Set up quarters in Mexico
Iran withdraws World Cup team from USA
Updated May 24, 2026 – 1:45 p.mReading time: 1 min.
Iran moves its World Cup training camp from the USA to Tijuana. Apparently there are visa problems.
The Iranian national soccer team has moved its World Cup headquarters from the USA to Mexico. FIFA has approved the Iranian association’s request to set up the training camp in Tijuana instead of Tucson in the US state of Arizona. The reason is visa problems in connection with the war between Iran and the USA that has been going on since the end of February.
Association president Mehdi Taj said in a video on his Telegram account: “Thanks to discussions with FIFA officials, our request to move from the USA to Mexico due to visa issues has been approved. We will set up our training camp in Tijuana, near the Pacific.” Taj also pointed out the shorter distances to the new location: “The flight time to our two games in Los Angeles is only 55 minutes. That’s significantly shorter than to Tucson.”
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The team is currently in a training camp in Antalya, southern Turkey. Some players submitted their visa applications at the US Embassy in Ankara on Thursday. The head of the Kino Sports Complex in Arizona, where Iran was originally supposed to be stationed, was unable to confirm the move to the SID and referred all questions to the World Cup organizers.
The World Cup will take place from June 11th to July 19th in the USA, Mexico and Canada. Iran will face New Zealand in Group G on June 15 in Los Angeles, then Belgium again in Los Angeles. The final group game against Egypt takes place in Seattle.
