Claudia Sheinbaum Says Mexico Has No Issue Hosting Iran’s World Cup Team In Tijuana

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said on Monday she has "no issue" with Mexico hosting Iran's World Cup team after its training base was moved from the United States to Mexico for the summer soccer competition.

Sheinbaum said she was told by a FIFA representative that the United States was reluctant to have the Iranian national team spend time outside the games on U.S. territory, and she said FIFA then asked, "Can they stay overnight in Mexico?"

Al Jazeera

Iran's soccer team will still play its matches in the U.S., with its base moved to Tijuana, Mexico, just south of San Diego, California, according to Iran's soccer federation and FIFA's confirmation on Monday.

The team is scheduled to play in Inglewood, California, against New Zealand on June 15 and against Belgium six days later, before facing Egypt on June 26 in Seattle.

Before the war broke out, the team was originally planned to set up its base in Tucson, Arizona, but Sheinbaum said the base moved to Tijuana amid uncertainty and security concerns.

Sheinbaum said at a news conference that "The United States doesn't want the Iranian national team to stay overnight in the United States," and she described a FIFA representative asking whether the team could stay overnight in Mexico.

She said Mexico responded, "Yes, no problem. We have no issue with that," after the FIFA question, and she said her government was working with FIFA to hash out all the details before the competition.

BBC

Iran Football Federation President Mehdi Taj said on Saturday that the Iranian team's training base was moved to Mexico with FIFA's approval, and he said the request to change the base from the United States to Mexico was approved following meetings and a webinar meeting in Tehran.

The Hill reported that Sheinbaum said FIFA officials approached Mexico about hosting the team and that the U.S. declined to allow the team to stay in the country.

NBC News reported that Sheinbaum said the United States did not want to host the team, while Mehdi Taj said 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 BBC reported that Mehdi Taj said FIFA approved the country's World Cup training base being switched from the United States to Mexico, and he said Iran will now be based in the Mexican border city of Tijuana.

“MEXICO CITY -- Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said Monday that she has "no issue" with her country hostingIran's World Cup team after its training base was moved from the United States to Mexico for the summer soccer competition”

ESPN

Taj told the BBC that "All team base camps for the countries participating in the World Cup must be approved by Fifa," and he said the request to change the team's base from the United States to Mexico was approved after meetings and a webinar meeting with FIFA officials.

The BBC also reported that Iran were given Tucson, Arizona as their World Cup base, but ongoing war in the Middle East and related security concerns led to uncertainty around their participation.

The BBC said Taj earlier this month said Iran players were still waiting to be issued with visas for the tournament, which begins on 11 June, and it said the Iranian FA presented FIFA with a list of 10 conditions for their participation.

The BBC further reported that U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Iran players will be welcome at the tournament but individuals with links to the IRGC could face entry restrictions, and it noted that some members of the squad went to the U.S. embassy in Ankara on Thursday to submit visa applications.