Gianni Infantino on Iran, visas and ticket pricing ahead of the 2026 World Cup

WSJ with the last question: "How would you characterize your relationship with Donald Trump"

Infantino: "I have a great relationship with him and his input has been essential to ensure the delivery of the tournament".

Ole Argentina: “How important is Messi being at the World Cup for FIFA?”

Infantino: "Argentine fans are amazing and I still have great memories of the support in Qatar. Same with the River and Boca fans at the Club World Cup. 

Messi playing is important for Argentina and for football fans everywhere and we are going to see so many big stars... Ronaldo, Mbappe, Lamine, Haaland etc... 

Rob Harris from Sky News “Donald Trump would not pay the prices for tickets for some games, have they got it wrong?”

Infantino: “The pricing has undergone plenty of analysis and we are keen that the money goes back into the development of football”.

“It's my responsibility to ensure we generate money and invest in those nations and football federations where no-one is investing”.

Caracol Colombia: “I want to ask you about the new national anthem format”

Infantino: “We need to see how that works out... We are always looking to innovate and it came about from a conversation between myself and Alessandro Del Piero. He wondered why the full squad was not included in these pre game celebrations. This got me thinking and we looked into the proposal and we all felt it was a good move” 

South Africa journalist “Do you regret the USA is a co-host given that the bulk of issues have emerged from that nation”

Infantino: “No regrets, I know the event organising world so well and there are issues of course, some hail from the US but also from Canada and Mexico. We always do our best”

ESPN Mexico

“How can these 39 days of the tournament help us all to get along?”

Infantino: "I firmly believe in the power of the World Cup to make change, we all have issues and an event of this magnitude can help".

“We saw how well people got along in Qatar, no issues between rival fans, football was the common language”.

Dan Roan from the BBC

“You have one of the world's top match officials being denied entry and we have plenty of fans and media who have been banned... do you accept you have lost control”

“I hope the 2035 Women's World Cup will be held in the UK. Do you think FIFA can dictate who can get into the country”.

“Every nation has its government and with no visa it's not easy to get into many nations. Security has to go above everything and I ask you to trust us as we are trying to make the situation as positive as possible”

"Sometimes it works out as is the example with Iran being here and we have to deal with different situations!

Jose Felix Diaz from AS talks about the footballing side of the tournament.

Infantino: “I'm sure this will be one of the most spectacular tournaments as there is no out and out defined favourite”.

"Spain, France, Portugal, Argentina, Brazil and then there's Japan, Morocco, Ecuador and even Norway who could offer a surprise."

“All teams will play in different climatic conditions, we have stadiums with closed roofs, it will all play into the uncertainty of who will ultimately win out”.

Infantino concludes and we now move to the floor....

A local Mexican journalist asks Infantino about how he feels about the tournament kicking off at an iconic stadium such as the Azteca.

Infantino talks about he childhood memories of being told about the stadium from his father relating to the 1970 World Cup.

He goes on to evoke the memory of Maradona in 1986 and claims that the Azteca is a ‘blessed’ stadium in the first World Cup to ever be co-hosted by three nations.

He adds and pleads with the journalists... 'Criticise me by all accounts, but please focus on how football does bring people together".

“We've just sealed a deal with FIFPro and EFC and WLA on the new version which deals with the regulation of transfer policies”

Infantino on Visas

“We put into play a FIFA Visa policy and I've been told this is working well. The bonds that the US government wanted to introduce has been waived.”

“It's unfortunate what happened to the referee from Somalia, we cannot control everything and we always look for a solution ...occasionally there are areas beyond our control”.

Infantino On Tickets

“We have sold more than 6 million tickets. The demand has been unprecedented by 10. The demand has been incredible”.

“One needs to deal with local habits and customs” ... “The 60 dollar price is the lowest in the key US sporting events, certainly when looking at playoffs”.

“The World Cup will be watched by 6 billion people.... these tickets end on the secondary market and get resold for a higher price”

“Plenty of work was conducted into the pricing aspects prior to going on sale and we have checked all legal aspects with the best lawyers”.

“Out of the 800,000 customers who bought tickets in California, we've had three official complaints”

“Let's not forget that every dollar we generate goes back into football and FIFA need to strike a balance”.

On Iran.

“I'm happy that they are here ...I would have driven a bus from Tehran and brought them here myself. Of course there are challenges and it's not been easy.”

“I hope when Iran play there will be a positive atmosphere in the stadium”

“Im proud of the work of my team and the cooperation of the host nations to ensure that it all works out” 

He know offers some insight into the sheer numbers of personnel who go into putting a World Cup together.

He goes on to say that ‘we have challenges that we'd rather not have to confront’.

An allusion to the Visa situation possibly ?

Iran / Tickets and Visas.... he mentions that himself.

This could be interesting 

“104 Super Bowls”

A tick for those doing Infantino ‘bingo’ 

Infantino wants to make a few more points before inviting media questions.

He now takes time to thank his FIFA team who all contributed to the creation of the World Cup.

The fans too get a mention.

6.5 million supporters projected to attend the 104 games. 

He thanks the 211 member nations and they many teams that are not implicated in the tournament.

Infantino now moves onto the roll of thanks...

The media get the first platitude for the way they portray the World Cup.

He thanks the President of Mexico and her government for their collaboration ahead of the tournament.

Trump is next in line for the thanks and he wraps up with the Canadian premier.

Infantino comments on a French journalist who has been detained.

The FIFA chief hopes that he will be given ‘grace’ by the president (one assumes he means President Trump).

He also references an Argentine journo who is set to cover his 18th World Cup which is quite a feat.

17,000 media partners have been acreditaed for the tournament. 

Opening remarks from Infantino ....

He welcomes everyone in a series of languages.

A moment of joy & celebration claims Infantino.

Both the World Cup trophy and the matchball make people dream all around the world.

Infantino asks the media to focus on football today. 

Here's Gianni! 

The World Cup trophy has been delivered to the front stage and we're all set !

48 teams, 104 games, 1 winner

We've now had the FIFA WC 2026 signature tune on rotation for the past 15 minutes or so and it's just starting to get a little grating.

This is the loop we'll be hearing for the next month or so on all TV broadcasts. 

Two minutes to go ! 

There was a little initial confusion over the precise timing of the press conference with some outlets suggesting that the event would start at 12:15 local time as opposed to the 12:30 local time that was initially suggested.

Looking like the 12:30 time slot is the definitive one so ...almost there !

There are two microphones ready at the top table which suggests that Infantino may be accompanied tonight.

Most of the journalists have headsets with automatic translation services so it's an interesting one as to who the FIFA head may be joined by.

World Cup 2026

The biggest security concern at the World Cup isn’t terrorism or cyberattacks - It’s drones

Still no sign of Infantino as the FIFA press officer reminds the journalists not to use ‘hot spots’.

It remains to be seen as just how many questions Infantino will field from the media.

The FIFA chief has been known to avoid such meetings with the media preferring to use his Instagram account to showcase new FIFA initiatives and developments.

We expect the bulk of the presser to be conducted in English and Spanish.

Infantino can speak seven languages and is a confident communicator. 

And off we go..... FIFA press officer outlines a few guidelines and we're good to go !

We're all set in Mexico City..... the top table is ready. Just waiting the arrival of Gianni.

Just a reminder that the 2026 edition gets underway tomorrow at the Estadio Azteca as Mexico face South Africa.

'Today, I feel gay'

A reminder of how Infantino addressed the assembled media in Qatar ahead of the 2022 World Cup.

Relations with governments (especially U.S.)

Another politically sensitive area that may be reviews tonight is FIFA’s relationship with U.S. leadership

Influence over hosting decisions, security, or travel

This has drawn scrutiny and could come up in questioning

Security and Safety

​​​​​​Safety in host cities as protests continue (e.g. in Mexico City before kickoff) 

Coordination between three host nations

Usually framed as “security is the top priority”.

Immigration and entry visas.

This is probably the most sensitive topic right now.

Concerns about fans, officials, and players being able to enter host countries after a Somali referee was denied entry to the U.S. 

 He will almost certainly be asked whether the tournament is truly "open to all"

Ticket prices will certainly feature as part of the Infantino press conference.

Ticket prices have been widely criticised as very high and even politicians and fans have complained, and investigations are ongoing.

Infantino has previously defended prices by pointing to huge demand and revenue funding global football claiming that the 2026 tournament are 104 Super Bowls !

Some of the issues Infantino will address:

“Biggest World Cup ever”

48 teams, 104 matches, across USA, Mexico, and Canada.

Organisation & readiness: Stadiums, logistics, travel between host cities

Fan experience & global impact

He typically frames it as a “celebration” and a unifying global event

Infantino

The FIFA president will speak four years after his last pre-World Cup press conference was mired by “Today, I feel gay” comments at the outset ahead of the Qatar 2022 World Cup

Infantino set to speak

Ticket prices, Visa issues, the IR Iran team participating are all set to be analysed by the FIFA chief tonight.

Hello, good evening and welcome to our live coverage as we bring you the key events from Gianni Infantino's 2026 World Cup press conference with the head of football's governing body expected to address the media from Mexico City.