President Trump special envoy pushing for Italy to take Iran's World Cup spot
Special envoy to President Donald Trump, Paolo Zampolli, is said to be pushing for Italy to take Iran's FIFA World Cup spot this summer, amidst the ongoing uncertainty surrounding the latter's participation
A special envoy to President Donald Trump is seeking to convince FIFA to give Italy Iran's spot in the upcoming World Cup -Credit:Michael Nagle/Bloomberg via Getty Images A U. S. special envoy has called on FIFA to replace war-torn Iran with Italy at the upcoming World Cup, set to be held in the United States, Mexico, and Canada.
This comes amidst the backdrop of war in Iran, with the U. S. and Israel having begun military operations in the region back in late February.
Currently, a ceasefire is in place to allow for peace talks to take place, with President Donald Trump having announced on Tuesday that he had opted to extend this “until such time as their proposal is submitted, and discussions are concluded, one way or the other. ” All the while, from a soccer perspective, question marks remain regarding Iran’s potential participation in the World Cup, for which they qualified back in March 2025. In December, they were drawn into Group G, alongside Belgium, Egypt, and New Zealand.
World Cup host city planning complementary transport amidst rocketing prices around the country New Jersey officials confirm eye-watering World Cup train prices after Governor's FIFA criticism Iran qualified for the 2026 FIFA World Cup back in March 2025 -Credit:Photo by ATTA KENARE/AFP via Getty Images However, due to the conflict, Iran has remained noncommittal regarding whether or not it will participate, having sent FIFA a request to move their group games to Mexico. While this was subsequently denied by FIFA president Gianni Infantino , Iran’s Minister of Sport Ahmad Donyamali recently told Anadolu, via Reuters , “Our request to FIFA to relocate Iran's games from the U. S.