The Iran war, the logistical headaches of the World Cup and the unresolved issue of Russia’s international ban will be topics of debate among approximately 1,600 delegates from more than 200 member associations.
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Iran’s absence already threatens to overshadow the meeting.
Officials from the Iranian Football Federation (FFIRI) abruptly left Canada after landing in Toronto earlier this week, abandoning their trip to Vancouver.
Iranian media said FFIRI president Mehdi Taj, a former member of Tehran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), and two colleagues flew home after being “insulted” by Canadian immigration officials.
Canada, which designated the IRGC a terrorist organization in 2024, said on Wednesday that individuals linked to the force were “inadmissible.”
“While we cannot comment on individual cases due to privacy laws, the government has been clear and consistent: IRGC officials are inadmissible to Canada and have no place in our country,” Canada’s immigration agency said in a statement.
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The episode adds new uncertainty to Iran’s status in the World Cup, already cloudy since war broke out in the Middle East on February 28 with a wave of attacks by the United States and Israel.
Iranian soccer officials said last month that they had suggested moving the United States’ three World Cup group matches to co-host Mexico, a plan that was quickly rejected by FIFA president Gianni Infantino.
Infantino told AFP that Iran will play the World Cup “where it should be, according to the draw.”
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio insisted last week that Iranian soccer players would be welcome to compete in the tournament.
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But Rubio warned that the United States could still bar entry to members of the Iranian delegation with ties to the IRGC.
– Infantino under the magnifying glass –
The FIFA chief arrives at Thursday’s meeting facing scrutiny following criticism over skyrocketing World Cup ticket prices and his close friendship with US President Donald Trump.
FIFA announced on Tuesday that it had increased financial distributions for the World Cup to nearly $900 million, up from the initial $727 million announced in December.
The move came after several World Cup-qualified teams warned they risked losing money by competing in the sprawling tournament, citing the high cost of travel, taxes and overall operations.
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Meanwhile, human rights groups have called on soccer’s supreme president to use his upcoming speech to FIFA delegates to provide assurances that World Cup visitors are not at risk of being caught up in the Trump administration’s draconian immigration crackdown.
“FIFA president Gianni Infantino has yet to explain publicly how fans, journalists and local communities will be safe from arbitrary arrests, mass deportations and repression of free expression,” Amnesty International’s head of economic and social justice, Steve Cockburn, said on Wednesday.
“This FIFA Congress should be the time to do so, and the global football community must receive more than empty platitudes,” Cockburn added in a statement.
Infantino also faces calls to abolish the FIFA Peace Prize, which it awarded to Trump during last December’s World Cup draw in Washington.
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“We want (the award) to be abolished,” Norwegian football association president Lise Klaveness told reporters this week. “We do not believe it is part of FIFA’s mandate to award such an award.”
Thursday’s Congress could also address the issue of Russia’s current ban on international football, which has been in place since the 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
Infantino spoke out earlier this year in favor of lifting the ban imposed on Russia.
“We have to (consider Russia’s readmission). Definitely,” Infantino told British channel Sky News.
“This ban has achieved nothing, it has only created more frustration and hatred.”
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