World Cup to Go On as Planned, FIFA Official Says

FIFA Chief Operating Officer Heimo Schirgi said this summer's World Cup will not be postponed due to the war between Iran, the US and Israel.

“Reporter DW (Deutsche Welle) March 10, 2026 | 12:17 pm TEMPO”

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"The World Cup is too big," he was quoted by NBC 5 in Dallas, and he said he hopes all qualified teams will be able to participate.

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"At some stage, we will have a resolution, and the World Cup will go on, obviously," Schirgi said, adding that world football's governing body is monitoring the situation.

This comes amidst worries that Iran — which was drawn to play in Group G with Belgium, Egypt and New Zealand — will not be able to participate due to the tournament being hosted by the US, together with Canada and Mexico.

DW published the report on March 10, 2026 at 12:17 pm from TEMPO.CO, Jakarta.

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Five Iranian women's national team players were granted humanitarian visas in Australia amid fears of persecution back home.

“Reporter DW (Deutsche Welle) March 10, 2026 | 12:17 pm TEMPO”

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Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said, "Australians have been moved by the plight of these brave women," adding, "They're safe here, and they should feel at home here."

According to Albanese, all other members of Iran's squad are welcome to receive help, but it was up to them to accept the offer.

Australian police took the five Iran squad members from their hotel in Gold Coast, moving them to a "safe location" after their asylum requests, and Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke, who met the five players upon the completion of their humanitarian visas, said they were "excited" about their future lives in Australia and that "I don't want to begin to imagine how difficult that decision is for each of the individual women, but certainly last night it was joy, it was relief."