World Cup 2026: Iran-based FA to move from US to Mexico, says country’s FA chief

Iran’s FA president says FIFA has approved moving the country’s World Cup training base from the United States to Mexico.

Mehdi Taj said Iran will now be based in the Mexican border city of Tijuana, although FIFA has yet to confirm the change.

Iran was given Tucson, Arizona as their World Cup base but the ongoing war in the Middle East and related security concerns have made their participation uncertain.

The tournament is being co-hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico, with Iran scheduled to play New Zealand on June 15 and Belgium on June 21 – both in Los Angeles – and Egypt on June 26 in Seattle.

“All team base camps for countries participating in the World Cup have to be approved by FIFA,” Taj said.

“Fortunately, following our submitted request and the meeting we had with FIFA and World Cup officials in Istanbul, as well as our webinar meeting with the honorable FIFA Secretary General (Sweden’s Mattias Grafström) in Tehran on Friday, our request to change the team’s base from the United States to Mexico was approved.

“We will be staying at Camp Tijuana, which is near the Pacific Ocean and on the border between Mexico and the United States.”

He added that Tijuana was closer to the cities where Iran will play than the camp in Arizona.

“Our two games in L.A. will be a 55-minute flight away, which is much less than Tucson,” he said.

Iran is currently preparing for the tournament in Antalya, southern Turkey.

BBC Sport has approached FIFA for comment.