Glenn Micallef presses FIFA on World Cup safety amid US-Iran war

European Sports Commissioner Glenn Micallef has urged FIFA to clarify how it will ensure fan safety at the 2026 North American World Cup while also raising concerns over the governing body’s ties to US President Donald Trump’s Board of Peace.

The commissioner raised this point during an interview with Politico, where he said football’s governing body is yet to respond to the EU’s concerns about the safety of supporters, as the war between the United States and Iran rages on.

Micallef said he raised safety concerns with FIFA chief Gianni Infantino last month on the sidelines of the European football summit, prior to the eruption of the war.

“Following the escalation of tensions that we’ve seen in the last few days, we’ve asked again for renewed assurance for all those travelling to the World Cup,” Micallef said. “Especially since one of the hosts of this biggest sporting event in the world is party to a war, it’s only legitimate that assurances are given from a public safety and public security point of view.”

However, there “hasn’t been any kind of follow-up,” Micallef said. When asked whether FIFA was falling short of its safety and security provisions, Micallef replied: “Let’s say there’s room for more clarity”.

A FIFA spokesperson responded to Politico, saying that safety and security are its “top priority” and that it “is confident that the efforts being made by the governments of Canada, Mexico and the United States will ensure a safe, secure, and welcoming environment for everyone involved.”

On FIFA and Trump's board of peace

Micallef also raised issues with FIFA’s close ties to US President Donald Trump’s Board of Peace, a group that was launched at the start of this year and was initially designed to oversee the Gaza truce and the territory’s reconstruction after the war between Hamas and Israel.

But its purpose has since morphed into resolving all sorts of international conflicts, triggering fears that the US president wants to create a rival to the United Nations.

During a Board of Peace summit last month, Infantino was present and promised that FIFA would spend $75 million on football infrastructure in Gaza.

“FIFA has a lot to answer for on this,” Micallef said. “Speaking as a European commissioner responsible for sport, I would prefer to partner up with multilateral organisations, organisations that respect the international rules-based order, like UNESCO and UNICEF, when it comes to the implementation of projects related to sport.”

Earlier this year, Prime Minister Robert Abela announced that Malta had received an invitation to join the Board of Peace and said he was not ruling out the possibility of joining the group. The statement prompted backlash, including from within Labour circles.

Weeks later, Abela announced that Malta would not be taking part in the board’s first formal meeting.