Iran’s football federation is currently in talks with FIFA about possibly moving their FIFA World Cup matches from the United States to Mexico because of concerns over the safety of their players Iranian football president Mehdi Taj said on Monday.
Iran’s place in the global tournament came under question after co-hosts the United States carried out joint air strikes on the country along with Israel.
U.S. President Donald Trump said last week that Iran would be welcome to take part but suggested it might not be suitable for them to play in the United States “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 Taj 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.”
Football’s global governing body FIFA did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
A major logistical challenge
Iran qualified for their fourth straight World Cup after finishing top of their group in the third round of Asian qualifying last year.
The tournament is scheduled to begin on June 11 and will be hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico. Iran are currently set to play two group-stage matches in Los Angeles and one in Seattle. Their opponents in Group G are Belgium, Egypt and New Zealand.
The organising committees responsible for matches in Los Angeles and Seattle did not immediately reply to requests for comment outside normal U.S. business hours.
Moving Iran’s matches to Mexico would be a major logistical change for the tournament. However, relocating games for security or political reasons has happened before.
In September last year, Scotland recorded a 2–0 World Cup qualifying win over Belarus in Zalaegerszeg near the Austrian and Slovenian borders. The match was moved following a ruling by UEFA because of Belarus’ role as a staging ground for Russia during the invasion of Ukraine.
Similar situations have occurred in other sports. Political tensions between India and Pakistan mean the two neighbours usually play each other only at neutral venues in multi-team cricket tournaments.
India, for example, refused to travel to Pakistan for last year’s ICC Champions Trophy and were allowed to play all their matches in Dubai instead.
The decision rests with the federation
If FIFA does not approve the request to move the matches to Mexico it appears unlikely that Iran would travel to the United States to play while tensions remain high with one of the tournament’s co-hosts.
Iran’s sports minister said last week that it would not be possible for the Iranian players to take part after the United States launched airstrikes alongside Israel against Tehran killing the Islamic Republic’s supreme leader.
An official withdrawal would be the first of its kind in the modern era of the World Cup and would force FIFA to quickly find a replacement team.
The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) said on Monday that it has not received any notice that Iran plans to withdraw from the tournament.
“At the end of the day, it’s the federation who should decide if they’re playing, and as of today, the federation has told us that they are going to the World Cup,” AFC General Secretary Windsor John told reporters in Kuala Lumpur.