FIFA President Gianni Infantino guaranteed this Monday, in an extensive interview given to the Mexican television station Univision, that Iran will indeed participate in the World Cup, despite the war with the United States of America, one of the organizers of the tournament, along with Canada and Mexico.
“This is fundamental, and we all have to defend it together. We live in a very complex geopolitical context. We don’t have the possibility of solving geopolitical problems and conflicts, but we do have the possibility of uniting, of creating opportunities to unite the world, physically,” began the leader of the organization that governs international football.
“There are 48 countries, with millions of supporters, who will come to Mexico, Canada, and the United States of America, and they will come with a spirit of peace, a spirit of celebration, because they want to be together and they want to celebrate. We have to defend… Yes, in the world, there are divisions. Our objective, our task, our vision, and our work is unity, building bridges for everyone,” he added.
Gianni Infantino also acknowledged that the task is not easy: “Of course, we live in the real world, and we know what the situation is, which is very complicated, but we are working and we will ensure that Iran plays this World Cup in the best possible conditions. A national team, whether it’s Iran’s or any other, is the people’s team, the team of all the people.”
“From the people who are with the government, to the people who are against the government, in any country, whether from the opposition or those in power. It’s the same, it’s the people, and Iran represents its people, whether they live in Iran or outside of Iran. They qualified for this World Cup in terms of sporting merit; it was a team that qualified very early,” he emphasized.
“It’s a football country. We want them to play, and they will play in the World Cup. There are no plans B, C, or D. It’s plan A. We will unite, together, in harmony and happiness. That’s what we have to do, and we will do it,” concluded the Italian-Swiss official, who has held this position since 2016, following the controversial dismissal of Joseph Blatter.
“Iran is not in a position to participate in the World Cup.”
This stance by Gianni Infantino comes less than a month after the Iranian Minister of Sport himself…
