Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said the country would host Iran’s soccer team for the FIFA World Cup, claiming U.S. officials did not want to host Iran’s national team during next month’s tournament amid the tensions between the two countries.Sheinbaum said Iran’s team would be hosted by Mexico during a news conference on Monday, per Reuters. The Mexican president added that officials from FIFA approached her after U.S. officials said they did not want to host the Iranian team during the roughly monthlong tournament.“We have no reason to deny them the possibility of staying in Mexico,” Sheinbaum said at her press conference.
Sheinbaum’s comments come days after Iranian team officials said they would move their World Cup training base from Tucson, Arizona, to Tijuana, Mexico. Officials said they had received FIFA’s permission to move their base camp out of the U.S.
Iran is still scheduled to play all three group-stage matches in the U.S., with the first against New Zealand set for June 15 in Inglewood, California. The Middle Eastern country’s other two matches will be played in Inglewood and Seattle. If Iran advances to the knockout round, it would likely play another game somewhere in the U.S.
