Donald Trump envoy urges FIFA to replace Iran with Italy at 2026 World Cup
A United States diplomatic envoy is pressing FIFA to replace Iran with Italy at the 2026 World Cup, claiming the backing of Donald Trump.
Paolo Zampolli, the US special representative for global partnerships, continues to campaign for the unprecedented switch ahead of the tournament in North America.
The Italian-American official believes there are significant doubts over whether the Iranian national team will actually participate.
Despite global football’s governing body insisting that the Middle Eastern nation will be present, Zampolli argues the current contingency regulations are flawed.
Lobbying the FIFA president
The 56-year-old revealed he has directly contacted Gianni Infantino regarding the geopolitical matter.
“With Trump’s support, I contacted Infantino because FIFA regulations are flawed in the replacement of a team that doesn’t show up,” Zampolli told La Gazzetta dello Sport.
The four-time world champions currently stand as the highest-ranked nation to have failed to qualify for the expanded 48-team tournament.
“If Iran didn’t participate in the World Cup, Italy would meet the right requirements,” he added.
Political tensions and Italian reluctance
Infantino has repeatedly maintained that the Asian qualifiers will take their rightful place at the upcoming competition.
However, the US diplomat questioned the reliability of those assurances and raised security concerns about the travelling supporters.
“The crux of the matter is understanding what the Iranians are thinking, and it’s very hard to trust them,” Zampolli stated.
Back in Europe, the radical proposal has been met with widespread skepticism among the Italian public and government officials.
Italian sports minister Andrea Abodi recently dismissed the backdoor entry route as entirely impossible.
The Azzurri famously missed out on consecutive global tournaments following disastrous qualification campaigns for both the 2018 and 2022 editions.
Despite the domestic resistance to qualifying by default, the American envoy remains convinced his homeland would embrace the opportunity once the first ball is kicked.