FIFA turns down Iran’s World Cup relocation plea, Mexico insists games stay in the US
FIFA has said no to Iran’s push to relocate its World Cup matches from the United States to Mexico, and the message—at least for now—looks final.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum confirmed the decision after repeated requests from Tehran. Iranian officials had asked FIFA last month to shift the games out of the US, but FIFA ruled that all World Cup fixtures will go ahead as scheduled, with Mexico not taking on the Iranian team.
Speaking in Mexico City, Sheinbaum reiterated Friday that FIFA would not move the matches. “FIFA ultimately decided that the matches cannot be moved from their original venues,” she said at a news conference. “It [relocation] would make logistics too complicated, and this decision was taken by FIFA,” she added—simple, blunt, and not really leaving much room for negotiation.
The situation sits in the shadow of a wider conflict. The US and Israel launched a war on Iran on February 28, killing Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and 168 people at a girls school on the first day. Tehran responded by striking Israeli and US military bases in the Middle East with missiles and drones. A Pakistan-mediated ceasefire brought the attacks to a halt on Wednesday in Iran and the Gulf, but Israel has continued to pound parts of Lebanon.
For Iran, the football calendar can’t be separated from that tension. Iran was among the first countries to qualify for the World Cup, securing its spot from the Asian confederation. Team Melli are in Group G, facing Belgium, Egypt and New Zealand, with all group games scheduled on the US West Coast—two in Los Angeles on June 15 and 21, and one in Seattle on June 26. (And somewhere outside the hall, you could hear the low buzz of traffic—Mexico City doesn’t exactly go quiet for football politics.)
Mexico, which is cohosting the World Cup with the US and Canada, had signaled willingness to host Iran’s fixtures. But Sheinbaum’s comments reaffirmed FIFA President Gianni Infantino’s earlier line, after he met Iranian football players, coaches and officials in Turkiye on March 31. “The matches will be played where they are supposed to be, according to the draw,” Infantino said on the sidelines of Iran’s friendly match against Costa Rica.
Infantino also tried to calm worries that Iran might not show up at all, after FFIRI President Mehdi Taj said Iran would “boycott” the games in the US. “Iran will be at the World Cup. … That’s why we’re here,” Infantino said in Mexico. “I’ve seen the team, I’ve spoken to the players and the coach, so everything is fine,” he added—his attendance at the friendly unannounced. Still, security anxiety has been the thread running
through Iran’s concerns. Last month, the FFIRI expressed fears over its players’ safety and security in the US after President Donald Trump wrote on social media that it would not be appropriate for Iran to participate “for their own life and safety.” Taj later said, “When Trump has explicitly stated that he cannot ensure the security of the Iranian national team, we will certainly not travel to America.” Since then, both sides have traded indirect
blows over the issue, including recent comments from Iranian Sports Minister Ahmad Donyamali, who indicated participation will be uncertain unless FIFA relocates its fixtures—though FIFA’s latest refusal puts that demand on ice, for now, and everyone’s waiting to see how (or whether) things shift again.
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