As tension and conflict grow between the United States and Iran, the Middle Eastern country have asked FIFA to move their World Cup games to Mexico. Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has now offered her thoughts on the topic.
After the USA and Israel launched attacks on the country, killing Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s participation at the summer tournament has been thrown into doubt. They were supposed to play all three group games in the US, with matches against Belgium, Egypt and New Zealand in June.
US President Donald Trump has done little to help the situation, saying “I really don’t care” when asked if Iran will be able ot play at the 2026 World Cup. In a statement, Iranian football president Mehdi Taj said that “Trump has explicitly stated that he cannot ensure the security of the Iranian national team.” As such, they now want games played in Mexico.
President Sheinbaum Happy To Host Iran at 2026 World Cup
In response to the news, Mexican President Sheinbaum has told the press this week that her country would have no problem hosting Iran’s matches, so long as FIFA agrees. When asked if they would be happy to host, she said “yes, before adding:
“Mexico maintains diplomatic relations with every country in the world, therefore we will wait to see what FIFA decides.”
It does seem as though there is a chance the games could be moved. After all, as per the Independent, FIFA World Cup regulations state: “FIFA has the right to cancel, reschedule or relocate one or more matches (or the entire FIFA World Cup 26) for any reason at its sole discretion, including as a result of force majeure or due to health, safety or security concerns.”
However, this would have an impact on the other teams in Group G. The chief executive of New Zealand Football, Andrew Pragnell, told local media on Tuesday that he doubted FIFA would relocate Iran’s matches. New Zealand head coach, Darren Bazeley, added: “Right now we’re still continuing as though we’re playing Iran.
“They’re the team that qualified and we got drawn against them. That’s still the fixture and until we get told otherwise, we’ll continue with that preparation.
“Obviously, if things change, then we’ll deal with that, but that would be [people at] a higher level than myself involved in those discussions.”
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FIFA Statement on Moving Iran Games to Mexico
FIFA president Gianni Infantino
Iranian football president Taj explained his nation’s position, stating: “When Trump has explicitly stated that he cannot ensure the security of the Iranian national team, we will certainly not travel to America. We are negotiating with FIFA to hold Iran’s World Cup matches in Mexico.”
Fairly quickly, though, FIFA have issued a statement in response to the request, saying that they have no plans to make changes to the schedule for the tournament. It read:
“FIFA is in regular contact with all participating member associations, including IR Iran, to discuss planning for the FIFA World Cup 2026. FIFA is looking forward to all participating teams competing as per the match schedule announced on 6 December 2025.”
It remains unclear if Iran will go ahead with a rumoured boycott of the tournament if they can’t get their games moved out of the United States.