The Iranian Football Federation announced on Sunday that Iran will no longer use the venue in Tucson, Arizona.
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Iran has decided to move its training center for the 2026 World Cup from the United States to Mexico, and FIFA has approved it. The Iranian Football Federation said on Sunday that Iran will no longer use the location in Tucson, Arizona.
Instead, Iran will use Tijuana, which is on the Mexican border, as its base. The federation's president, Mehdi Taj, said, "This decision was made after discussions with FIFA officials. We are still having visa problems, so Mexico will be an easy destination for us. FIFA has also accepted this. Now we will focus on Tijuana. It is between Mexico and the United States." According to Taj, the choice of this location will also make travel easier.
Now the Iranian team will be able to reach Mexico using its own aircraft. There has been a long-standing dilemma over Iran's participation in this year's World Cup. There is a state of war between the host country, the United States, and Iran. The United States, together with Israel, bombed Iran, which has led to tensions in the Gulf region. Iran is in Group 'C' of the competition.
Their first two games will be in Los Angeles. Iran will face New Zealand on June 15. They will then take to the field against Belgium on June 21. Iran's final game against Egypt on June 26 will be in Seattle. According to President Taj, both cities are close to Tijuana. That means the Iranian team will only need a 55-minute flight to reach the venue.
For now, the Iranian team is in Antalya, Turkey. The Iranian players have already applied for visas at the US embassy in Ankara a few days ago. Iran, however, is not sure whether its players and officials will be granted visas to the US. The association's vice president, Mehdi Mohammad Nabi, also said that there is uncertainty about all players and officials getting visas.
He said, "We are still in doubt about the visas." But I am also confident that FIFA will arrange all the necessary procedures.’ The Kino Sports Complex in Tuscany, however, has not commented on Iran’s latest decision and said that all the procedures will be up to FIFA. At the FIFA Congress in Vancouver last month, President Gianni Infantino claimed that Iran is certain to play in the World Cup.
He said at the time, ‘What I want to say is that Iran will definitely participate in this World Cup. Iran will play in the United States. The reason for this is clear, we have to be united and bring everyone together.’ The World Cup, which will be held in Canada and Mexico along with the United States, starts on June 11 and will feature 48 countries.
