The Iranian football federation has announced that its World Cup training base has been moved from the United States to Mexico after receiving approval from Fifa. Mehdi Taj, president of the Iran Football Federation, confirmed the decision on Saturday, although Fifa has not officially commented on the move.
The team had originally been scheduled to train in Tucson, Arizona, but uncertainty surrounding the war in the Middle East and security concerns prompted a change. Officials at Tucson's Kino Sports Complex declined to comment when approached by the Associated Press.
The federation stated that the team will now be based in Tijuana, Mexico, just south of San Diego. Taj said that the move would resolve potential visa issues, as the team will enter the United States through Mexico, and may even be able to use Iran Air flights to travel to and from Mexico.
Iran are set to play their Group G matches in the United States: against New Zealand in Los Angeles on 15 June, Belgium on 21 June, and Egypt in Seattle on 26 June. The team are appearing in their fourth consecutive World Cup and seventh overall, though they have never advanced past the first round.
In March, following joint US-Israeli airstrikes on Iran, it was reported that Fifa was unwilling to switch Iran's matches to Mexico. Donald Trump had suggested that the players' lives could be at risk in the US. At last month's Fifa congress in Vancouver, president Gianni Infantino confirmed that Iran would play their games in the United States as scheduled, stating that the tournament should unite people.
