By 
08–05–2026 | Dominik Miklósi | Asia Researcher, Global Human Rights Defence.
The FIFA Congress, which took place on April 30th, 2026, in Vancouver, Canada, promised to be exciting from both a political and a human rights perspective. This is partly due to the war between one of the host countries of the FIFA World Cup 2026, the US, and Iran, which has qualified for the competition held every four years.
On April 30th, 2026, the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) Congress was hosted in Vancouver, Canada, roughly a month and a half before the commencement of the FIFA World Cup 2026. However, the event wasn’t particularly interesting from a purely footballing perspective, nor in the context of Iran’s participation. This is because the Middle Eastern country is currently in war with the US, which is one of the three nations besides neighbouring Canada and Mexico 1that will stage the grandiose sporting spectacle this summer.
The war broke out on February 28th, 2026, following Israel and the US collectively attacking Iran, which had heavily adverse implications on the global economy. Since April 8th, 2026, there has been an active ceasefire agreement between the parties, with a peace deal yet to be negotiated.
Prior to the FIFA Congress, Al Jazeera highlighted in a report that politics and human rights will be in focus. It raised further concerns, as it was previously known, that Iran’s delegation won’t take part in the conference, as it returned home from Canada earlier that week due to mistreatment by immigration officers.
Despite all the theories and speculations whether Iran’s male national team will fly to North America this summer, Gianni Infantino, the President of FIFA, has quashed the rumours surrounding the tournament. He firmly stated that “[…] Iran will be participating at the FIFA World Cup 2026 and, of course, (IR) Iran will play in the United States of America. And the reason for that is very simple, dear friends, it is because we have to unite, we have to bring people together”.
In a change of events, barring Iran from participating at this year’s FIFA World Cup would give rise to several serious human rights concerns, including potential disregard of the right to non-discrimination based on the grounds of nationality. This situation must not arise, as players, staff, fans, and all others involved, shall be granted a fair, inclusive, and just tournament.
