Fifa has appeared to rule out the possibility of relocating Iran’s matches at the World Cup to Mexico following the US and Israeli air strikes on the country.
It comes after the president of the Iranian football federation, Mehdi Taj, said Iran was “negotiating” with Fifa to move the team’s matches outside of the United States due to the ongoing conflict.
US president Donald Trump said last week that he did not believe it was “appropriate” for Iran to play games in America “for their own life and safety”.
Iran are scheduled to play all three of its group matches at the World Cup in the US, kicking off against New Zealand in Los Angeles on June 15.
But a spokesperson said Fifa is “looking forward to all participating teams competing as per the match schedule announced” following the World Cup draw in December.
“Fifa is in regular contact with all participating member associations, including IR Iran, to discuss planning for the World Cup 2026,” the spokesperson added.
Earlier, the president of the Iranian football federation appeared to indicate that moving Iran’s fixtures to co-host Mexico was under consideration.
“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 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.”
If Fifa’s stance shifts, it could be possible for games to be relocated. Fifa’s World Cup regulations state: “Fifa has the right to cancel, reschedule or relocate one or more matches (or the entire FIFA World Cup 26) for any reason at its sole discretion, including as a result of force majeure or due to health, safety or security concerns.”
The chief executive of New Zealand Football, Andrew Pragnell, told local media on Tuesday that he doubted Fifa would relocate Iran’s matches.
The New Zealand national team’s head coach, Darren Bazeley, told reporters in the country: “Right now we’re still continuing as though we’re playing Iran.
“They’re the team that qualified and we got drawn against them. That’s still the fixture and until we get told otherwise, we’ll continue with that preparation.
“Obviously, if things change, then we’ll deal with that, but that would be (people at) a higher level than myself involved in those discussions.”
Iran are scheduled to play two World Cup games in Los Angeles and another in Seattle. They will face New Zealand and Belgium in LA on June 15 and June 21, followed by the match against Egypt in Seattle on June 26.
There is also the possibility that the US and Iran could play each other at the tournament. This would happen if both teams were runners-up in Group D and Group G respectively, with that fixture scheduled to be played in Arlington, Texas.
Includes reporting from PA
