Iran moves camp from Arizona to Mexico, clearing path to play in World Cup

Iran will relocate its World Cup training base from Tucson, Arizona to Tijuana, Mexico. The Iran Football Federation president said the request to change the base was approved after meetings with FIFA and World Cup officials and a webinar with FIFA’s secretary general. The team is scheduled to play New Zealand at SoFi Stadium on June 15, Belgium in Inglewood six days later, and Egypt in Seattle to finish group play. Concerns had arisen about the team’s security in the United States following attacks involving the United States and Israel. Iran had questioned whether travel to the U.S. was appropriate for safety reasons. The federation said the move should resolve potential visa issues because entry to the U.S. would occur through Mexico.

"Iran is moving its World Cup training base from Tucson, Ariz., to Tijuana, the president of the country's soccer federation said Saturday, removing one of the final hurdles to its participation in this summer's tournament."

"Because the World Cup is being shared with Mexico and Canada, Iran requested permission to move its base across the border, a request Mehdi Taj, president of the Iran Football Federation, said Saturday had been granted."

""All team base camps for the countries participating in the World Cup must be approved [by] FIFA," Taj said in his statement obtained by the Associated Press. "Fortunately, following the requests we submitted and the meetings we held with FIFA and World Cup officials in Istanbul, as well as the webinar meeting we had yesterday in Tehran with the respected FIFA secretary general, our request to change the team's base from the United States to Mexico was approved.""

"Iran's federation said moving the base camp will resolve potential visa issues since the team will enter the U.S. through Mexico. Taj that the team "may even be able to travel to and fr"

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