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MEXICO CITY — In a striking display of how geopolitical tensions can reshape global sports, Iran’s national soccer team will be forced to sleep in Mexico and commute across the border for its World Cup matches next month. The decision comes after Washington declined to host the squad on American soil during the tournament, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum announced on Monday.
Speaking at a press conference, President Sheinbaum revealed that football’s world governing body, FIFA, approached the Mexican government after U.S. officials made it clear they were reluctant to have the Iranian delegation spend time outside of matches on U.S. territory.
“The United States doesn’t want the Iranian national team to stay overnight in the United States,” Sheinbaum told reporters, noting that FIFA subsequently asked if Mexico would be willing to accommodate the team. “And we said, ‘Yes, no problem. We have no issue with that.’ We had no reason to deny them, so we gave them this option.”
The logistical shift means the Iranian squad will relocate its official tournament training base from its originally planned location in Tucson, Arizona, to the Mexican border city of Tijuana, situated just south of San Diego, California. FIFA officially locked in the accommodation adjustment on Monday when it released the final list of all 48 base camp sites for the tournament.
The cross-border commuting arrangement introduces unprecedented logistical hurdles for a World Cup team. Iran is slated to play all three of its Group G matches in the United States, starting with a June 15 clash against New Zealand in Inglewood, California, followed by a June 21 game against Belgium in Los Angeles, and a June 26 match against Egypt in Seattle. Under the new protocol, the team will remain based in Tijuana and travel to the U.S. strictly on the days of their scheduled fixtures.
The extraordinary accommodation shuffle is a direct consequence of escalating diplomatic and military hostilities. Relations shattered entirely following the outbreak of war involving Iran, the U.S., and Israel on February 28. Amid simmering tensions, Iran’s soccer federation expressed severe concerns regarding how players and staff would be treated on U.S. soil, seeking clear guarantees that members with links to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) would not face visa denials or detainment.
Mehdi Taj, the head of Iran’s football federation, stated over the weekend that basing the team in Tijuana would mitigate visa-related complications, adding that the squad expects to travel directly into Mexico via Iran Air flights.
In Washington, the U.S. State Department issued a statement maintaining that President Donald Trump wants the Iranian team to participate in the tournament, though the message pointedly avoided addressing Sheinbaum’s comments or clarifying why overnight accommodations were denied.
As the June 11 kickoff approaches for the co-hosted U.S., Canada, and Mexico World Cup, Mexican officials say they are actively working with FIFA to finalize the intricate border-crossing security and travel details required to ensure the Iranian team can fulfill its match obligations.
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