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

The president of the governing body of Iranian soccer said Saturday the nation’s World Cup training base has been moved to Mexico from the United States after getting approval from FIFA.

Mehdi Taj, president of the Iran Football Federation, announced the decision Saturday in a statement issued by the federation’s media relations official. FIFA has not confirmed the move.

Iran had been scheduled to train in Tucson, Arizona, but a move has been a possibility because of uncertainty surrounding the war in the Middle East and security concerns. 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 runs from June 11 to July 19 and will be co-hosted by the U.S., Canada and Mexico.

“All team base camps for the countries participating in the World Cup must be approved FIFA,” Taj said in his statement. “Fortunately, following the requests we submitted and the meetings we held with FIFA and World Cup officials in Istanbul, as well as the webinar meeting we had yesterday in the Tehran with the respected FIFA secretary general, our request to change the team’s base from the United States to Mexico was approved.”

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

Team Melli is appearing in its fourth straight World Cup and seventh overall. It has never advanced past the first round.

Iran’s federation said moving the base camp will resolve potential visa issues since the team will enter the U.S. through Mexico. The president said that the team “may even be able to travel to and from Mexico using Iran Air flights.”

Teams use base camps for training ahead of and after matches.

President Trump’s messaging on Iran’s participation in the World Cup has been murky. In a White House meeting in mid-March, Mr. Trump told FIFA representatives that Iran was welcome to play 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 didn’t “believe it is appropriate that they be there, for their own life and safety.”

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

FIFA President Gianni Infantino has repeatedly said that Iran will participate, however. On April 30 in Vancouver, Canada, while addressing the FIFA Congress — an annual meeting which involves FIFA representatives from more than 200 nations — Infantino opened his remarks by “confirming, straight away, for those who want to say something else or write something else, that of course Iran will be participating at the FIFA World Cup 2026. And of course Iran will play in the United States of America.”