Trump says not ‘appropriate’ for Iran to participate in the World Cup in US

US president, who won the FIFA Peace Prize, says Iran’s football team would be welcome but should not come for its own safety.Published On 12 Mar 2026Donald Trump has said that it would not be appropriate for Iran’s national football team to participate in the FIFA-world-cup" class="entity-link entity-event" data-entity-id="1741" data-entity-type="event">FIFA World Cup, which will be co-hosted by the United States in the summer.The US president’s comment on Thursday came after Iranian authorities ruled out taking part in the football tournament amid the US-Israeli assault against their country.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Iran’s president sets terms to end the war: Is an off-ramp in sight?list 2 of 3Up to 3.2 million people displaced across Iran amid US-Israeli attacks: UNlist 3 of 3US military ‘not ready’ to escort oil ships through Hormuz, official saysend of list“The Iran National Soccer Team is welcome to The World Cup, but I really don’t believe it is appropriate that they be there, for their own life and safety,” Trump wrote in a social media post without elaborating.This year’s World Cup, co-hosted by the US, Mexico and Canada, is set to kick off on June 11.Iran’s group-stage games — against New Zealand, Belgium and Egypt — are scheduled to take place in the US, in the Los Angeles area and in Seattle, Washington.FIFA President Gianni Infantino, who is close to the US president, said in a social media post on Wednesday that Trump told him that the Iranian team would be welcomed in the US.“We all need an event like the FIFA-world-cup" class="entity-link entity-event" data-entity-id="1741" data-entity-type="event">FIFA World Cup to bring people together now more than ever, and I sincerely thank the President of the United States for his support, as it shows once again that Football Unites the World,” Infantino said.The FIFA president established a “peace prize” and awarded it to Trump in December of last year, drawing criticism from rights advocates who questioned the football governing body’s commitment to political “neutrality”.Less than four months after receiving the FIFA Peace Prize, Trump launched an all-out assault against Iran that has turned into a regional war, killing nearly 2,000 people and displacing many more.