Iran negotiating with FIFA to move group games out of US

An Iranian official said this week that his country is in talks with FIFA about moving its team’s World Cup matches outside the United States after President Donald Trump declared it was “not appropriate” for the team to be there.

President of the Iranian Football Federation, Mehdi Taj he wrote in a statement That the team wants to reschedule its games to Mexico due to safety concerns — a move that would be unprecedented so close to scheduled kickoff times.

“When Trump explicitly stated that he cannot guarantee the security of the Iranian national team, it is certain that we will not travel to America,” Taj said. He added: “We are currently negotiating with FIFA to hold Iran’s World Cup matches in Mexico.”

Iran’s participation in the World Cup has been in doubt since late last month, after the United States and Israel began air strikes on the country.

On March 11, Iranian Sports Minister Ahmad Donyamali stated that “we cannot participate in the World Cup under any circumstances” in the wake of US actions in the Middle East. But after Trump said on March 12 that he “did not think it was appropriate for them to be there, for their lives and their safety,” Iran appeared to change its position.

The country’s national soccer team wrote in an Instagram post on March 13 that “no one can exclude it” from the World Cup.

Iran is currently scheduled to play its first three matches in the tournament on US soil. The first match is scheduled for June 16 against New Zealand at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood. The next match is scheduled to be held on June 21 against Belgium at the same stadium. The final will be held on June 26 against Egypt at Lumen Field in Seattle.

A FIFA spokesman confirmed on Tuesday that it was in talks with Iran and other countries “to discuss planning for the 2026 World Cup,” but added that “FIFA looks forward to all participating teams competing according to the match schedule announced on 6 December 2025.”

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