Iran moving World Cup training base from U.S. to Mexico

The president of Iran’s football governing body said on Saturday that national training base for the World Cup was transferred from the United States to Mexico after obtaining approval from FIFA.

Mehdi Taj, president of the Iranian Football Federation, announced the decision on Saturday in a statement issued by the federation’s media relations manager. FIFA has not confirmed this decision.

Iran was scheduled to train in Tucson, Arizona, but this move is possible due to the uncertainty surrounding the situation. the war in the Middle East and security issues. Officials at Tucson’s Kino Sports Complex had no comment.

The federation says the team will now be based in Tijuana, Mexico, just south of San Diego. This year’s World Cup will take place from June 11 to July 19 and will be held co-hosted by the United StatesCanada and Mexico.

“All base camps of teams of countries participating in the World Cup must be approved by FIFA,” Taj said in his statement. “Fortunately, following the requests we submitted and the meetings we had with FIFA and World Cup officials in Istanbul, as well as the webinar we had yesterday in Tehran with the respected FIFA Secretary General, our request to move the team base from the United States to Mexico was approved.”

Iran will play Group G matches in Inglewood, California, against New Zealand on June 15 and Belgium six days later, then face Egypt on June 26 in Seattle. The federation said Tijuana’s relatively close proximity to Inglewood, a Los Angeles suburb, would benefit the team and that the new location “includes all training facilities, a gym, a private restaurant and everything else the team needs.”

Team Melli is competing in its fourth consecutive World Cup and seventh overall. He never made it past the first round.

The Iranian federation said moving the base camp would resolve possible visa issues since the team will enter the United States via Mexico. The president said the team “may even be able to travel to and from Mexico using Iran Air flights.”

Teams use base camps to train before and after matches.

President Trump’s message on Iran’s participation in the World Cup has remained murky. In a meeting at the White House in mid-March, Mr. Trump told FIFA representatives that Iran was welcome to participate in the tournament, officials told CBS News at the time. However, two days later, Mr. Trump wrote on Truth Social, that while the Iranian team was “welcome” to participate, he did not “think it was appropriate for them to be there, for their own lives and safety.”

Following the remarks, Taj said Iran was negotiating with FIFA to play their matches in Mexico.

FIFA President Gianni Infantino, however, has repeatedly stated that Iran will participate. On April 30 in Vancouver, Canada, while addressing the FIFA Congress – an annual meeting that brings together FIFA representatives from more than 200 nations – Infantino opened his speech by “confirming up front, for those who want to say something else or write something else, that of course Iran will participate in the 2026 FIFA World Cup. And of course, Iran will play in the United States of America.”