Iran moves World Cup base from Arizona to Tijuana after FIFA approval
The Iranian national football team will change its plans for final preparations during the 2026 World Cup and will stay in Tijuana, Mexico, instead of in the U.S. state of Arizona. According to announcements by the Iranian Football Federation and reports from international agencies, the decision was approved by FIFA after talks with Iranian officials, and the change came less than three weeks before the start of the tournament, which will be jointly organized by the United States, Mexico and Canada. Iran was originally supposed to use a base in Tucson, but Tehran said that moving to Mexico was more practical because of security circumstances, possible visa difficulties and easier border crossings for matches that will be played in the U.S.
The president of the Iranian Football Federation, Mehdi Taj, said that the national team will be based at a camp in Tijuana, a city on the border between Mexico and the United States, not far from San Diego. According to him, the new base allows the team to remain outside the U.S. between matches while still keeping relatively easy access to stadiums on the West Coast. Tijuana is especially important because of its proximity to Los Angeles, where Iran plays its first two Group G matches, against New Zealand and Belgium. The third group match, against Egypt, is scheduled in Seattle, which means that Iran’s competitive schedule remains unchanged for now.
Move from Tucson to a city on the U.S.-Mexican border
Iran had previously planned a training camp in Tucson as part of its preparations for the expanded edition of the World Cup. According to reports by the Associated Press and other media that carried statements from Iranian officials, that option became uncertain because of a combination of diplomatic, security and administrative issues. The Iranian federation stated that it had asked FIFA for guarantees related to visas, the security of the delegation and the treatment of players and coaching staff during their stay in the United States. The move to Mexico was presented as a solution that reduces the number of days the Iranian delegation would spend on U.S. territory and simplifies travel to matches.
According to reports by Al Jazeera and agency sources, Taj said that the camp is located near the Pacific Ocean and the U.S. border and that the national team could travel to and from Mexico by direct flights, including the possibility of using Iran Air if logistical conditions allow it. Such an arrangement has both a political and a practical dimension for Iran. On the one hand, it avoids a longer stay in the U.S. during a period of heightened tensions between Washington and Tehran. On the other hand, the team remains close enough to Los Angeles, where it will play two key group matches.
According to available information, the facility in Tijuana was chosen because it offers the Iranian national team the conditions needed for daily work during the tournament. Iranian media and officials mentioned training pitches, a gym, recovery areas and separate facilities for the team, which is usually important for national teams that want to have as much control as possible over the rhythm of training, nutrition and recovery during the World Cup. According to the Iranian federation, FIFA accepted the request to change the base, but the match schedule has not been changed.
Group G remains tied to the U.S. West Coast
According to FIFA’s official schedule, the 2026 World Cup begins on June 11 and ends on July 19, and for the first time 48 national teams will take part. Iran has been placed in Group G together with Belgium, Egypt and New Zealand. In its group overview, FIFA states that Iran will play its first match on June 15 against New Zealand at a stadium in the Los Angeles area, then on June 21 against Belgium, also in Los Angeles, while the match against Egypt is scheduled for June 26 in Seattle. It is precisely because of this schedule that Tijuana emerged as a logistically acceptable alternative to Arizona.
Los Angeles and Seattle are hosts of matches in the U.S. part of the tournament, while Tijuana is located immediately south of the U.S. border, enabling a relatively short trip to Southern California. Still, moving the base does not mean that Iran will avoid entering the U.S. The national team will still have to travel onto U.S. territory for official matches, which requires coordination with FIFA, U.S. authorities, local organizing committees and security services. According to agency reports, the U.S. State Department confirmed that Iran will participate in the tournament, but did not comment in detail on decisions related to the team’s base.
The change of base should not affect the sporting part of the schedule, but it could have an impact on day-to-day logistics. National teams at major tournaments usually choose a base according to a combination of sporting conditions, distance from stadiums, security, climate conditions and transport availability. In Iran’s case, these criteria are also joined by the political sensitivity of travel to the U.S. That is why the decision on Tijuana is more than a simple change of accommodation and training location; it shows how much global sporting events depend on diplomatic relations, security assessments and administrative procedures.
Visas, security and the wider political context
For months before the start of the tournament, Iran had been warning about possible problems with travel documents and security guarantees. According to Reuters reports carried by international media, Iranian officials said that players and members of the delegation still did not have all the necessary U.S. visas less than a month before the start of the competition. Such circumstances are especially sensitive because the World Cup brings together national teams from countries that do not necessarily have stable diplomatic relations with the hosts. In such situations, FIFA must ensure that sporting criteria and competition rules are not endangered by political obstacles.
The state of relations between Iran and the United States gives additional weight to this decision. AP reported that the move of the base was connected with war and security concerns in the Middle East, while other media also emphasized U.S. sanctions and diplomatic tensions. In such an environment, the stay of the Iranian national team in the U.S. is not viewed only as a sporting issue, but also as a security and political challenge. Tournament organizers must at the same time align obligations toward FIFA, domestic legislation, security assessments and the rights of national teams that have qualified for the competition.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said, according to the Associated Press, that Mexico has no problem hosting the Iranian national team during the World Cup. That statement is important because it shows that the solution is not based only on the decision of the Iranian federation, but also on coordination with one of the host countries. Mexico, together with the U.S. and Canada, is a formal co-host of the tournament, so accepting Iran’s base in Tijuana is part of a broader operational agreement among the hosts and FIFA. According to the same report, Sheinbaum said that Mexico is working with FIFA on logistical details.
FIFA between the sporting schedule and diplomatic restrictions
FIFA’s challenge in this case is not only to confirm the new base, but to preserve the regularity of the tournament and the predictability of the schedule. The 2026 World Cup will be the largest so far, with 104 matches in 16 host cities. In such a system, every change of base, transport or security plan can have consequences for hotels, training sessions, accreditations, flights, police protocols and media obligations. For that reason, the match schedule is usually not changed except in exceptional circumstances, and moving the base to Tijuana allows Iran to adjust logistics without interfering with the competitive calendar.
According to The Guardian’s report, the Iranian federation believes that moving to Mexico can solve potential visa problems because the team would enter the U.S. from Mexico only for matches. Such wording does not mean that visas or entry procedures are abolished, but that the scope of the stay and the number of administrative situations that could become complicated are reduced. For the national team, it is important that such issues be resolved before the start of the tournament because uncertainty around travel can disrupt preparations, recovery and players’ concentration. For FIFA, it is important to avoid a precedent in which political disputes threaten the participation of a qualified team.
Cases like this remind us that the World Cup is not only a sporting tournament, but also one of the largest international logistical projects. National teams, fans, sponsors, television companies and security services rely on a precise schedule that must function across three host countries. When diplomatic tensions enter that system, decisions about the location of a training camp can become a matter of international coordination. Iran’s example shows how sporting infrastructure and political reality sometimes have to be aligned in a very short period of time.
Sporting challenge for Iran in a group with Belgium, Egypt and New Zealand
Iran comes to the World Cup as a national team with continuity of appearances on the biggest stage. According to data cited by FIFA in its tournament overviews, this is Iran’s fourth consecutive and seventh overall appearance at World Cups. Despite regular qualifications, Iran has still not advanced from the group, so the 2026 competition will carry additional weight. Group G brings diverse opponents: Belgium as a European national team with extensive international experience, Egypt with a strong African football tradition, and New Zealand as a representative of Oceania that will try to take advantage of the expanded competition format.
The change of base does not in itself change the sporting goals, but it can affect the circumstances of preparation. In tournament football, details matter: the quality of the training pitch, travel time, recovery between matches, nutrition, privacy and schedule stability. If Tijuana really offers the conditions stated by the Iranian federation, the team could maintain a relatively normal working routine and travel to the U.S. only when the competition requires it. This is especially important because Iran plays its first two matches six days apart in the same metropolitan area, after which a trip to Seattle follows.
For Iran’s opponents, this decision has no direct competitive effect, but it may change the perception of pressure around the national team. Belgium, Egypt and New Zealand will prepare according to their own plans, while Iran will also have to direct part of its attention to issues outside the pitch. In such circumstances, the coaching staff tries to isolate players as much as possible from administrative and political topics. Major competitions often show that a stable base can be just as important as the training schedule, especially when a team is playing far from its usual environment.
Mexico takes on an additional role in organizing the tournament
Mexico is already one of the three hosts of the 2026 World Cup, but accepting Iran’s base in Tijuana gives it an additional operational role. Although Tijuana is not among the host cities for matches, its position on the border with the U.S. makes it an important point for tournament logistics. The city is directly connected with Southern California, and the proximity of San Diego and Los Angeles allows a combination of a Mexican base and U.S. stadiums. Such a model is not common for all national teams, but in this case it fits the specific needs of the Iranian delegation.
President Sheinbaum’s statement that Mexico has no obstacles to accepting the Iranian team shows that hosting the World Cup is not reduced only to matches. Host countries also take responsibility for training, accommodation, transport, security and coordination with international federations. According to current plans, Tijuana will be one of the locations where it will be seen how cross-border organization of the largest football tournament works. In practice, this will require the harmonization of Mexican and U.S. procedures, especially on the days when Iran travels to matches.
For FIFA and the organizers, this is also a test of the flexibility of the expanded format. A tournament with 48 national teams brings a larger number of bases, longer travel routes and more complex security assessments than previous editions. Iran’s case shows that organizers must also adapt to circumstances that are not exclusively sporting. If the agreement is carried out without major difficulties, Tijuana could become an example of how practical solutions for politically sensitive delegations can be found within the joint hosting arrangement of three countries.
Match schedule unchanged for now
According to currently available information, Iran will still play all three Group G matches in the United States. The first match against New Zealand is scheduled for June 15 in Los Angeles, the second against Belgium for June 21 also in Los Angeles, and the third against Egypt for June 26 in Seattle. FIFA’s official schedule confirms that Group G is part of the broader western U.S. tournament schedule, although media reports mentioned that political circumstances could raise questions about the locations of individual matches. For now, there is no official confirmation that moving Iran’s matches out of the U.S. is being considered.
The move of the base should therefore be seen as a compromise solution. Iran will not be permanently based in the U.S., but it will take part in matches scheduled there. Mexico will provide space for preparations, and FIFA will try to preserve the tournament schedule. At the center of the decision remains the attempt to hold the sporting competition according to plan despite tense political circumstances. For the Iranian national team, the final part of preparations now follows, in which logistical issues will have to be turned into an operational routine as soon as possible, so that the team in Group G can focus its attention on the pitch.
Sources:
- Associated Press – report on the Iranian federation’s decision, the move of the base from Tucson to Tijuana and the statement by Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum (link)
- Associated Press – report on Mexico’s position toward hosting the Iranian national team and coordination with FIFA (link)
- FIFA – official 2026 World Cup match schedule and tournament overview with 48 national teams (link)
- FIFA – official overview of Group G, Iran’s opponents and the competition context (link)
- Al Jazeera – report on Mehdi Taj’s statement, FIFA’s approval and the reasons for moving the base to Mexico (link)
- The Guardian – agency report on the move of Iran’s base, the match schedule and possible visa-related reasons for the decision (link)