Mexico Welcomes Iran’s Soccer Team Amidst Tensions

The President of Mexico, Claudia Sheinbaum, expressed on Monday that there is no objection to hosting Iran’s World Cup team after a change of their training base from the United States to Mexico was announced. The move comes in preparation for the summer soccer competition.

The Iranian team will play their group stage matches in the U.S., but will be based in Tijuana, Mexico, which is located just south of San Diego, California. This decision was recently declared by Iran’s soccer federation and was officially confirmed by FIFA, the global governing body of soccer, on Monday.

The switch in training base follows the unfolding conflict in Iran, which began on February 28 involving the U.S. and Israel. President Sheinbaum stated at a news conference that a FIFA representative mentioned the reluctance of the U.S. to host the Iranian soccer team beyond the duration of their matches.

“The United States doesn’t want the Iranian national team to stay overnight in the United States,” Sheinbaum informed reporters. She added, “And we said, ‘Yes, no problem. We have no issue with that’,” in response to FIFA’s inquiry about hosting the Iranian team in Mexico.

Iran’s soccer team is scheduled to compete in matches in Inglewood, California against New Zealand on June 15 and Belgium on June 21, followed by a game against Egypt on June 26 in Seattle.

Initially, before the conflict began, the team intended to have its training base in Tucson, Arizona. However, with mounting tensions, Iran’s team relocated its base to Tijuana, Mexico. This was confirmed by Sheinbaum following the announcement from the Iranian federation over the weekend. FIFA has sanctioned this change and released an official list of all 48 base camp sites on Monday. Base camps are facilities where teams train before and after their matches.

This year’s World Cup, scheduled from June 11 to July 19, will be jointly hosted by the United States, Canada, and Mexico. Speculation regarding the move had been present for several months due to ongoing uncertainties in the Middle East and related security concerns. United States sanctions on Iran were anticipated to complicate any extended stay of the team in the U.S.

A statement from the U.S. State Department on Monday outlined that former President Donald Trump welcomed Iran’s participation in the tournament. However, the statement did not touch upon accommodation arrangements or Sheinbaum’s earlier remarks. President Sheinbaum indicated her administration’s active collaboration with FIFA to finalize all necessary details ahead of the competition.

For more updates, visit AP soccer.