A controversial proposal floated by a senior Trump administration official to replace Iran’s men’s national soccer team with four-time World Cup champion Italy at the upcoming 2026 World Cup co-hosted by the U.S. has been firmly rejected by top Italian sports and political leaders, drawing sharp condemnation from Iranian officials as well.
The idea of a last-minute roster swap was first reported by the Financial Times, which revealed that Paolo Zampolli, the U.S. Special Envoy for Global Connections appointed by former President Donald Trump, had pitched the swap directly to Trump and FIFA President Gianni Infantino. Zampolli, a long-time associate of the Trump family who famously introduced Melania Knauss to Donald Trump at a 1998 New York Fashion Week event, argued that Italy’s four World Cup titles and legacy in the sport justified giving the four-time champions a spot at the U.S.-hosted tournament, calling it a dream for all Italian soccer fans.
However, Italian leaders across the board have dismissed the proposal outright. Italian Sports Minister Andrea Abodi laid out the clear Italian position Thursday, noting two core objections: first, the swap is logistically and procedurally impossible, and second, it is a fundamentally bad idea. Luciano Buonfiglio, president of the Italian Olympic Committee which oversees all national sporting programs, went further, saying he would personally feel offended by the suggestion. “You need to deserve to go to the World Cup,” Buonfiglio stated, echoing a widespread sentiment that berths in the tournament must be earned through qualifying, not political deal-making. Italian Finance Minister Giancarlo Giorgetti even labeled the proposal “shameful.”
Crucially, Iran has given no indication it plans to withdraw from the tournament. Despite ongoing regional military conflict and public comments from Trump discouraging Iran’s participation over safety concerns, the Iranian national team continues preparations for its group-stage matches, with a government spokesperson confirming this week the squad is getting ready for “proud and successful participation” in the June tournament. FIFA has repeatedly reaffirmed that Iran’s scheduled matches in the Los Angeles area and Seattle will proceed as originally planned, and has refused to entertain proposals to relocate Iran’s games to co-host Mexico.
The Iranian Embassy in Rome issued a scathing rebuke of Zampolli’s suggestion on the social platform X, arguing that soccer should belong to athletes and fans, not political maneuvering. “Italy earned its soccer prowess on the field, not thanks to political maneuvers,” the embassy’s statement read. “The attempt to exclude Iran from the World Cup shows only the ‘moral bankruptcy’ of the United States, which fears even the presence of 11 young Iranians on the field of play.”
Procedurally, FIFA’s tournament rules leave limited room for a swap outside of qualifying protocols. Iran qualified for the tournament as one of eight AFC (Asian Football Confederation) allocated berths. Under standard precedent, if Iran were to withdraw, the next highest-ranked unqualified Asian team — the United Arab Emirates — would be first in line to replace it. While FIFA’s official rules do grant the governing body discretionary power to replace a withdrawing team with “another association” without explicitly requiring the replacement to come from the same confederation, that provision has never been used to facilitate a politically driven swap of this nature.
As of publication, the White House has not issued any formal response to requests for comment on the proposal. FIFA also declined to comment on the reported suggestion, while the Department of Homeland Security’s World Cup task force also offered no statement on the matter. Italy, meanwhile, failed to qualify for the 2026 tournament, marking the third consecutive World Cup where the four-time champions missed out on qualification. The failure already led to the resignations of both the Italian national team head coach and the president of the Italian Soccer Federation following the qualifying campaign.