PHOENIX (AP) – The president of Iran’s soccer governing body announced Saturday that the country’s World Cup training base has been moved from the United States to Mexico with FIFA approval.
Iranian Football Federation President Mehdi Taj announced the decision in a statement released by the federation’s media representative on Saturday. FIFA has not approved this move.
Iran had been scheduled to hold the drill in Tucson, Arizona, but uncertainty surrounding the Middle East war and security concerns have raised the possibility of the move. Officials at Kino Sports Complex in Tucson had no comment.
The federation said the team will now be based in Tijuana, Mexico, just south of San Diego. This year’s World Cup will be held from June 11th to July 19th and will be co-hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico.
“All team base camps of countries participating in the World Cup must be approved by FIFA,” Taj said in a statement. “Fortunately, after the request we submitted and the meeting we had with FIFA and World Cup officials in Istanbul, as well as the webinar meeting we held with the esteemed FIFA Secretary General in Tehran yesterday, our request to change the team’s home base from the United States to Mexico has been approved.”
Iran will play Group G matches in Inglewood, California, against New Zealand on June 15, then Belgium six days later, before playing Egypt in Seattle on June 26.
Team Melli will be participating in the World Cup for the fourth consecutive year and seventh time in total. I never made it past the first round.
The Iranian federation said relocating the base camp would resolve potential visa issues as the team enters the United States via Mexico. The president said the team “may also be able to use Iran Air flights to travel to and from Mexico.”
Teams use the base camp for training before and after games.
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