Mexico agrees to host Iran football team during World Cup after US refusal
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said plans are underway for the Iran national football team to stay in Tijuana during the World Cup and travel from there to play its three matches in the US, after the US refused to let the team stay overnight in the country amid ongoing military conflict.
Claudia Sheinbaum said Monday that plans are underway for the Iran national football team to stay in Tijuana during the World Cup and travel from there to play its three matches in the US. Sheinbaum said at a press briefing in Mexico City that FIFA officials had contacted her administration to support the Iranian team's stay in Mexico and relocate them from their current base in Tucson, Arizona, even though the team's matches would be played in the US.
US refusal
"The United States does not want the Iranian team staying overnight in the country ... So, they asked us … can they stay overnight in Mexico?" Sheinbaum explained. "We said yes, no problem, we have absolutely no issue with that."
Conflict backdrop
The World Cup, hosted by the US, Mexico and Canada, is unfolding amid an unstable global climate, with Washington engaged in multiple conflicts, including with Iran since Feb. 28. FIFA has contacted Mexico's World Cup organizers and Tourism Ministry. Logistical arrangements have yet to be finalized to shuttle the athletes between the two neighbors.
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Mexico's response
"They would arrive in Mexico and travel from here. That was what FIFA informed us: whether we agreed to let them stay overnight in Mexico, and we said yes, without any problem," Sheinbaum said.
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