Players of the Iranian National Football Team leave the U.S. Embassy after completing their visa application procedures for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, in Ankara, Turkey, Thursday(local time). EPA-Yonhap
TEHRAN — Iran are moving their World Cup training base to Mexico after football's world governing body FIFA approved a request to transfer it from Tucson, Arizona, the head of Iran's football federation said on Saturday.
The Iranian team will now be based in Tijuana on the border of Mexico and the United States during the tournament, federation president Mehdi Taj said in a video carried by the Fars news agency.
"Fortunately, thanks to the meetings we had with FIFA officials... our request to change countries from the United States to Mexico, due to problems encountered in obtaining visas, was accepted by FIFA," Taj said.
"We will therefore be based in Tijuana, near the Pacific Ocean. It is a city that lies between Mexico and the US, but it is located in Mexico. We have actually completed the team building there."
Taj said that the move would help to avoid complications related to visas and that the squad could use Iran Air flights to travel directly to Mexico.
Iran's participation in the World Cup has been in question for months because it is being co-hosted by the United States, which along with Israel began bombing Iran on February 28, sparking a wider war in the Middle East.
Iran have been drawn in Group G and will play their first two matches in Los Angeles.
They open their campaign against New Zealand on June 15 and will then face Belgium on June 21 before rounding off their group games against Egypt in Seattle on June 26.
Taj said that Tijuana was closer to the cities where Iran will play than the camp in Arizona would have been.
Source: Korea Times News
