Iran move World Cup base from US to Mexico with FIFA approval
Key takeaways
- Iran were expected to fly from Turkiye to Arizona to continue World Cup 2026 preparations but will switch to Mexico.
- Taj added that the switch would help avoid visa-related complications following the US-Israel war on Iran, and that the squad would be able to fly directly to Mexico with Iran Air.
- Iran will play their first two Group G matches in Los Angeles, against New Zealand on June 15 and Belgium on June 21, before facing Egypt in Seattle on June 26.
Why this matters: an international story with cross-border implications worth tracking.
Iran were expected to fly from Turkiye to Arizona to continue World Cup 2026 preparations but will switch to Mexico.
xwhatsapp-strokecopylinkgoogle Add Al Jazeera on Googleinfo Team Iran were due to fly from Tukiye to US to continue preparations for FIFA World Cup 2026 [Dilara Senkaya/Reuters]By Kevin Hand and Reuters Published On 23 May 202623 May 2026Iran will base their squad in the Mexican border city of Tijuana during this year’s World Cup after football’s world governing body FIFA approved a request to move their training camp from Arizona, the head of Iran’s football federation said on Saturday.
“We will be based in the Tijuana camp, which is near the Pacific Ocean and on the border between Mexico and the United States,” Iran’s Football Federation President Mehdi Taj said in a video posted on its Telegram social media account.