An Iranian official said this week the country is in talks with FIFA about moving its soccer team’s World Cup group matches out of the United States after President Donald Trump declared it was not “appropriate” for the team to be there.
Iran soccer federation president Mehdi Taj wrote in a statement that the team wants to have its games rescheduled to Mexico due to safety concerns — a move that would be unprecedented so close to slated kickoff times.
“When Trump has explicitly stated that he cannot ensure the security of the Iranian national team, we will certainly not travel to America,” Taj said. “We are currently negotiating with FIFA to hold Iran’s matches in the World Cup in Mexico.”
Iran’s participation in the World Cup has been in question since late last month, after the US and Israel began airstrikes on the country.
On March 11, Iranian sports minister Ahmad Donyamali stated “under no circumstances can we participate in the World Cup” following US actions in the Middle East. But after Trump said on March 12 that he doesn’t “believe it is appropriate that they be there, for their own life and safety,” Iran seemed to change its stance.
The country’s national soccer team wrote in a March 13 Instagram post that “no one can exclude” it from the World Cup.
Iran is currently scheduled to play its first three matches of the tournament on United States soil. The first is scheduled for June 16 against New Zealand at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood. The next is set for June 21 against Belgium at the same venue. The last is booked for June 26 against Egypt at Lumen Field in Seattle.
A FIFA spokesperson confirmed on Tuesday it is in talks with Iran and other countries “to discuss planning for the FIFA World Cup 2026,” but they added, “FIFA is looking forward to all participating teams competing as per the match schedule announced on December 6, 2025.”
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Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: nypost.com
