Mexico has agreed to host Iran’s national soccer team during the World Cup after the United States declined to do so, according to Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum. She said FIFA contacted her government after the U.S. said it did not want Iran’s squad to stay in the country for the full tournament.
Sheinbaum said Mexico saw no reason to refuse the request. “We have no reason to deny them the possibility of staying in Mexico,” she said during her daily news conference.
FIFA stepped in after the U.S. position
The Mexican president said the arrangement came after FIFA approached Mexico once the U.S. rejected the idea of hosting the Iranian team. Iran will still play its group-stage matches in the United States, but its base for the tournament is now being shifted to Mexico.
That decision reflects a practical solution to a sensitive logistical problem. The team needed a place to stay during the tournament even though its matches will be spread across different cities.
Iran moves its base to the border region
Mehdi Taj, head of Iran’s soccer federation, said the team would relocate its base from Arizona to Tijuana, a Mexican border city. He said the move would help avoid visa-related complications and allow the squad to travel directly to Mexico on Iran Air flights.
The change gives Iran a regional base closer to part of the tournament’s footprint. It also reduces the need for the team to rely on arrangements that could become difficult under current political conditions.
Tournament plans remain in place
Iran’s participation in the June 11-July 19 tournament had been in doubt after the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran in late February. Despite that uncertainty, the team is still scheduled to begin group play against New Zealand in Los Angeles on June 15.
Iran will then face Belgium in Los Angeles on June 21 before closing its Group G schedule against Egypt in Seattle on June 26. The team’s Mexico stay is intended to support those matches without changing the tournament schedule itself.
The White House and the State Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the arrangement.
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