Claudia Sheinbaum Opens Mexico Base for Iran Fifa World Cup Games
Mexico's president agreed to let Iran be based in the country for the fifa world cup games after the United States said it would not allow the squad to stay overnight there. The move gives Iran an overnight base in Mexico while it still has three matches in the United States.
Claudia Sheinbaum and Iran
Claudia Sheinbaum said there was no reason to deny Iran the chance to stay in Mexico. She added: “The United States does not want the Iranian team to stay overnight, but they are going to play three matches there.”
Sheinbaum also said: “So they asked us: 'Can they stay overnight in Mexico?' And we said: 'Yes, no problem.' We have no problem.” That arrangement places the squad in Mexico rather than in the United States, where Iran had originally been given Tucson, Arizona as its World Cup base.
Centro Xoloitzcuintle in Tijuana
Fifa later set Iran's training base at Centro Xoloitzcuintle in Tijuana, Mexico. Iran are preparing for the tournament at a camp in Antalya, southern Turkey, and some members of the squad went to the US embassy in Ankara on Thursday to submit visa applications.
Ahmad Donyamali said: “The Fifa president promised us that all our players would receive visas. There is no reason why our players should not receive visas,” a line that puts the paperwork front and center as the team tries to move from camp to tournament travel without another delay.
Iran's Three U.S. Matches
Iran are scheduled to play New Zealand on 15 June in Los Angeles, Belgium on 21 June in Los Angeles and Egypt on 26 June in Seattle. Those three games leave the team moving back and forth across the tournament footprint while using Mexico as the overnight base.
The World Cup is being co-hosted by the US, Canada and Mexico, but the current setup shows how one host country's limits can reshape another team's logistics before a ball is kicked. The Iranian FA had already presented Fifa with a list of 10 conditions for participation, including visas for players, coaches and officials who completed military service with the IRGC, and the team now has to meet the tournament on those terms.
