President Claudia Sheinbaum stated that Mexico has no objections to hosting the Iranian national team during the 2026 FIFA World Cup. According to reports, the team will continue to play its matches in the United States, but its training base will be located in Tijuana, where it will prepare for the games.
Claudia Sheinbaum stated that she has “no objections” to Mexico hosting the Iranian national team after the training base is moved from the United States to Mexico for the duration of the tournament.
According to her, a FIFA representative informed her that the U.S. does not want the Iranian soccer team to remain in the country outside of match days.
“The United States does not want the Iranian national team to stay overnight in the U.S.,” Sheinbaum said. According to her, the FIFA representative asked, “Can they stay overnight in Mexico?”
“And we replied: Yes, no problem. We have no objections,” she stated.
The team had planned to base itself in Tucson, Arizona. However, due to uncertainty surrounding the war in the Middle East and visa issues, the Iranian national team decided to move its base to Tijuana.
It should be noted that for the Iranian national team, this will be the seventh time in history that the team has played in the final stage of the World Cup. The 2026 tournament will be the fourth in a row for the Iranians. In none of the previous six championships has the team ever managed to advance past the group stage.