Mexico City (AFP) – Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said on Tuesday that her country is prepared to host Iran’s first-round matches at the 2026 World Cup if needed due to the conflict in the Middle East. Iran’s participation at this summer’s finals in the United States, Canada, and Mexico has been in doubt since the war began last month, with President Donald Trump warning that Iranian players’ safety would be at risk if they travelled to the US.
Iran’s football federation has opened talks with FIFA about potentially relocating its matches from the United States, though the global governing body has so far maintained that the tournament’s schedule remains unchanged. Asked directly if Mexico was open to hosting the matches, and if the decision will purely come down to FIFA logistics, Sheinbaum told a press conference: “Yes.”
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“Mexico maintains diplomatic relations with every country in the world, therefore we will wait to see what FIFA decides,” she added. Iran’s place at the tournament was thrown into question after the US and Israel launched a massive offensive against the Islamic Republic, which responded with waves of missiles and drones targeting Israeli territory and American targets across the Middle East.
FIFA president Gianni Infantino initially said that Trump had given assurances that the Iranian team — scheduled to face New Zealand and Belgium in Los Angeles, followed by Egypt in Seattle — would still be welcome. But the Republican president then triggered uproar last week after stating that Iran’s football team should not travel to the tournament “for their own life and safety”.
Iran hit back at Trump’s comments saying that “no one can exclude Iran’s national team from the World Cup”. Iran were the second Asian team after Japan to qualify for the World Cup, securing their place almost a year ago as they topped their qualifying group. On Monday, Iranian football chief Mehdi Taj wrote on social media: “When Trump has explicitly stated that he cannot ensure the security of the Iranian national team, we will certainly not travel to America.”
“We are currently negotiating with FIFA to hold Iran’s matches in the World Cup in Mexico.” Iranian soccer authorities “are currently discussing with FIFA whether it is feasible — since they were originally scheduled to go to the United States — to see if they can” move Iran’s games to Mexico, confirmed Sheinbaum. “The matter is under review and we will provide an update in due course.”
When contacted by AFP on the matter, FIFA said it was “looking forward to all participating teams competing as per the match schedule announced on 6 December 2025.” “FIFA is in regular contact with all participating member associations, including IR Iran, to discuss planning for the FIFA World Cup 2026,” a spokesperson said.
The Iran team’s base camp for the tournament is currently slated to be located in Tucson, Arizona. Abolfazl Pasandideh, Iran’s ambassador to Mexico, on Monday denounced “the US government’s lack of cooperation regarding visa issuance and the provision of logistical support” for the Iranian delegation ahead of the World Cup, in a statement published on the embassy’s website. Should Iran not take part in the World Cup, it is not yet clear which country might replace them.
© 2024 AFP
