Iran Moving World Cup Base Camp from U.S. to Mexico

Iran has moved its World Cup training base out of the United States because of the war in the Middle East, according to the Associated Press.

Mehdi Taj, president of the Iran Football Federation, said Saturday that his nation had been given approval from FIFA to move the base, which had been scheduled for Tucson, Arizona, to Tijuana, Mexico. FIFA later confirmed the move.

“All team base camps for the countries participating in the World Cup must be approved [by] FIFA,” Taj said in his statement. “Fortunately, following the requests we submitted and the meetings we held with FIFA and World Cup officials in Istanbul, as well as the webinar meeting we had yesterday in Tehran with the respected FIFA secretary general, our request to change the team’s base from the United States to Mexico was approved.”

The World Cup begins June 11 and will be held in the United States, Canada and Mexico. Iran, which is in Group G of the 48-team event, plays its first game June 15 against New Zealand at Los Angeles Stadium, aka SoFi Stadium. It then plays six days later, also in L.A., against Belgium and concludes group play on June 26 against Egypt in Seattle.

Before the tournament FIFA presented 64 potential base camp options across North America, though some countries chose to make their own arrangements. Among the considerations are match schedule, travel times and the quality of training facilities.
The full list of confirmed base camps for this year’s World Cup can be found here.