Iran's World Cup participation in limbo as it seeks to move matches from US to Mexico
The president of the Iranian Football Federation stated that they are negotiating with FIFA to move their games from Los Angeles and Seattle to Mexican stadiums.
The Iranian national team before a match. File image
Iran's presence at the FIFA World Cup 2026 is a question mark due to the conflict in the Middle East and the lack of guarantees to safeguard the security of its delegation, as stated by President Donald Trump. As a result, the Islamist regime's sports and diplomatic authorities are looking for a way for their national team to be present at the tournament without suffering any retaliation.
The latest proposal to allow Iranian footballers to play in the group stage of the 2026 FIFA World Cup comes from the president of the Iranian Football Federation.
Mehdi Taj suggested the possibility of moving the three group stage games to Mexican stadiums. Iran is initially scheduled to play them in two U.S. cities: two in Los Angeles (against Belgium and New Zealand) and one in Seattle (against Egypt).
"Since Trump has clearly stated that he cannot guarantee the safety of the Iranian national team, we will definitely not go to the United States. We are in negotiations with FIFA for Iran's World Cup matches to be played in Mexico," Taj said, in a message relayed by the Iranian Embassy in Mexico.
Add to this the fact that Iran established its residence for the 2026 FIFA World Cup in Tucson, Arizona, so they would also be looking for a new place to establish their rally base.
Last week, Trump said that despite being "welcome" to the 2026 FIFA World Cup, it was "not appropriate" for the national team to attend the tournament "for their own safety."
"Iran's national soccer team is welcome to the World Cup, but I really don't think it's appropriate for them to be there, for their own safety," Trump wrote on Truth Social.
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