Iran's national football team will base itself in Tijuana, Mexico, rather than in the United States during the 2026 FIFA World Cup, after football's governing body approved a last-minute request to relocate its training camp. Mehdi Taj, president of the Iran Football Federation, announced the decision on Saturday, saying FIFA had sanctioned the switch following a series of meetings in Istanbul and a video conference in Tehran with FIFA's secretary general. FIFA had not independently confirmed the move at the time of the announcement.
The team had originally been scheduled to train in Tucson, Arizona — and later reports pointed to a camp in the Phoenix area — but mounting uncertainty over the ongoing US-Israeli military conflict with Iran and unresolved visa complications made that plan increasingly untenable. Iranian players and staff had begun their visa applications while on a pre-tournament training camp in Turkey, but officials acknowledged earlier this month that no US visas had yet been granted, with the tournament less than a month away. Moving the base camp to Mexico is expected to ease those difficulties, as the squad will enter the United States across the land border rather than requiring direct entry by air.
Tijuana, a Mexican city that sits directly on the border with California just south of San Diego, offers a practical alternative. Taj noted that the new location is actually closer to Iran's match venues than the Arizona camp would have been — roughly 55 minutes by flight from Los Angeles. The federation said the Tijuana facility includes training pitches, a gym, and a private restaurant, meeting all of the team's operational needs. Iran Air may also operate direct flights to the city, avoiding the need to route the delegation through US airports entirely.
Iran, known as Team Melli, is drawn in Group G and will play all three of its first-round fixtures on US soil: against New Zealand on 15 June in Inglewood, California, a suburb of Los Angeles; against Belgium on 21 June at the same venue; and against Egypt on 26 June in Seattle. The team is appearing at its fourth consecutive World Cup and seventh overall, though it has never progressed beyond the group stage.
The logistical manoeuvre underscores the broader tensions surrounding Iran's participation in a tournament co-hosted by a country with which it is in active conflict. While FIFA has not commented publicly, the approval of the camp relocation suggests the governing body is working to ensure Iran's participation goes ahead. Iran is scheduled to play a friendly against Gambia on 29 May before coach Amir Ghalenoei names his final 26-man squad ahead of FIFA's 1 June deadline.