Italy's Plan to Replace Iran is Not Part of FIFA's Plans

WASHINGTON, THURSDAY — Many rumors are circulating regarding Iran's participation in the 2026 World Cup in the United States, Mexico, and Canada. The war with the U.S. has left Iran's fate hanging in uncertainty. Italy has been proposed as a replacement for Iran, which has not yet received safety guarantees for entering U.S. territory. However, this proposal has not yet been included in FIFA's plans.

The proposal was made by US special envoy Paolo Zampolli in an interview with the Financial Times. Zampolli believes Italy has a track record sufficient to replace Iran at the World Cup, which begins in less than 50 days. Zampolli acknowledged personal motives behind his proposal to nominate Italy.

"I emphasize that I have suggested to Trump and (FIFA President Gianni) Infantino that Italy replace Iran in the World Cup. I am a native Italian and it would be a dream to see the 'Azzurri' in the tournament held in the US. With four titles (world champions), they (Italy) have a sufficient track record to validate their participation," said Zampolli.

Italy failed to qualify for the main stage of the World Cup for the third consecutive time after losing in a penalty shootout against Bosnia and Herzegovina in the final playoff of the European qualifying zone.

The certainty of Iran's participation remains unclear following the statement by U.S. President Donald Trump, who mentioned that they should not be involved in the World Cup for safety reasons. Speculation regarding Iran's withdrawal intensified last March when Iran's Minister of Sports and Youth, Ahmad Donyamali, stated that his country would participate in the World Cup due to concerns over safety following airstrikes by the U.S. and Israel.

As a result, the replacement country for Iran has become a hot topic on social media. According to regulations, FIFA indeed has full authority to determine what happens if a team withdraws or is expelled from the competition. Article six of the World Cup regulations also states that FIFA can decide to replace a qualified team with another team.

If Iran ultimately fails to participate, many believe that the quota should be given to a team from the same confederation (Asia). Zampolli's proposal is quite unique considering that Italy is not a member of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). However, there are opinions stating that Italy deserves to replace Iran as it is the highest-ranked FIFA team (12) that failed to qualify in the qualifying round.

In addition to being an Italian citizen, Zampolli's proposal emerged to ease tensions between the United States and Italy. In recent days, Trump has been involved in a dispute with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni due to his criticism of the Supreme Leader of the Catholic Church, Pope Leo XIV, regarding his stance against the US-Iran war.

According to the BBC report, FIFA sources were unwilling to comment officially on Zampolli's proposal. However, they highlighted Infantino's statement last week that Iran would definitely attend. Iran is scheduled to face New Zealand (June 15) and Belgium (June 21) in Los Angeles, USA. In the final group stage match, Iran will face Egypt in Seattle on June 26.

"We hope that by that time the situation will be peaceful. That will certainly help. But Iran must come if they want to represent their people. They have qualified and they are actually a quite good team. They really want to play. They must play. Sports should be beyond politics," said Infantino.