Iran Football Team Moves World Cup Base to Mexico Amid U.S. Visa Concerns

Iran's national football team has shifted its base camp for the 2026 World Cup from Tucson, Arizona, to Tijuana, Mexico, citing the need to circumvent visa complications with the United States. The decision, announced by the President of the Iranian Football Federation, Mehdi Taj, aims to resolve potential issues with U.S. visa requirements for players and staff.

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The problem of visas with the U.S. authorities will be largely solved by this.

The relocation, approved by FIFA, will see the team reside in Tijuana, a Mexican city bordering the U.S. Taj stated that this move would "largely solve the problem of visas" issued by U.S. authorities. Furthermore, basing in Tijuana allows the team to utilize flights with Iran Air, the national airline. The federation also noted that Tijuana is geographically closer to the venues for Iran's initial matches compared to the originally planned accommodation in Arizona.

Iran is scheduled to play its first two World Cup qualifying matches in Los Angeles: on June 15 against New Zealand and on June 21 against Belgium. Their third group stage game against Egypt will take place on June 26 in Seattle. The team is currently training in Antalya, Turkey, in preparation for the tournament.

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The change of accommodation also allows the national players to fly with the Iranian airline Iran Air.

The team's presence at the World Cup was in doubt for a period due to escalating geopolitical tensions and military actions between the U.S. and Iran. The conflict, which began with U.S. and Israeli military actions against Iran on February 28, led to retaliatory strikes from Iran. A fragile ceasefire is currently in place. The World Cup is scheduled to run from June 11 to July 19, co-hosted by Mexico, the U.S., and Canada.

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It is unclear whether all players and accompanying staff members will receive U.S. visas.