Iran to be based in Mexico for 2026 World Cup after US refuses to play host

News

FT Desk

The Iran national team will be based out of Mexico for the 2026 World Cup after the United States refused to host the Middle Eastern nation.

Iran is currently at war with the US and Israel after the latter two countries partnered for an initial bombing campaign in February. Iran retaliated by bombing US army bases around strategic locations in the region.

The conflict is ongoing and has disrupted the global economy, while lives are being lost on a daily basis.

The war meant that Iran's participation in the World Cup was called into question and in the immediate aftermath of the initial bombings, they said they would not travel to the US for the tournament after their Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, was killed.

President Donald Trump said Iran were welcome at the World Cup but it would not be "appropriate" for them to be in the US as he could not guarantee the safety of the travelling contingent.

Iran were originally set to stay in Tucson, Arizona during the World Cup with all three of their matches scheduled to take place in the US, but after the US informed FIFA they would not act as host, Mexico was asked to step in.

They will now live and train at Centro Xoloitzcuintle in Tijuana, Mexico.

"We have no reason to deny them the possibility of staying in Mexico," Mexico's President Claudia Sheinbaum said.

"The United States does not want the Iranian team to stay overnight, but they are going to play three matches there.

"So they asked us: 'Can they stay overnight in Mexico?' And we said: 'Yes, no problem.' We have no problem."

Iran soccer chief: 'Our World Cup host is FIFA, not Mr Trump or America'

Iran's soccer chief says their World Cup host "is FIFA, not Mr Trump or America" as the Middle East nation prepares to travel to North America for the 2026 World Cup this summer.

Iranian FA chief Mehdi Taj was part of a delegation that turned back at the Canadian border before last week’s FIFA Congress in Vancouver after they felt immigration officials had treated them disrespectfully. Taj said the decision to return home was their own, but Canada’s immigration minister told parliament that the FFIRI president’s visa was cancelled while he was in the air because of his links to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

The IRGC was created to defend Iran’s Islamic system and has since become a powerful military, political, and economic force in the country. It is also designated as a terrorist organisation by Canada and the US.

"We need a guarantee there, for our trip, that they have no right to insult the symbols of our system - especially the IRGC," Taj, who served as a high-ranking IRGC official, said on Iranian television this week.

"This is something they must pay serious attention to. If there is such a guarantee and the responsibility is clearly assumed, then an incident like what happened in Canada will not happen again.

"We are going to the World Cup, for which we qualified, and our host is FIFA - not Mr Trump or America.

"If they accept hosting us, then they must also accept that they must not insult our military institutions in any way.

"Because if they do, then naturally it could create the same kind of situation that happened in Canada, where there was a possibility we might have to return.

"So there must be this kind of guarantee so that we can go with peace of mind."

United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio previously said the Iran national team will be welcomed to North America for the World Cup but has barred other travellers with links to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

“Nothing from the US has told them they can’t come,” Rubio told reporters.

“The problem with Iran would be not their athletes. It would be some of the other people they would want to bring with them, some of whom have ties to the IRGC. We may not be able to let them in, but not the athletes themselves.

“They can’t bring a bunch of IRGC terrorists into our country and pretend that they are journalists and athletic trainers."

Washington has designated the IRGC as a “foreign terrorist organisation”.