Washington Refuses Iran Overnight Stay, FIFA Moves Iran World Cup Base to Tijuana

Iran’s national soccer team will relocate its World Cup base camp from the United States to Tijuana, Mexico, after Washington refused to allow the team to stay overnight on U.S. soil during the tournament.

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Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said FIFA approached Mexico following the U.S. decision to refuse hosting Iran, and she told reporters, “We have no reason to deny them the possibility of staying in Mexico.”

Al Jazeera

The team is still scheduled to play three Group G matches in the U.S., with Iran set to face New Zealand in Inglewood, California on June 15 and Belgium six days later, before facing Egypt on June 26 in Seattle.

The Independent reported that Sheinbaum said the U.S. “doesn’t want the Iranian national team to stay overnight in the United States,” while the BBC said FIFA later confirmed Iran’s training base at Centro Xoloitzcuintle in Tijuana.

The New York Times reported that FIFA confirmed the move and that Mehdi Taj said, “our request to change the team’s base from the United States to Mexico was approved.”

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

Sheinbaum replied, “And we said, ‘Yes, no problem. We have no issue with that',” as the BBC framed the decision as Mexico agreeing to host Iran “instead of US” while Iran’s matches remained in the United States.

BBC

Mehdi Taj, head of Iran’s soccer federation, said the base move would help avoid visa-related complications and that the squad would be able to travel directly to Mexico aboard Iran Air flights, after the team was originally planned to set up its base in Tucson, Arizona.

The BBC added that Iran’s sports minister Ahmad Donyamali said FIFA promised “all our players would receive visas,” while the BBC also reported that FFIRI officials had submitted visa applications after some members of the squad went to the U.S. embassy in Ankara on Thursday.

In a separate account, Al Jazeera said the U.S. administration had previously said it was not “appropriate” for Iranian team members to be in the country “for their own life and safety,” while Sheinbaum said the U.S. did not want the Iranian team to spend the night.

With the World Cup running from June 11 to July 19 and co-hosted by the U.S., Canada and Mexico, the immediate consequence of the base move is that Iran will operate from Tijuana while still playing its Group G matches in the U.S.

“- Published Mexico's President Claudia Sheinbaum has agreed to allow Iran to be based in the country during the World Cup, claiming the USA was unwilling to host them”

BBC

The Independent listed Iran’s schedule as New Zealand on June 15, Belgium on June 21, and Egypt on June 26, and it said the base relocation to Tijuana was intended to reduce visa-related challenges.

The New York Times said FIFA confirmed Iran would be hosted by Tijuana’s Centro Xoloitzcuintle and that the decision came only 17 days before the World Cup gets underway, with FIFA confirming base camps for all 48 teams.

Al Jazeera reported that since February 28, the U.S. and Israel have been at war with Iran and that peace negotiations are tense but ongoing, while it also said the war has cast a pall over the World Cup and made Iran’s participation uncertain.

In the background of the base-camp decision, the U.S. State Department said President Donald Trump made it clear the Iranian team was welcome to participate, but the State Department statement did not address where the team might stay, leaving the overnight question resolved through Mexico’s agreement.