Mexico to Host Iran’s World Cup Team After U.S. Refusal, President Says

May 25, 2026

MEXICO CITY, May 25 (Reuters) – Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said on Monday her government agreed to allow the Iranian national football team to stay in Mexico during the World Cup, adding that the United States did not want to host the team.

Sheinbaum said football’s governing body FIFA approached her government after the U.S. said it did not want Iran‘s squad to stay in the country throughout the tournament, despite Iran playing all three of its group matches there.

Regime supporters watch the 2022 FIFA World Cup semi-final between Morocco and its opponent, France, on a screen at Nakhlestan Café in downtown Tehran on Dec. 14, 2022. One supporter holds a Palestinian flag while another flashes a victory sign in a show of support for the Palestinian people and Morocco’s national team. A portrait of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei is seen on the wall of the venue, which is run by Owj, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-affiliated arts and media organization. The gathering brought together supporters from Iran, Lebanon, Yemen, Syria and Palestine, reflecting how football events in Iran are often used by Islamic Republic-linked institutions for political messaging. Critics say Iran’s sports industry is deeply politicized and corrupted, operating through patronage networks tied to regime officials and IRGC-affiliated bodies.
PLEASE NOTE: Caption edited by Kayhan Life staff to provide additional context and a clearer understanding of Iran’s society and the political environment surrounding public sports events.(Photo by Morteza Nikoubazl/NurPhoto) REUTERS./

“We have no reason to deny them the possibility of staying in Mexico,” Sheinbaum said during her daily press conference.

The White House and the State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Mehdi Taj, head of Iran‘s football federation, said on Saturday the team’s base would be moved from Arizona to the Mexican border city of Tijuana during the tournament.

Taj added that the move would help avoid visa-related complications and that the squad would be able to travel directly to Mexico aboard Iran Air flights.

The Iranian team’s participation in the June 11-July 19 tournament had been in question since the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran in late February.

Iran will play its first two Group G matches in Los Angeles against New Zealand on June 15 and Belgium on June 21, before facing Egypt in Seattle on June 26.

(Reporting by Raul Cortes and Natalia Siniawski, Editing by Iñigo Alexander)