Trump's Special Envoy Proposed FIFA Replace Iran's National Team at the World Cup with a European Team. The Idea is Arbitrarily Strange
The proposal is an attempt to settle the conflict between Trump and the leadership of this country, with whom the US president had a quarrel.
Italy lost in a playoff match to the Bosnian national team on penalties. Photo: Image Photo Agency / Getty Images
Paolo Zampolli, Special Envoy of US President Donald Trump for Global Partnerships, proposed to FIFA to replace the Iranian national team with the Italian team at the upcoming 2026 FIFA World Cup, which will be held in the USA, Mexico, and Canada. Zampolli himself stated this, as reported by the Financial Times.
"I confirm that I proposed to Trump and Infantino to replace Iran with Italy at the World Cup," Zampolli told the newspaper.
He noted that he is of Italian origin, "and it would be a dream to see the 'Squadra Azzurra' at a tournament held in the USA."
According to the special envoy, Italy's four World Cup titles [1934, 1938, 1982, and 2006; only Brazil has more titles (five) — NN] justify proposing a spot for them in the championship.
According to FT sources familiar with the situation, this proposal is an attempt to restore relations between Donald Trump and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni after a conflict arose between them amid criticism he exchanged with Pope Leo XIV over the war with Iran.
The proposal to replace Iran with Italy was put forward after the latter's national team failed to qualify for the World Cup, which will be held in the USA, Mexico, and Canada in June-July.
The Italian national team failed to qualify for the FIFA World Cup, losing in the final playoff match to the Bosnian national team on penalties. This is the third consecutive World Cup that Italy has failed to reach. Notably, they won the European Championship in 2021.
After the start of the conflict in Iran, the leadership of that country's national football team repeatedly stated that they might not send the team to the World Cup. Iran is scheduled to play all three group stage matches in the USA. Proposals to move the games to Mexico were rejected by FIFA and the Mexican Football Federation.
There were also calls to replace Iran with another national team. But logic suggests that it should be a team from the Asian Football Confederation, and the United Arab Emirates national team is next in ranking.
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