Iran are shifting their World Cup coaching base to Mexico after soccer’s world governing physique FIFA authorized a request to switch it from Tucson, Arizona, the top of Iran’s soccer federation mentioned on Saturday.
The Iranian group will now be based mostly in Tijuana on the border of Mexico and the United States through the event, federation president Mehdi Taj mentioned in a video carried by the Fars information company.
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“Fortunately, thanks to the meetings we had with FIFA officials… our request to change countries from the United States to Mexico, due to problems encountered in obtaining visas, was accepted by FIFA,” Taj mentioned.
“We will therefore be based in Tijuana, near the Pacific Ocean. It is a city that lies between Mexico and the US, but it is located in Mexico. We have actually completed the team building there.”
Taj mentioned that the move would assist to keep away from issues associated to visas and that the squad might use Iran Air flights to journey straight to Mexico.
Iran’s participation within the World Cup has been in query for months as a result of it’s being co-hosted by the United States, which together with Israel started bombing Iran on February 28, sparking a wider warfare within the Middle East.
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Iran have been drawn in Group G and can play their first two matches in Los Angeles.
They open their marketing campaign in opposition to New Zealand on June 15 and can then face Belgium on June 21 earlier than rounding off their group video games in opposition to Egypt in Seattle on June 26.
Taj mentioned that Tijuana was nearer to the cities the place Iran will play than the camp in Arizona would have been.
“The distance for us in the two games that we have in LA will be a 55-minute flight. Which is a lot less compared to Tucson,” the federation president mentioned.
The Iran group is at the moment making ready in Antalya, southern Turkey, and among the squad went to the US embassy in Ankara on Thursday to submit visa purposes for the World Cup.
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– Visa uncertainty –
The Iranian soccer federation’s vice-president Mehdi Mohammad Nabi mentioned on Tuesday that the federation was uncertain if US visas could be granted to the entire group and accompanying officers.
“We’re not certain yet that all the players and staff will receive US visas,” he mentioned, however added that Iran was “very confident” in FIFA’s protocols.
Sarah Hanna, the top of the Kino Sports Complex in Tucson the place the Iran group have been to have been based mostly, instructed AFP on Saturday that she couldn’t affirm the move to Mexico and referred all questions to World Cup organisers.
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At a FIFA congress in Vancouver final month, president Gianni Infantinoย mentionedย that Iran would play their World Cup video games within the US as scheduled.
“Let me start at the outset by confirming straight away, for those who maybe want to say something else or write something else, that of course Iran will be participating at the FIFA World Cup 2026,” Infantino mentioned then.
“And of course, Iran will play in the United States of America. The reason for that is simple, because we have to unite. We have to bring people together.”
The World Cup, hosted by the US, Mexico and Canada, kicks off on June 11.
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