Italy replacing Iran in the World Cup? Trump envoy takes joke seriously.

Written by Han Bing. Since the Middle East crisis erupted in late February, whether Iran can travel to the United States in June to participate in the World Cup has been a hot topic among global media and fans. Previously, some fans suggested that if Iran cannot attend the World Cup, the highest-ranked team that missed qualification—namely Italy—should take its place. At that time, such a fantastical proposal was seen merely as a form of sarcasm. However, unexpectedly, just 50 days before the World Cup kicks off, someone actually took this absurd suggestion seriously: on April 22, U.S. Global Partnership Envoy Zampoli told the Financial Times in an interview that he had requested President Trump and FIFA to let Italy replace Iran in the World Cup.

The news caused widespread astonishment. Firstly, the Iranian Football Federation recently announced it will participate in the World Cup as scheduled, has released a 30-player national team roster, and began training preparations on April 20; Iran’s football association even started planning its trip to the U.S. and arranging at least one pre-World Cup friendly match there. Secondly, when media and fans previously discussed which team should replace Iran if it cannot participate, considerations focused more on “procedural fairness”: either the UAE, which lost to Iraq in the Asian playoff, or the loser of the intercontinental playoff final playing an extra match, with the winner replacing Iran. No one seriously considered Italy—a European team that lost its European playoff—as a replacement; suggestions about Italy were more of a joke than a serious discussion.

But Zampoli, who holds the position of U.S. government envoy, is different. His proposal is not just a personal idea but a serious political stance. The 56-year-old Zampoli, born in Milan, is an Italian-American socialite and modeling agent. He has a close personal relationship with President Trump; in 1998, he introduced Melania Knauss to Trump, acting as a matchmaker. Last March, he was appointed by Trump as the U.S. “Global Partnership Envoy.”

Zampoli clearly stated his motivation: “I am Italian, and it would be my dream to see the Azzurri playing in the World Cup hosted in the United States. They have four World Cup titles and are fully qualified to participate.” British media analyzed that Zampoli’s move aims to ease tensions between Trump and Italian Prime Minister Meloni, who previously clashed over U.S.-Israel positions regarding the war with Iran.

Nevertheless, this absurd and whimsical suggestion might not be entirely impossible if decided by Trump. Moreover, FIFA regulations never specify in detail the principles and procedures for selecting a replacement team if a qualified team cannot participate; there is only a loose rule stating “FIFA may decide to replace the relevant participating member association with another association,” providing ample room for this absurd proposal to become reality. When asked about this issue, Trump said he hadn’t thought much about it before: “That’s an interesting question, I’ll think about it a bit.”

Although the U.S. and Iran are in a negotiation phase, and Iran just announced opening its airspace, the U.S. has advised American citizens in Iran to leave as soon as possible, which is widely seen as a sign of escalating tensions. Furthermore, Trump never retracted his statement that “the safety of the Iranian delegation in the U.S. cannot be guaranteed.” The Iranian government also insists that it absolutely will not allow Iranian athletes to compete in hostile countries, including the United States. All these factors indicate that Iran still faces the possibility of not participating in the World Cup.

Italian Sports Minister Abodi showed some humility, stating that this proposal is firstly impossible and secondly inappropriate: “World Cup qualification should be earned on the field.” But Italian legend Zoff believes that although “unethical,” Italy should seize the opportunity if it arises. Marca reported that FIFA rejected the suggestion, while L’Équipe believes that although FIFA president Infantino is Italian-Swiss, he will likely maintain his traditional stance against UEFA and not increase UEFA’s participating teams.

However, European and American media mentioned last year’s Club World Cup, where FIFA exercised its “absolute power” to decide participating teams, granting a spot to Inter Miami solely to leverage Messi’s appeal to boost the event’s popularity—according to original rules, the host should have been LA Galaxy, the 2024 MLS champion, while Inter Miami only won the Eastern Conference and regular-season titles, thus not originally qualified. Regardless, if FIFA truly dares to defy universal condemnation over this qualification issue, it would be the biggest scandal in World Cup history.