World Cup of hypocrisy
How FIFA favours U.S. interests above fair global competition
As the U.S. and Israel carry out their ongoing military operations against Iran, serious questions exist regarding Iran’s participation in the upcoming FIFA World Cup this summer.
Their participation would already be a large ask under normal circumstances, but considering that the U.S. is one of the co-hosts of this summer’s World Cup, Iran's participation seems even more unlikely.
Israel and the U.S. began attacking Iran on Feb. 28. They targeted key missile infrastructure, sites related to their nuclear program, oil and gas sites, killing Iran’s leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in the process.
In response, Iran has closed the Strait of Hormuz, the main conduit for about 20 per cent of the world’s oil and natural gas. As things stand now, more than 2,000 people (civilian and military) have been killed by American and Israeli strikes in Iran.
Israel claims they plan to “intensify and expand” strikes on Iran, and the U.S. has extended a previously established deadline for Iran to open the Strait of Hormuz. If Iran refuses, the U.S. will begin striking Iranian power plants.
Speaking of threats, U.S. President Donald Trump appeared to threaten the Iranian soccer team on March 12 through a Truth Social post: “The Iran National Soccer Team is welcome to the World Cup, but I really don’t believe it is appropriate that they be there, for their own life and safety.”
The Iranian team responded later that day with a statement, saying that the World Cup is an international event that is not governed by any individual country.
"Iran's national team, with strength and a series of decisive victories achieved by the brave sons of Iran, was among the first teams to qualify for this major tournament,” the statement added.
While Iran has since petitioned FIFA to move its games out of the U.S. and into Mexico, a FIFA spokesperson said they were looking forward to teams participating "as per the match schedule announced on 6 December 2025."
Iran has since banned its team from travelling to hostile foreign nations, so it looks like they will not attend the World Cup.
This is just the most recent example of FIFA’s hypocrisy.
Last year, FIFA moved a Scotland vs. Belarus World Cup qualifier out of Belarus due to their role in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. There was also, of course, the FIFA Peace Prize saga, essentially a glorification ritual for Trump. Trump also had his fair share of antics go unpunished at last year's FIFA Club World Cup.
Even in other sports, the hypocrisy shown by global sporting bodies regarding what is and isn’t allowed has been astonishing. Russia has been banned from FIFA competition for quite some time now, yet FIFA has dismissed sanctioning Israel despite the pleas of multiple countries.
This is far from FIFA’s first moral failing. They are, by all metrics, a disgusting and money-hungry “non-profit” with corruption embedded at its very core. And honestly, I’m beyond fed up.
Ever since I was young, the World Cup has stood alone at the pinnacle of sporting competitions. However, FIFA has long since abandoned any pretense of hosting a fair global competition.
At this point, I truly believe the only opportunity for change is a large-scale boycott of the competition, or at least the games in the U.S.
A financial hit to FIFA, despite its non-profit status, is the only way they might consider doing anything that contradicts American interests at this point. As much as it pains me to say, if Mexico and Canada take a financial hit alongside the United States, it would still be worth it to hit FIFA where it hurts.
Lastly, I hope that, if Iran is actually unable to attend the World Cup in any capacity, other teams and their fans will press the issue as the tournament progresses, if not participate in an outright boycott of the competition.
This article originally appeared in Volume 46, Issue 12, published March 31, 2026.
