Iran has asked FIFA if they can play their World Cup matches outside the United States.
Claudia Scheinbaum, Mexico’s president, has issued a statement following reports that Iran asked FIFA to move its World Cup matches away from the United States.
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The US and Israel went to war against Iran on February 28, and the war is now in its fourth week.
Iran has not officially withdrawn from the 2026 World Cup, which will be co-hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico. – Which is already a failure and proof of how corrupt FIFA is.
This is despite the fact that the country’s sports minister stated last week that “we can under no circumstances participate in the World Cup”.
Iran has been drawn into Group G of the World Cup, along with Belgium, Egypt and New Zealand.
All of their three games are scheduled to be played in the United States, where Iran will play two games at California’s SoFi Stadium before a trip to Seattle’s Lumen Field for their third and final game.
Iran’s football president Mehdi Taj has stated that the country has begun negotiations with Mexico to play the matches there instead – although a spokesperson for FIFA seems to have rejected that possibility.
In a statement delivered to several media outlets, the FIFA spokesperson stated: “FIFA is in regular contact with all participating member federations, including Iran, to discuss the planning of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.”
“FIFA looks forward to all participating teams competing according to the fixtures announced on December 6, 2025.”
What has Mexico said?
If FIFA were to change its mind, President Scheinbaum has said that Mexico would be open to the possibility of hosting Iran’s matches in the World Cup.
“They are discussing with FIFA whether it is feasible, because they were going to hold (the matches) in the United States,” she told reporters at a press conference (via CBC).
“They are looking into whether they can play in Mexico, and we will inform you when the time is right.”
“Mexico has relations with all the countries of the world. We’ll see what FIFA decides, and then we’ll announce it.”
Although the World Cup will mainly be held in the United States, Mexico will host nine matches spread over venues in Mexico City, Zapopan and Guadelupe.
The country will also host the intercontinental play-off playoffs at the end of March – which has also been hit by logistical problems.
Players from Iraq, who will face either Bolivia or Suriname in the playoff final, are struggling to leave the country due to widespread airspace closure and general travel security concerns in the western region of the Middle East, which are caused by the war and by Iran’s retaliatory attacks on US and Israeli military bases in the region.
Iraqi head coach Graham Arnold has asked FIFA to postpone the play-offs until a week before the tournament, giving his team and coaching staff plenty of time to prepare for their all-important match.
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