Iranian football chiefs said on Tuesday that they were thrashing out plans with the organisers of the 2026 World Cup to move their three games in the tournament's group stages from the United States to Mexico due to concerns over player safety.
Fifa, which stages the World Cup every four years, has not publicly acknowledged the Iranian claim which follows comments from the American president Donald Trump after Israel and the US launched air strikes on Iran on 28 February.
Trump said last week that while Iran were welcome to participate in the competition, he suggested it might not be appropriate for them to play in the US for their own life and safety.
"When Trump has explicitly stated that he cannot ensure the security of the Iranian national team, we will certainly not travel to America," said Iranian football federation chief Medhi Taj in a post on the Iranian embassy in Mexico's X account.
He said the Iranian federation was in talks with Fifa to hold Iran's matches in Mexico.
Iran says no one can exclude it from World Cup after Trump warning
Logistical switch
Iran secured a trip to a fourth successive World Cup by topping their group in the third round of Asian qualifying last year.
The 2026 World Cup starts on 11 June with a match in Mexico City between co-hosts Mexico and South Africa. Games will also take place in Canada.
Iran, who will be based in Tucson, Arizona, are scheduled to launch their campaign against New Zealand on 16 June at the SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles. Five days later at the same venue, they face Belgium and they finish their Group G matches at Lumen Field in Seattle on 27 June against Egypt.
The prospect of shifting Iran's fixtures to Mexico would mark a significant logistical switch for the tournament, though relocating matches for security or geopolitical reasons is not unprecedented.
In September 2025, Scotland secured a 2-0 World Cup qualifying win over Belarus at Zalaegerszeg near the Austrian and Slovenian borders, after a ruling by European football's governing body Uefa over the role of Belarus as a staging ground for Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
In other sports, soured political relations between India and Pakistan means they only face each other at neutral venues in multi-team cricket tournaments.
India refused to travel to Pakistan for last year's Champions Trophy and were allowed to play all their matches in Dubai instead.
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Ahmad Donyamali, Iran's sports minister, said last week it was not possible for the Iranian players to participate in the World Cup in the wake of the American and Israeli air assaults which have led to Iran firing missiles and drones into Israel and at American targets across the Middle East.
The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) said that it had not received any notification that Iran will withdraw from the event.
"At the end of the day, it's the Iranian federation who should decide if they're playing," AFC general secretary Windsor John told reporters in the Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur.
"At the moment, the federation has told us that they are going to the World Cup."
(with newswires)
