March 17 (Reuters) – Iran’s football federation is in talks with FIFA about moving their World Cup matches from the United States to Mexico due to concerns over the safety of their players, Iranian football President Mehdi Taj said on Monday
Iran’s participation in the global football showpiece was thrown into doubt after co-hosts the United States launched joint airstrikes on the country with Israel.
US President Donald Trump said last week that Iran was welcome to participate, but suggested it might not be appropriate for them to play in the US “for their own lives and safety”.
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“When Trump has explicitly stated that he cannot guarantee the safety of the Iranian national team, we will certainly not travel to America,” Taj said in a message on the Iranian embassy in Mexico’s X account.
“We are negotiating with FIFA to host the Iranian World Cup matches in Mexico.”
Global football governing body FIFA did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Iran secured a trip to a fourth consecutive World Cup by topping their group in the third round of Asian qualifying last year.
The tournament will kick off on June 11 in the US, Canada and Mexico, with Iran set to play two group matches in Los Angeles and one in Seattle. Belgium, Egypt and New Zealand are Iran’s opponents in Group G.
The organizing committees for races in Los Angeles and Seattle did not immediately respond to a request for comment outside normal U.S. business hours.
The prospect of moving the Iranian matches to Mexico would represent a significant logistical change for the tournament, although moving matches for security or geopolitical reasons is not unprecedented.
In September last year, Scotland secured a 2-0 World Cup qualifying victory over Belarus in Zalaegerszeg near the Austrian and Slovenian borders, following a UEFA ruling over Belarus’ role as a stage for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
In other sports, soured political relations between India and Pakistan mean the nuclear-armed neighbors face each other only at neutral venues in multi-team cricket tournaments. India refused to travel to Pakistan for the Champions Trophy last year and were instead allowed to play all their matches in Dubai.
Should FIFA reject a venue move to Mexico, it seems unlikely that Iran would travel to the US and participate in the tournament while at war with one of the co-hosts.
Iran’s sports minister said last week that it was not possible for the Iranian players to participate after the US launched airstrikes against Tehran jointly with Israel, killing the Islamic Republic’s supreme leader.
An official withdrawal would be the first in modern times and leave FIFA with the urgent task of finding a replacement. The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) said on Monday it had not received any notification that Iran would withdraw from the event.
“Ultimately it is the federation that has to decide whether they play, and as of today the federation has told us that they are going to the World Cup,” AFC secretary general Windsor John told reporters in Kuala Lumpur.
