US envoy lobbies FIFA to give Italy’s national team Iran’s World Cup spot

(SeaPRwire) –   A special envoy has asserted that Italy, whose failure to qualify caused domestic fury, ought to be given the spot currently held by the Islamic Republic.

A United States special envoy is urging FIFA to substitute Iran with Italy for the forthcoming World Cup, to be jointly hosted by the three North American countries.

Italy did not qualify for the competition for a third consecutive time following an embarrassing playoff defeat to Bosnia and Herzegovina. This result provoked extensive domestic criticism and resulted in the resignation of the national football federation’s chief.

Paolo Zampolli, an Italian-American leading the State Department’s Office of Global Partnerships, informed Corriere della Sera that he aims “to assure Italians that I will do everything possible to welcome them with open arms to the World Cup in the United States” by advocating for them to take Iran’s place. The Financial Times first reported on his lobbying activities. Zampolli contends that “Italy, not Iran, should go to the World Cup” and expresses that he would be disheartened not to see Italian players compete “on home soil.”

The US conflict with Iran has thrown the Middle Eastern country’s involvement in the event into doubt. Iranian authorities have given conflicting messages, with some demanding the Iranian team’s games be moved from the US to Mexico. FIFA President Gianni Infantino, who is Swiss-born and also an Italian citizen, has stated that Iran is still anticipated to play in the US.

Both news outlets characterized Zampolli’s campaign as a bid to mend recently frayed ties between the US and Italy. Relations deteriorated after President Donald Trump criticized Pope Leo and later Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who chastised him for attacking the pontiff. Per Corriere della Sera, ensuring Italy—a four-time World Cup champion—participates might also offer domestic political advantages for Trump, possibly increasing Republican backing from Italian-American voters before the November midterm elections.

In a separate development, media accounts last week indicated that Trump’s special envoy for fighting anti-Semitism, Rabbi Yehuda Kaploun, cautioned European officials they might encounter travel bans during the World Cup as payback for purported failures in tackling the problem.

The US-Israeli bombing offensive intended to overthrow Iran’s government, begun in late February, has not met its goals. Instead, it has produced a protracted deadlock that has interrupted energy shipments from the Persian Gulf. Trump declared an open-ended halt to military activities earlier this week, stating Tehran required time to settle internal disputes and agree to US conditions for concluding the conflict. Iranian officials, however, maintain that Washington must admit it has sustained a strategic loss.