Iran moved its 2026 World Cup training camp from Tucson, Arizona, to Tijuana, Mexico, due to visa and diplomatic difficulties with the United States, the Iran Football Federation confirmed [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6]. The national team will play all their Group G matches in US cities Los Angeles and Seattle in June, facing New Zealand, Belgium, and Egypt [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6].
The shift came after US-Israeli attacks on Iran on February 28, 2026, raised doubts over Iran's World Cup participation amid heightened Middle East tensions [1, 2, 4, 5, 6]. Iranian officials say obtaining US multiple-entry visas remains a challenge. Iran’s Football Federation President Mehdi Taj said on May 28 that FIFA is expected to arrange a multiple-entry visa allowing players to travel between Mexico and the US during the tournament [1]. Mehdi Mohammadnabi, the federation’s first vice president, added, "We sent an email to FIFA today and asked them to announce the result as soon as possible, to say on what day the visas will be issued, because we now need both multiple-entry Mexican visas and multiple-entry US visas" [2].
Iran’s ambassador to Mexico, Abolfazl Pasandideh, said on May 29 the team still lacks US visas and that they "aren’t participating in the World Cup on equal terms" due to forced training in Mexico rather than the US [4, 6]. Iranian diplomats visited the training stadium in Tijuana on May 27 and met with local security officials to prepare the camp facilities [4, 6].
Iran’s team opened the US visa application process at the US Embassy in Ankara, Turkey, following a training camp in Antalya that began on May 19 [7]. On the same day as the latest visa status update, Iran beat Gambia 3-1 in a World Cup warm-up match in Antalya, Turkey [2, 3]. Star striker Sardar Azmoun, who has scored 57 international goals, remains omitted from the initial World Cup squad with his status unclear as of May 28 [1, 5].
FIFA reportedly expects to complete the administrative visa process by the week ending May 29, with Iran awaiting formal confirmation of visa issuance timing [2, 3, 7]. The team aims to resolve the US visa situation before their first World Cup match on June 15.
