FIFA has confirmed that the Iranian national team has officially moved its World Cup base camp from the United States to Tijuana, Mexico.This is the latest impact that the ongoing military conflict between the U.S. and Iran has had on the nation’s World Cup preparations. The war began on February 28 when the U.S. and Israel targeted Iran with military strikes that killed their supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, prompting Iran to launch retaliatory strikes.A week before the conflict began, the Kino Sports Complex in Tucson, Arizona, announced that it would be Iran’s training base.However, on Saturday Mehdi Taj, president of Iran’s soccer federation, said in a statement that “our request to change the team’s base from the United States to Mexico was approved”, following meetings with FIFA and World Cup officials in Istanbul last week and a subsequent “webinar meeting” Friday with FIFA general secretary Mattias Grafström.“We will establish our base camp in Tijuana, which is located near the Pacific Ocean and on the Mexico–United States border, but within Mexican territory,” Taj added. “The contract will be finalized and there are no issues, as it has already been approved by FIFA.”FIFA did not initially confirm the switch, but global soccer’s governing body announced on Monday that Iran would be hosted by Tijuana’s Centro Xoloitzcuintle, as it confirmed the base camps for all 48 teams.Mexico’s president Claudia Sheinbaum also confirmed that her government had agreed to host the Iran team.“We have no reason to deny them the possibility of staying in Mexico,” Sheinbaum said in quotes carried by Reuters.The Athletic has contacted the State Department for comment.The decision comes only 17 days before the World Cup, co-hosted by the U.S., Canada and Mexico gets underway. Earlier this month, a person with direct knowledge of the base camp plans told The Athletic that planning was in full swing, with various law enforcement agencies meeting regularly to coordinate security.According to one person involved in the planning, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive matters, the construction of security apparatus was already underway, and that the Kino Sports Complex planned to bring in a Middle Eastern studies professor from the University of Arizona for a cultural training session with staff who’d be working with the Iranian team.In March, U.S. President Donald Trump posted on social media that he did not believe it was “appropriate” for Iran to participate in the tournament, “for their own life and safety,” Iranian officials said they were “negotiating with FIFA to hold Iran’s matches in the World Cup in Mexico.” FIFA said at the time that the fixtures would go ahead as originally announced in December, and Trump and his Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, have both since said that Iran’s team is welcome.All three of Iran’s group stage games will be played in the U.S. Amir Ghalenoei’s side will face ​New Zealand on June 15 ​and Belgium on June 21 — both in Los Angeles — and will travel to Seattle to take on Egypt on June 26.May 25, 2026Connections: Sports EditionSpot the pattern. Connect the termsFind the hidden link between sports terms