PHOENIX, Arizona — 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.
This year’s World Cup runs from June 11 to July 19 and will be co-hosted by the US, Canada and Mexico.
Iran’s ability to participate in the World Cup was further called into question after Taj was refused entry to Canada for the FIFA Congress in Vancouver earlier this month because of his links to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
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Of the three host countries, Mexico is the only one that does not classify the IRGC as a terrorist entity, whereas the US and Canada have both made it clear they will not admit people with links to the elite military force.
As such, the federation says the team will now be based in Tijuana, Mexico, just south of San Diego.
A man wearing a shirt bearing Iran’s national soccer team logo blows a plastic trumpet during a pro-government gathering in support of Iran’s World Cup team at Islamic Revolution Square in Tehran, Iran, May 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
“All team base camps for the 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 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 US 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.
Reuters contributed to this report.
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