FIFA said Tuesday that it is working with all participants to ensure the 2026 World Cup go on as planned after questions mounted over Iran’s matches in the United States.

The organization issued the statement after Iran’s sports minister said the country’s international team cannot be part of the global soccer tournament scheduled for June and July at sites in the United States, Mexico and Canada. Iran’s schedule includes two group stage contests at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood and another in Seattle.

“FIFA is in regular contact with all participating member associations, including (the Islamic Republic of) Iran, to discuss planning for the FIFA World Cup 2026,” FIFA said in a social media post. “FIFA is looking forward to all participating teams competing as per the match schedule announced on 6 December 2025.”

Iran’s participation in the tournament took the spotlight after the United States and Israel began airstrikes against the nation on Feb. 28. Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was killed during the first day of the attacks and has since been succeeded by his son, Mojtaba Khamenei.

Following recent reports, the following update can be attributed to a FIFA spokesperson:

FIFA is in regular contact with all participating member associations, including IR Iran, to discuss planning for the FIFA World Cup 2026. FIFA is looking forward to all participating teams… pic.twitter.com/t3Zk6tiKpF

— FIFA Media (@fifamedia) March 17, 2026

“Given that this corrupt government assassinated our leader, under no circumstances can we participate in the World Cup,” Iranian Sports Minister Ahmad Donyamali previously said on Iranian state television.

Iran is scheduled to play two group stage matches at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood against New Zealand on June 15 and Belgium on June 21 before a matchup against Egypt in Seattle on June 26.

On Tuesday, Iran’s Embassy in Mexico said the country is negotiating with FIFA to move Iran’s World Cup matches from the U.S. to Mexico after President Donald Trump discouraged the team from attending the tournament, citing safety concerns. The Embassy posted a statement attributed to Iranian soccer federation president Mehdi Taj saying Iran wants to move its group stage matches to Mexico to ensure the safety of players and officials.

“When Trump has explicitly stated that he cannot ensure the security of the Iranian national team, we will certainly not travel to America,” the statement said. “We are currently negotiating with FIFA to hold Iran’s matches in the World Cup in Mexico.”

FIFA President Gianni Infantino said earlier this week that President Trump had told him the Iranian national team would be welcome to compete in the United States despite the tensions.

Three-in-ten Iranian Americans, or 230,000, live in and around Los Angeles, according to the Pew Research Center. Fans from Iran were already banned from entering the U.S. in the first iteration of the travel ban announced by the Trump administration.

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FIFA World Cup regulations give the governing body broad oversight of what to do when a federation withdraws, but Section 6.7 states, “If any Participating Member Association withdraws and/or is excluded from
the FIFA World Cup 26, FIFA shall decide on the matter at its sole discretion and take whatever action is deemed necessary. FIFA may decide to replace the Participating Member Association in question with another association.”

The federation has been part of every tournament since South Africa 2010. Iran qualified for the World Cup out of the Asian Football Confederation.

Iraq, the top non-qualifier from the AFC, was scheduled to play the winner of Surname and Bolivia in Mexico later this month in a playoff for a final spot at the World Cup. Any federation from the Middle East will likely face travel challenges due to the closure of airspace in the region.

The team has never reached the knockout round in six FIFA World Cup appearances. Iran’s best World Cup performance came at Russia 2018 when they were within a point of advancing from a tough group made up of Spain, Portugal and Morocco.

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The team drew both home and away with Uzbekistan, but faced little resistance in second-round qualifying for the World Cup with wins over Turkmenistan and Hong Kong, China. They dominated in the third round, securing qualification behind two goals from Mehdi Tarami in a 2-2 draw in another matchup with Uzbekistan in March 2025.

The minister’s comments came as some member’s of the Iranian women’s soccer team accepted humanitarian visas that allow them to remain in Australia permanently. The team arrived in Australian for the Asian Women’s Cup before the U.S.-Israel strikes.

The World Cup begins on June 11, 2026 with Mexico playing the opener in Mexico City and co-hosts USA and Canada hosting their openers in Los Angeles and Toronto a day later.

The group stage lasts until June 27, then the top two teams in each group along with the eight best third-place finishers will advance to the Round of 32 beginning on June 28.

The remaining winning teams will then play in the Round of 16 starting on July 4. The quarterfinals will be held on July 9, and the semifinals will be July 14 and July 15, leading up to the championship match at MetLife Stadium on July 19.

SoFi Stadium in Inglewood is one of the venues that will host the international soccer tournament. The sparkling spaceship-like structure opened in 2020 on the site of the Hollywood Park Racetrack. The stadium has a seating capacity of about 70,000, an artificial surface and a fixed roof.

Other U.S. host cities are Atlanta, Boston, Dallas, Houston, Kansas City, Miami, New York/New Jersey, Philadelphia, Seattle and the Bay Area.

Guadalajara, Mexico City and Monterrey are Mexico’s host cities. Toronto and Vancouver will host matches in Canada.