Manny Ita –
FIFA has signaled that Iran’s matches at the 2026 FIFA World Cup will not be relocated from the United States, following recent US and Israeli airstrikes in Iran. The decision comes after Mehdi Taj, president of the Iranian Football Federation, stated that Iran was negotiating with FIFA to move its matches outside the United States due to ongoing security concerns.
Former US President Donald Trump said last week that he did not believe it was “appropriate” for Iran to play games in America “for their own life and safety.” Iran is scheduled to play all three of its group matches in the United States, beginning with a match against New Zealand in Los Angeles on 15 June.
A FIFA spokesperson said the organisation is “looking forward to all participating teams competing as per the match schedule announced” following the World Cup draw in December. “FIFA is in regular contact with all participating member associations, including IR Iran, to discuss planning for the World Cup 2026,” the spokesperson added.
Earlier, Mehdi Taj indicated that relocating Iran’s fixtures to co-host Mexico was under consideration. “When Trump has explicitly stated that he cannot ensure the security of the Iranian national team, we will certainly not travel to America,” Taj said in a post on the Iranian embassy in Mexico’s X account. “We are negotiating with FIFA to hold Iran’s World Cup matches in Mexico.”
Claudia Sheinbaum responded that Mexico would have no objection to hosting Iran’s matches if FIFA agrees. “Mexico maintains diplomatic relations with every country in the world, therefore we will wait to see what FIFA decides,” she said.
FIFA regulations provide the governing body with the authority to cancel, reschedule, or relocate matches “for any reason at its sole discretion, including as a result of force majeure or due to health, safety or security concerns.” However, New Zealand Football Chief Executive Andrew Pragnell said he doubted FIFA would relocate Iran’s games.
New Zealand’s head coach, Darren Bazeley, said, “Right now we’re still continuing as though we’re playing Iran. They’re the team that qualified and we got drawn against them. That’s still the fixture and until we get told otherwise, we’ll continue with that preparation. Obviously, if things change, then we’ll deal with that, but that would be [people at] a higher level than myself involved in those discussions.”
Iran’s group stage matches are scheduled in Los Angeles against New Zealand on 15 June and Belgium on 21 June, followed by a match against Egypt in Seattle on 26 June. There is also a potential encounter with the United States if both teams finish as runners-up in Group D and Group G respectively, with the fixture planned for Arlington, Texas.
