprecedented in the modern history of the World Cup. No qualified nation has failed to send a squad in more than half a century. And for the moment, organizers aren’t discussing contingency plans.
